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[Collection related to U.S. Marshal Watson Freeman] [Decimalized .01-.36]

Freeman was responsible for the arrest of fugitive slave Anthony Burns in Boston 1854. With 29 receipts and related documents.

GLC09028

to Watson Freeman

Weeden, a tailor with a shop at 10 Franklin Avenue in Boston, declines to repair Watson's coat by saying "With me Principle first - Money afterwards. Though a poor man I crave the patronage of no Being that would volunteer his services to arrest a...

GLC09028.01

to Franklin Pierce

Smith writes to Pierce, the newly elected President of the United States, seeking Watson Freeman's appointment as U.S. Marshal. He lists Freeman's qualifications stating, "Mr. F has been, since he was first permitted to vote - for thirty-five years...

GLC09028.02

to A. B. Baker

Introduces his friend Watson Freeman, who is seeking the appointment of U.S. Marshal of Massachusetts. States "He is a very deserving man, & I am sorry to say is a Democrat; but still there is a redeeming trait - he is a staunch Union man..."...

GLC09028.03

to James Buchanan

Copy of Watson's letter to Buchanan asking to be reappointed as U.S. Marshal. References his service as marshal for the last four years. Describes the case of fugitive slave Anthony Burns. "...the people of Boston, who witnessed the battering down...

GLC09028.04

to James Buchanan

Written to President Buchanan to show Southern support for U.S. Marshal Watson Freeman and Massachusetts District Attorney Benjamin F. Hallett. Signed by Suttle, former owner of Anthony Burns, Henry C. Ward, President of the Democratic Association of...

GLC09028.05

to James Buchanan

Smith writes to President Buchanan as a friend of Charles F. Suttle (owner of fugitive slave Anthony Burns), to support U.S. Marshal Watson Freeman and District Attorney for Massachusetts Benjamin F. Hallett for reappointment. States that Suttle...

GLC09028.06

to Aaron V. Brown

Letter to the Postmaster General recommending Colonel Isaac H. Wright to the office of postmaster of Boston. Mentions that Wright upheld the Fugitive Slave law and was one of the first to offer assistance during the arrest of fugitive slave Anthony...

GLC09028.07

[Receipt for bail money paid]

John Knight was arrested by E. Rugg on 26 October 1850. The unknown creator (possibly Watson Freeman) paid bail and "got him away from the mob."

GLC09028.35

The Crisis, No. 1 or Thoughts on Slavery, Occasioned by the Missouri Question.

Printed by A. H. Maltby & Co, New Haven, Connecticut. Denounces slavery and its introduction into the new Territories: "The extension of slavery to the new and unculivated regions of the west...is a great calamity...It is a blot on the human...

GLC09062

Carte-de-visite of SojournerTruth

Caption on mount reads :"I sell the Shadow to Support the Substance. Sojourner Truth." Copyright stamp on verso

GLC09082

The Anti-Slavery Record. Vol 1, no. 7.

Published by the American Anti-Slavery Society, printed by S. W. Benedict & Co. With images of a schoolhouse and slave children being whipped, asks, "Which of these systems of education shall we hand down to posterity."

GLC09083

[Document authorizing the distribution of confiscated slaves from Tory plantations to veterans of the Revolution]

"Ordered that the Commissioners, of the Confiscated and Annexed Estates, furnish Mr. Henry Ellison with such Numbers of Negroes, as he is Entitled to Receive, by Virtue of his Certificates in Col. Jackson's Corps, agreeable to the Laws of this State...

GLC09104

Black Republican Prayer

Copperhead Black Republican Prayer. About the emancipation of slaves and Lincoln's prosecution of the war. "May the blessings of Emancipation extend throughout our unhappy land--and the illustrious, sweet scented Sambo nestle in the bosom of...

GLC09116

to T. S. Whitney

Wishes to know if he will be put on trial in Kansas, since the time set for his treason trial is approaching, and he must return if a trial takes place. Conviction of another free state man, despite little evidence.
Hears there is a warrant for...

GLC02228

to "Cousin John"

Signed "George W. Howard"

GLC02181.03

to "Friend Hale"

Signed "G.H. Taylor"

GLC02181.04

to unknown

Jay, prominent abolitionist and grandson of the Revolutionary War patriot of the same name, argues "We have an agency at work for the abolition of slavery in the pending war more powerful than all the Conventions we could assemble. Every battle...

GLC02222

Commonwealth. extra. [(August 26, 1852)]

Sumner's argument for the appeal of the Fugitive Slave Law was that the slaveholding southern states, and not the United States as a whole, condone the institution of slavery, and thus having a national law in which such an institution is aided and...

GLC02226

to his sister

Writes that he has been on furlough for two months. The 4th and 5th Tennessee regiments have been consolidated and he is hopeful that he will be decommissioned as a result. He's sorry to learn that Mrs. Champlin and her daughters, are abolitionists...

GLC02232.10

to his sister

Written from camp near Dalton, Georgia. Complains about not getting any correspondence from his family. Comments on the "abolitionizing" of his hometown. Chides his sister for associating with "blue coats" and abolitionists and advises her not to...

GLC02232.30

to James Webber

Expresses his gratitude for the care Webber has taken to assist his brother William, who suffered from mental illness. Mentions a box of books, sent from London by Sharp, that were damaged in transit. Writes, "I am not well acquainted with the...

GLC02437.03139

to Henry Thompson re: relocation to North Elba, N.Y.

Written on blue stationery of "J. R. Brown, Wool, Butter and Cheese" which has been crossed out. Docketed.

GLC07589

to John Brown

By the widow and mother of three men killed by Brown in the Pottawatomie massacre: "My son John whose life I begged of [you] is grown up and is very desirous to be at Charlestown on the day of your execution, would certainly be there if his means...

GLC07590

The Epistle from the Yearly Meeting Held In London [emancipation]

Contains a letter to friends at the quarterly and monthly meetings in Great Britain and Ireland, and another letter to friends at their yearly meeting in Philadelphia. Both letters guide the conduct of Quakers, and encourage "the continuance of your...

GLC07633

The Epistle from the Yearly Meeting Held in London [British abolition efforts]

Quaker meeting regarding the conduct of church members. Mentions the global spread of British abolition efforts: "It is with particular satisfaction we observe the spreading of those principles of justice, which have long bound us to the cause of...

GLC07634

to Thomas B. Musgrave re: imprisonment

"I do not feel myself the least degraded by my imprisonment, my chain, or the near prospect of the gallows. Men cannot imprison, or chain, or hang the soul." With engraving, photograph, and collateral paperwork. Per Lee Shepard, Asst. Director for...

GLC07638.01

to "My Darling Wife" re: doubting reported plan to rescue Brown

Written while guarding John Brown in prison.

GLC07638.02

to Richard H. Jackson

He asks him to thank John Davis and writes "I am not exactly an abolitionist..." Mr. Watson has begun a letter to Richard.

GLC07705.218

["Any holder but a Slave holder" potholder]

Based on the accompanying letter (GLC 7731.01), created by Miss Lena, who gave the potholder to Frederick Douglass as a gift after reading his narrative. Depicts two African Americans (one male and one female) holding hands and dancing against a...

GLC07731.02

Frederick Douglass's paper. [Vol. 13, no. 9 (February 17, 1860)]

GLC07763

The Independent Gazetteer; Or, The Chronicle of Freedom. [Vol. 7, no. 728 (April 12, 1788)]

One newspaper published by Eleazer Oswald entitled "The Independent Gazetteer; Or, The Chronicle of Freedom" dated April 12, 1788. The newspaper features advertisements and news on shipping. Of particular note is a petition by Prince Hall against the...

GLC09728

[Two variations of the classic uplift poster, "Onward"] [Decimalized .01-.02]

Two variations of the classic uplift poster, "Onward" created by W.L. Haskell. They feature portraits of Paul Laurence Dunbar, W.E.B. Du Bois, Matilda Sissieretta Joyner-Jones, Hightower Theodore Kealing, Wilford Horace Smith, Abraham Lincoln...

GLC09736

to Sylvia Weiner

Moe says he read a book about abolitionists. He also says he enjoyed Sylvia's description of the Rosenblum home, though it sounds like they have too many hobbies.

GLC09414.1329

The Child's Anti-Slavery Book: Containing a Few Words About American Slave Children. And Stories of Slave-Life.

This is a children's storybook filled with tales of slavery. There are 5 sections. The first is about the institution of slavery and explaining to children what slavery means. The second through the fifth sections are stories about particular people.

GLC09624

Life and Times of Frederick Douglass

Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, is a biography of Frederick Douglass. This book is broken down into 41 chapters in two parts. There is also an appendix at the end of the book. There are 18 engravings throughout the book.

GLC09659

"Constitution of the State of Virginia and Ordinances Adopted by the Convention which Assembled at Alexandria."

One pamphlet entitled, "Constitution of the State of Virginia and Ordinances Adopted by the Convention which Assembled at Alexandria," dated February 13, 1864. Includes new text that bans enslavement unless it is for a criminal offense. Also creates...

GLC09857

[Collection of Barwood James]

Three letters, two of war date, from a British-born American seaman. One written during the siege of Charleston, South Carolina, in 1863. He offers fine detail on life aboard Civil War naval vessels, as well as the conflicted attitudes of many...

GLC09358

to Bill

writes at great length about slavery and abolition. thinks the institution of slavery is repugnant, but at the same time, thinks it helped to introduce blacks to civilization and that they are better off now than they were before.

GLC09358.1

to a cousin

[Slavery] From Cleveland, Ohio to a cousin in North Carolina: "I am here surrounded by abolitionists, yea in the very hot bed of this class of people.… Three weeks since there was a negroe woman who said she was a fugitive slave from Mississippi, got...

GLC09373

Minutes Of The Proceedings Of A Convention of Delegates From The Abolition Societies Established in different Parts of the United States...

Minutes Of The Proceedings Of A Convention of Delegates From The Abolition Societies Established in different Parts of the United States, Assembled at Philadelphia, On The First Day Of January, One Thousand Seven Hundred And Ninety-Four…...

GLC09381.01

Proceedings Of The Second Convention...

GLC09381.02

Proceedings Of The Third Convention...

GLC09381.03

Proceedings Of The Fourth Convention...

GLC09381.04

A Record of the Proceedings of the Executive Committee of the Hamilton County Anti-Slavery Society

Westfield, IN. Primarily concerned with the founding of the Society's library, with a budget of fifteen dollars for books, entries record a "code of rules for the regulation of the Library," day-to-day logistics, including places and times for...

GLC09382.01

[Constitution for the "Westfield Free Produce association of friends"]

The constitution for the "Westfield Free Produce association of friends," to boycott slave- produced goods for three years. Begins: "We believe that slaveholding is diametrically opposite to the whole spirit and tenor of the christian religion; and...

GLC09382.02

Trial And Imprisonment Of Jonathan Walker, At Pensacola, Florida, for Aiding Slaves to Escape From Bondage.

First ed., Boston: Published at the Anti-Slavery Office. 4 illustrations. [Inspired John Greenleaf Whittier to write The Man With the Branded Hand, included in subsequent editions.]

GLC09387

[Invitation to speak]

Samuel Nickless, treasurer of William Still's Philadelphia Vigilance Committee, part of the Underground Railroad, asks an unnamed lecturer to come and speak: "The members of the 2nd African Presbyterian Church take the liberty of asking you to give...

GLC09396

The American Museum, volume 6

The American Museum Volume VI, Philadelphia, containing twenty articles on African Americans including Samuel Stanhope Smith's "Essay of the Causes of the Variety of Complexion and Figure in the Human Species," Ben Franklin's "Address to the Public...

GLC09397

Thompson in Africa: Or, an Account of the Missionary Labors, Sufferings, Travels, and Observations of George Thompson in Western Africa, at the Mendi Mission.

Thompson in Africa: Or, an Account of the Missionary Labors, Sufferings, Travels, and Observations of George Thompson in Western Africa, at the Mendi Mission. Abolitionist's diary of his African trip. Includes several eye witness accounts of the...

GLC09408

[Carte de visite of Owen Lovejoy]

Signed carte-de-visite of Radical Republican congressman Owen Lovejoy from Illinois. Lovejoy's Princeton, Ill. homestead was an important Underground Railroad station.

GLC09410

to Lile Miller

Written at Camp Pierpont to his wife. Writes, "...Please do not let one secession thought enter your heart for not for the world would i have you entertain one Secession principle... think of the stain that Rests on the second and third generation of...

GLC02155.035

to Mary

He says he is not an abolitionist, nor did he enlist under an abolitionist administration Then talks of whether the constitution should be reinstated or reconstruction should take place altogether. Written at camp on Lookout Mountain

GLC02415.105

to Mary

He refers to slavery as one of the most degrading institutions ever and says the Rebels should soon see the error of their evil ways. They have broken up camp. Everyone is being sent elsewhere and they expect to join the others soon.

GLC02415.030

to Henry Knox

Wadsworth comments on an escaped enslaved person or servant: "Mrs. Greene left us last Monday for Charleston Via N York on the night before she went away- her molatto man servant Ham left her & has been heard of on his way to Boston. she wishes to...

GLC02437.04021

to Reverend Dr. Murray

Recalls receiving a letter from Murray regarding the Cleveland Emancipation Convention one year before. Transmits a circular (GLC 2448.03.02), an account of the organization of the National Compensation Emancipation Society. Asks Murray to read the...

GLC02448.03.01

to James Redpath

Phillips, an ardent abolitionist, informs Redpath that the "Traveller," a Boston paper, printed an article Phillips wrote. Asks Redpath to inform him why the "Post" would not print the article, and to cut and send a copy of the article from the...

GLC02448.13

to Joshua Leavitt

Birney, an abolitionist, writes to Leavitt, a reformer and minister in Boston. Has been asked to write columns for the Herald, a newspaper, and is allowed by the editor to freely express his opinions. Notes that Dr. Bailey (possibly Gamaliel Bailey...

GLC02448.02

to John Mason Peck

Lovejoy, an abolitionist, writes to Peck, a reverend in St. Louis. Requests Peck to stop sending copies of the "Pioneer," a paper containing criticism of Lovejoy. Docket is faded.

GLC02448.08

to Henry Wilson

Tappan, an anti-slavery activist, writes to Wilson, a United States Senator from Massachusetts. Notes that the last time he saw Wilson, Wilson was walking down Broadway (in New York City) at the head of his regiment. Remarks, "But since, you have...

GLC02448.16

[Abolitionist broadside]

Abolitionist broadside endorsed "Distributed in the streets of Boston Thursday evening Dec.1, 1859, the day before the execution of John Brown." Bold text reads: "Let their epitaphs remain unwritten until the not distant day when no slave shall clank...

GLC09332

Spain. --- Cuba.

Discusses Spain's history of slaveholding and the role of other nations to end slavery in Cuba.

GLC04717.64

From the New York Tribune. Mr. Gerrit Smith on the President's message. The currency and the hard times.

Smith writes, "There is nothing in the nature of civil government, and there is nothing in the Constitution, to justify the Federal Government in banking, or in undertaking to authorize it in others." Also criticizes economists' reference to slavery...

GLC04717.70

to Owen Lovejoy

Sumner, a United States Senator, writes to Lovejoy, a Representative from Illinois. Writes, "Here is Senate Bill 230, which you desired. We shall send you the Freedom Bill, & trust to your good votes & Providence." In a post script, notes that...

GLC02448.15

Prospectus of "The North and South."

Transmitted by Burritt to Reverend Dr. Murray with a letter (GLC 2448.03.01). Advertises the publication of a weekly newspaper, "The North and South," with Burritt as editor. The paper's objective is to "unite the millions of all sections and...

GLC02448.03.02

to unknown

Written from "White Hall," Clay's estate. Clay, an emancipationist, replies to a letter from an unspecified recipient. Possibly discussing his run for Governor as an anti-slavery candidate in 1851, writes, "The number of votes cast for the anti...

GLC02448.05

to unknown

Higginson, a militant abolitionist, discusses an upcoming meeting of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society: "About the defence of W. P. there is of course no question. All plans for the defence of the meeting must depend on the wish of the Society-...

GLC02448.07

to Joseph Ricketson

Accepts Ricketson's invitation to lecture before the New Bedford Lyceum, if his health permits. Exclaims, "Would that U could be an attendant at your anti-slavery meetings, to be held to-day and to-morrow in your place!" Notes that his friend, the...

GLC02448.06

to G. F. Hilton

Mann, abolitionist and President of Antioch College, responds to a letter from Hilton. Of the college, he writes, "We still hold together here, internally & educationally, we have been doing very well; externally & financially, very bad, But we...

GLC02448.11

to Marius Racine Robinson

May, a prominent abolitionist and reformer, writes to Robinson, Secretary of the Western Anti-Slavery Society. Robinson had invited May to speak, and May promises to come if he can find a suitable replacement to serve as pastor in his absence...

GLC02448.12

to Henry Knox

Says he has been laid up for the past week with the gout. Discusses a proposed congressional bill to regulate proceedings with the Indians. Gorham wants this to be extended to the Six Nations, stating "it is of great consiquence [sic] that more...

GLC02437.04588

to Jeremiah Wadsworth

Encloses five accounts and asks Wadsworth to sign them, noting that his signature is necessary for the accounts' settlement. Asks him to return all warrants that will not be paid before December 15, as Knox wishes to close his accounts with the...

GLC02437.04422

to Henry Knox

Discusses the proper time to sell goods recently arrived from London that were consigned to Henry Knox. Relates that Granville Sharp sent a box of books intended for Knox, Harvard College, Rhode Island College, and George Washington. The books were...

GLC02437.03128

to James Manning

Knox transmits books donated from Granville Sharp in London to Rhode Island College (present-day Brown University). Informs Manning, President of Rhode Island College, that these books were previously in William Knox's care but William was...

GLC02437.03158

to George Churchman and Jacob Lindley

Letter written by Adams in the last months of his presidency to the Quaker abolitionists Churchman and Lindley. Adams wrote in response to a letter and pamphlet that the two abolitionists had sent him. The pamphlet was by Quaker abolitionist Warner...

GLC00921

Injured Humanity; Being A Representation of What the Unhappy Children of Africa Endure from Those Who Call Themselves Christians

Printed broadside on terrible conditions of slavery and the slave trade in the West Indies. Wood, a prolific Quaker-reformist publisher, printed and sold the broadside out of his office at 362 Pearl Street in New York. Describes the sale, horrendous...

GLC05113

to John Francis Mercer

Washington replies to a letter from Mercer, noting that he would have replied sooner, but he had a fever. Expresses his plan to never enslaved another person again, and his wish that slavery be abolished by "slow, sure & imperceptible degrees."...

GLC03705

[Pair of abolitionist slave tokens]

One token, dated 1838, depicts a kneeling, shackled female slave, accompanied by the words: "Am I not a woman & a sister." Verso depicts a laurel wreath surrounding "Liberty 1838." Other token depicts a male figure with inscription "Am I not a man...

GLC08551

to Phoebe Hathaway

Updating a fellow Abolitionist on his busy schedule. "It is too bad that I cannot come to Farmington on the first of April after that winsome little note of yesterday. But I cannot and cannot now, see any chance of visiting the kind of Domicile of...

GLC09097