…n in 1840. There, he joined the AME Church and the Brooklyn African Tompkins Society, a mutual aid organization committed to the “improvement of the members in morals and literature, by forming a library and other appropriate means.” By 1850, Cousins, his wife Sarah, and their children Emaly, Charles, and Joseph were living at 201 Jay Street. Cousins owned $1500 worth of property making him eligible to vote. Cousins fundraised for various anti-sl…