Abolitionist Brooklyn (1828 – 1849)

…and for whom Weeksville was named. [Hunterfly Road Houses]. Eugene L. Armbruster. 1922. Eugene L. Armbruster photograph and scrapbook collection. V1987.11.2. Brooklyn Historical Society. Teacher’s Manual Section 3: Lesson 11 The Hunterfly Road Houses are the last remnant structures of the once thriving community of Weeksville. It was the second largest free black community in antebellum America. Historian Judith Wellman’s research shows that it b…

A Gradual Emancipation (1783 – 1827)

…Maria Magdalene Ruble. However, he remained enslaved after she died. Harry enlisted the help of William Livingston, the Surrogate for Kings County, who wrote to the N-YMS. Founded in 1785 by Manhattan’s white elite, the N-YMS was committed to gradually ending slavery. During gradual emancipation they focused on three primary concerns in Kings County: the enslavement of free African Americans; slave sales between New York and New Jersey; and, the…

Crisis Decade (1850 – 1860)

…ave Law was part of Congress’ attempt to balance the nation’s free and slave state interests. Instead, the line between free and slave blurred entirely and thousands of free black people in Brooklyn and beyond were at the whim of an unjust law. The city itself continued to rapidly expand, this time along its extensive waterfront. Sugar, tobacco and cotton – all valuable commodities produced by unfree labor – lined the city’s warehouses. By 1855,…

Timeline

…ice. Inequality in education, housing, voting, and employment was commonplace. Despite their own oppression in “free” New York, communities of color strengthened their commitment to equality through self-determination, self-preservation and protest. 1833 “The Liberator Commenced January 1st 1831.” Cotton banner by unknown maker, [1840s]. Massachusetts Historical Society. Teacher’s Manual Section 2: Lesson 7 | Lesson 8 In the 1830s, th…

Games

FOR STUDENTS Build map skills, develop a better understanding of how everyday people advanced anti-slavery ideals, and create your own anti-slavery propaganda. It Happened in Brooklyn IN PURSUIT OF FREEDOM WRITE A POEM *Best viewed in Google Chrome & Safari IT HAPPENED in BROOKLYN Click on the titles on the right for additional information. Drag the circles to their proper locations on the map. Havemeyer, Townsend & Co. Sugar Refine…

Walking Tours

WALKING TOURS In Pursuit of Freedom explores the everyday heroes of Brooklyn’s anti-slavery movement. The public history project is a partnership of Brooklyn Historical Society, Weeksville Heritage Center, and Irondale Ensemble Project. Download the Walking Tour Guide DUMBO DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN BROOKLYN HEIGHTS WEEKSVILLE WILLIAMSBURG DUMBO Brooklyn’s anti-slavery movement began in the neighborhoods we now call DUMBO and Vinegar Hill. At the end o…

Abolitionist Biographies

…working to shift the organization’s focus from emigration to education. Amos Freeman was a friend and colleague to Lewis Tappan and James Pennington and delivered the eulogy at Tappan’s funeral. Amos Freeman married Christiana Taylor Williams on December 24, 1839 in Newark, NJ. She was born on June 4, 1812 in Manhattan to Caribbean parents. Christiana worked closely with other women associated with Siloam Presbyterian – Elizabeth Gloucester and M…

US Department of Education Resources

…ctors that made Maryland a politically divided slave state, frequently impelling Marylanders of color to escape to freedom. From Slavery to Freedom at the Senator John Heinz History Center features a new 3,200 square foot long-term exhibition, an anthology The Civil War in Pennsylvania: The African American Experience (Heinz History Center, 2013), groundbreaking research displayed in the exhibit and online microsite, scholarly lectures at the mus…