People, Locations, Episodes

The Underground Railroad in America, a story

The Underground Railroad, the organization which helped escaped African slaves from the South on their journey to freedom in the North and Canada, begun in 1787, is celebrated on this date.

Lewis Tappan, Abolitionist born

*Lewis Tappan was born on this date in 1788. He was a white-American abolitionist. From Northampton, MA., Lewis Tappan was the brother of Senator Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Arthur Tappan. His middle-class parents, Benjamin Tappan and Sarah Homes Tappan, were strict Congregationalists. Once Lewis was old enough to work, he helped his father in a dry goods […]

Benjamin Lundy, Abolitionist born

Benjamin Lundy was born on this date in 1789. He was a White American abolitionist and news publisher.

He was from Sussex County, New Jersey and raised a Quaker. Lundy was working as a saddle maker in Wheeling, Vermont, when he first became troubled about the morality of the slave trade. In 1815, he created the Union Humane Society. In 1821, he began publishing the anti-slavery newspaper, Genius of Universal Emancipation. In 1829, Lundy brought on William Lloyd Garrison as co-editor before he moved to Boston and began the Liberator.

Josiah Henson, Abolitionist born

This date marks the birth of Josiah Henson in 1789. He was an 18th century Black abolitionist.

The first anti-slavery law in Canada was passed in 1783 by then Ontario. For the next 68 years it is estimated that 50,000 Blacks entered Canada for safety and freedom. One of them was Josiah Henson, a former slave from Kentucky. During his lifetime, three masters owned Henson. Henson started preaching to raise money in the hope of buying his freedom. His master took the money that Josiah had earned, and then raised the price of Henson’s freedom to $1,000.

Thomas Garrett, Abolitionist born

Thomas Garrett was born on this date in 1789. He was a White American businessman and abolitionist.

The son of a farmer from Delaware County, he became involved in the iron trade and after marrying, moved to Wilmington, Delaware.

Charles Deslondes, Abolitionist born

*The birth of Charles Deslondes is celebrated on this date, c. 1789.  He was a Black abolitionist.  Charles Deslondes was born on the Louisiana plantation of Jacques Deslondes.  Plantation succession records have Charles described as being a “Creole Mulatto slave” by the name of Charles, “about 16 years old”, and listed as a “field laborer.” Contrary to […]

John Mason Peck, Missionary, and Abolitionist born

*John Mason Peck was born on this date in 1789. He was a white-American Baptist abolitionist, teacher, and missionary. Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, to a farming family, Peck received little formal education but, in 1807, began to teach school. He was converted to Christianity at a revival at his Congregational Church. On May 8, 1809, […]

Pedro Camejo, Soldier born

*Pedro Camejo was born on this date in 1790. Also known as Negro Primero (“The First Black”), he was an Afro Venezuelan soldier and abolitionist. Pedro Camejo was born a slave of a Spanish royalist, Vincente Alonzo, in San Juan de Payara. He gained his freedom in 1816 after enlisting in the military to fight in […]

Thomas Jennings, Tradesman born

*The Birth of Thomas Jennings is celebrated on this date in 1791.  He was a Black tradesman and abolitionist.   Thomas L. Jennings was born to a free Black family in New York City. As a youth, he learned a trade as a tailor. He built a business and married a woman named Elizabeth from […]

The International Day of “Remembrance of the Slave Trade” is Observed

On this date, the world recognizes International Day for the Remembrance and Abolition of the Slave Trade.

The International Day fis celebrated on August 23 every year.

The nights of August 22 and 23, 1791, in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) saw the beginning of an uprising that would play an essential role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

James Birney, Abolitionist born.

*James G. Birney was born on this date in 1792.  He was a white-American abolitionist and politician who was a slave owner.    From Danville, Kentucky, James Gillespie Birney graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1810, where he studied law, and moved to Alabama, where he made lots of money […]

The Sierra Leone Company is Founded

*The Sierra Leone Company was founded on this date in 1792.   This was a white-European corporate body involved in founding the second British colony of Sierra Leone.   Their intent was the resettlement of Black Loyalists who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War. The company was formed by abolitionists […]

Thaddeus Stevens, Politician, and Abolitionist born

*Thaddeus Stevens was born on this date in 1792. He was a White American abolitionist. Stevens was born in Danville, Vermont.

John Bathan Vashon, Seaman, and Abolitionist born

*The birth of John Bathan Vashon in 1792 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black seaman, businessman and abolitionist.

Charles Grandison Finney, Minister born

*On this date, in 1792, Charles Grandison Finney was born.  He was a white-American Presbyterian minister and abolitionist.   Born in Warren, Connecticut, Finney was the youngest of nine children. The son of farmers who moved to the upstate frontier of Jefferson County, New York, after the American Revolutionary War, Finney never attended college. His leadership abilities, musical skill, six-foot-three-inch stature, and piercing eyes gained […]