People, Locations, Episodes

Charles Trowbridge, Military Officer born

*Charles Trowbridge was born on this date in 1835. He was a White American soldier, abolitionist, and politician.

Charles Tyler Trowbridge was from Morristown, New Jersey in an area known as Trowbridge Mountain. He was third of seven children born to Elijah Freeman Trowbridge and Temperance Ludlow Muchmore. His family moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1854. In 1857 he married Emeline Haviland Jackson at Freehold, New Jersey. They had one child, Ida Emeline Trowbridge who died in 1858.

Pio Pico, Governor of Mexican California born

The birth of Pio de Jesus Pico in 1801 is marked on this date. He was an African Native Mexican American businessman and politician.

Pico was born in the San Gabriel Mission in Mexico, the son of a soldier, Jose Maria Pico. His father had come from Mexico with the Anza expedition of 1801. The fourth of ten children, Pico’s heritage was a mix of African, Native American, Hispanic, and European roots. A revolutionary in his youth, he was the last Mexican governor of Alta California (now the state of California), the region above what is now Mexico.

Wyndham Robertson, Slave Owner, and Politician born

*Wyndham Robertson was born on this date in 1803. He was a white-American politician, slave owner, and businessman. He was born near Manchester, Chesterfield County, Virginia, across the James River from Richmond. His parents were William Robertson and his wife Elizabeth Bolling, descended from Pocahontas and John Rolfe. His paternal grandfather Archibald Robertson emigrated from […]

Ellis Gray Loring, Attorney born

*On this date, in 1803, Ellis Gray Loring was born.  He was a white-American attorney, abolitionist, and philanthropist.   From Boston, he was the son of James Tyng Loring, a druggist, and Relief Faxon Cookson Loring. He attended the Boston Latin School and was awarded the school’s Franklin Medal for scholarship in 1819. He studied at Harvard, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa member. […]

Sir James Douglass, Statesman, and Businessman born

*Sir James Douglas was born on this date in 1803.  He was a Black Canadian Statesman.  Born in Demerara, British Guiana, he was the son of John Douglas and Miss Ritchie, a “Creole” woman from Barbados.  The couple had three children, Alexander, James, and Cecilia Eliza. John Douglas’ second family was with Jane Hamilton Douglas, and they had […]

Osceola, Seminole Leader, born

*The birth of Osceola is celebrated on this date, c1804.   He was a Native leader and interpreter of the Seminole people in Florida. Pronounced Asi-yahola in Creek), Osceola was named Billy Powell at birth in the Creek village of Talisi, which means “Old Town.” The village site, now the city of Tallassee, Alabama, was located […]

Hendrick Arnold, Military Scout, born

The birth of Hendrick Arnold is celebrated on this date in c 1804. He was a Black military scout, guide, and spy during the Texas Revolution. Hendrick Arnold emigrated from Mississippi or Kentucky to Texas with his parents, Daniel Arnold, a white man, and Rachel, who was black, in the winter of 1826. The family […]

Louis Goldsborough, Admiral born

*On this date, in 1805, Louis Goldsborough was born.  He was a white-American rear admiral in the United States Navy noted for contributions to nautical scientific research.   Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough was born in Washington, D.C., the son of a chief clerk at the United States Department of the Navy. He was appointed midshipman in the United States Navy on June 28, 1812. At the […]

Stand Watie, Native American Slave Owner born

*Stand Watie was born on this date in 1806.  He was a Native American Cherokee Chief, slave owner, and military officer. From Rome, Georgia, he was also called De Gata Ga (Cherokee: “Stand Firm”).   At 12, he was sent to a mission school where he learned to speak English. He later helped an older brother […]

Robert E. Lee, Confederate General born

*Robert E. Lee was born on this date in 1807. He was a white American soldier known for commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865.

The British Slave Trade Act is Passed

*On this date, in 1807, The Slave Trade Act was passed.  officially An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was a bill of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting the slave trade in the British Empire.   It did not abolish the practice of slavery; it encouraged British action to press other nation-states to abolish their own slave trades.  Many of the supporters thought […]

Peter Burnett, Slave Owner, and Politician born

*Peter Burnett was born on this date in 1807.  He was a white-American slave owner and politician who enforced discriminatory legislation against Black Native Americans and Chinese immigrants in the West. Raised in a slave-owning family in Missouri, Peter Hardeman Burnett moved westward after his business left him heavily in debt. Initially residing in Oregon […]

Salmon P. Chase, Abolitionist, and Judge born

Salmon Portland Chase, a white man, was born on this date in 1808. He was a White American teacher, abolitionist, lawyer, and judge.

Jefferson Davis, Confederate President born

Jefferson Davis was born in this date in 1808. He was a White American slave owner and president of the Confederacy.

The West Africa Squadron Is Created

*This date, in 1808, affirms the West Africa Squadron was formed. They were a regiment of the British Royal Navy. Also known as the Preventative Squadron, its goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed after the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act 1807 and based out of […]