Abolitionist Brooklyn (1828 – 1849)

…g, and grow up with a small town. I believe in that way they would overcome much of the prejudice against them, for, as a rule, there is a fraternal feeling between the people of small towns or places (even in the South) that is unknown in the large cities.” Willis Hodges, A Free Man of Color. In 1839, at the height of Williamsburg’s land speculation, William Hodges, a free man from Norfolk, VA, bought his first plot of land there. He erected his…

A Gradual Emancipation (1783 – 1827)

…ble. 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 violation of manum…

Crisis Decade (1850 – 1860)

…e from Mobile, AL. His captor, J.C. Gantz presented a Brooklyn Court with an affidavit claiming that Saxton had forged his freedom papers. Officer Barkaloo and Gantz then arrested Saxton at Mansion House, a hotel located on Hicks between Pierrepont and Clark. Saxton was taken from New York to a Baltimore jail. Read more… Close Under New York’s Personal Liberty Law, Saxton’s arrest without a trial was illegal. Moreover, no police court had the a…

Timeline

…005. Series 13036-78, Laws of 1799, Chapter 62. Teacher’s Manual Section 1: Lesson 2 It took twenty-eight years for New York State, and therefore Kings County, to end slavery. In 1799, New York State made provisions for the gradual emancipation of enslaved people. It was the second to last northern state to do so. After July 4, 1799 children born of enslaved mothers would be free at the age of 28 if male, and 25 if female. Slavery had no end date…

For Educators

…;br /> Standards Introduction and Alignment to Standards This curriculum guide accompanies the In Pursuit of Freedom project. Through a variety of primary-source based activities, students can build a deeper understanding of the history of abolitionism and anti-slavery activism in Brooklyn. These documents are in PDF format and require Acrobat Reader. In Pursuit of Freedom outlines the development of the abolition movement in Brooklyn, a city…

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

…businesses. ↗ Open map in new window WEEKSVILLE The financial panic of 1837 halted Brooklyn’s rapid urban transformation. One year later, free black New Yorkers took advantage of low property prices to intentionally establish the community of Weeksville as a self-sufficient haven for African Americans. Located in Brooklyn’s ninth ward, Weeksville was the most distant and secluded anti-slavery base from the city’s downtown area, thus it offered s…

Abolitionist Biographies

…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 Mary Wilson –to raise funds for the church and the Colored Orphan Asylum. Christiana died…

Civil War & Beyond (1861 – 1867)

…and much of the Anglo-American in the bargain.” Read more… Close The organizing committees consisted of Elizabeth Gloucester, Mary J. Lyons, Christiana Freeman, Mary Wilson, Sarah Morel, and Sarah Tompkins, all anti-slavery activists, whose husbands were prominent abolitionists as well. The fair raised $1,100 (or about $30,000 today) for the Colored Orphan Asylum. [Borough Hall with Montague Street on right]. 1880. Eugene L. Armbruster photogr…