People, Locations, Episodes

Henrietta Duterte, Abolitionist born.

*This date in 1817 is celebrated as the birth date of Henrietta Duterte. She was a Black funeral homeowner, philanthropist, and abolitionist. Henrietta Bowers was born to an affluent, free Black family and raised on Middle Alley, now called Panama Street, in Philadelphia’s Society Hill. Known for her fashionable attire, she began her career as […]

Charles Langston, Editor, and Teacher born

*The birth of Charles Langston in 1817 is celebrated on this date. He was a Black slave, editor, abolitionist and teacher.

Samuel R. Ward, Minister, and Abolitionist born

Rev. Samuel Ringgold Ward was born on this date in 1817. He was a Black abolitionist and minister.

Born a slave on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, he escaped with his parents in 1820. His father was descended from an African prince. He learned to read so that he could enjoy the priceless privilege of searching the Scriptures and supporting himself as a house painter. His mother was widowed in a previous marriage and bore three children, all boys; Samuel was the second. Ward grew up in New York, and was placed in a public school in Mulberry Street.

Lucy Goode Brooks, Child Advocate born

*Lucy Goode Brooks was born on this date in 1818. She was a Black slave and children’s advocate. Lucy Goode was born in Virginia to Judith Goode, a slave and a white man. She met another slave, Albert Royal Brooks, and taught him to read and write to write passes to see each other. When […]

Elijah Gammon, Minister, and Abolitionist born

*The birth of Elijah H. Gammon in 1819 is celebrated on this date. He was an White American minister, businessman and abolitionist.

Christiana Carteaux Bannister, Businesswoman, and Activist born

*This date in 1819 is celebrated as the birth date of Christiana Carteaux Bannister. She was a Black business entrepreneur, hairdresser, and abolitionist in New England. Christiana Carteaux was born Christiana Babcock in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. She was born to African and Narragansett Native American parents. She was a descendant of enslaved Blacks who worked the […]

Harriet Robinson Scott, Abolitionist born

*The birth of Harriet Robinson Scott is celebrated on this date in c. 1820. She was a Black domestic who fought for her freedom alongside her husband, Dred Scott. Born into slavery, Harriet Robinson was brought from Pennsylvania to the Northwest Territory by Indian agent and slaveholder Lawrence Taliaferro in 1835. Around 1836, she married Dred […]

Dangerfield F. Newby, Abolitionist born.

*Dangerfield F. Newby’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1820. He was a Black abolitionist and blacksmith. Born into slavery in Culpeper County, Virginia, Newby’s father was Henry Newby, a white landowner. His mother was Elsey Newby, who was enslaved, owned not by a neighbor, John Fox. Elsey and Henry lived together for many […]

William Still, Philadelphia Abolitionist born

*William Still was born on this date in 1821. He was a Black abolitionist, conductor on the Underground Railroad, writer, historian and activist.

Catherine Delany, Abolitionist born

*Catherine A. Delany was born on this date in 1822.   She was a Black abolitionist.  Born Catherine A. Richards in Pittsburgh, she was the daughter of Charles Richards, a Black man, and Felicia Fitzgerald, an Irish white-American native of Cork, Ireland.  Before the Gradual Abolition Act of 1780, intermarriage between races had been forbidden in […]

Mary Smith Kelsey Peake, Seamstress, and Teacher born

*Mary Smith Kelsey Peake’s birth is celebrated on this date in 1823. She was a Black teacher, school administrator, and seamstress.   Mary was born in Norfolk, Virginia, the daughter of a free Black woman and a white Englishman. When she was six, she was sent to live with her aunt and uncle to attend […]

Mary Ann Shadd, Abolitionist, and Educator born

*On this date in 1823, Mary Ann Shadd Cary was born in Wilmington, Delaware. She was a Black educator and administrator.

Aaron Mossell Sr., Abolitionist born

*Aaron Mossell Sr. was born on this date in 1824. He was a Black abolitionist and laborer. From Baltimore, MD., Aaron Albert Mossell was the son of Peter and Catherine Mossell. He forced the desegregation of Lockport, New York, schools in 1876, eight decades before segregated schools were ruled unconstitutional. Eliza (Bowers) Mossell was his […]

Paul Trévigne Jr., Newspaper Editor born

*Paul Trévigne Jr. was born on this date in 1825. He was a Black Creole newspaperman and civil rights activist. From New Orleans, Louisiana, he was the biracial son of Paul Trevigne, a veteran of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, and Josephine Marguerite Decoudreaux. Free men of color had served in the militia under French rule […]

John Rock, Lawyer, and Abolitionist born

*John Rock was born on this date in 1825.  He was a Black lawyer, teacher, and abolitionist.  From Salem County, New Jersey, at an early age, John Stewart Rock had an insatiable appetite for learning. Although his parents were poor, they committed to sending young Rock to school.  At eighteen, Rock began to teach at […]