FOOTNOTE:[2]Captain Jonathan Tudas, who led the 500 brave blacks out to build the Redoubt, is now living in Philadelphia, and since the commencement of this publication, we learned the following particulars: When the news arrived of the approach of the British under Major General Ross, upon Baltimore, the expectation ran high, that the city would be taken, and forced marches made, immediately upon Philadelphia. The whole City consequently was thrown into great alarm, when Captain Tudas, applied to the United States Engineer, and offered the services of colored men, who during the week, were summoned to meet at the African Methodist Episcopal Church, on the following Sabbath; when from the pulpit, the Right Rev. Richard Allen, Bishop of the Connexion, made known to the people the peril of the Country, and demands of the Commonwealth; when, the next day, Monday, five hundred volunteered, working incessantly during that day, and on Tuesday, six hundred more were added, swelling the number to eleven hundred men. William Stansberry, arrested and tried a few years ago, as a fugitive slave from Maryland, and Mr. Ignatius Beck, an old respectable colored man, who appeared as a witness, and by whose testimony alone, Mr. Stansberry was released from the grasp of the oppression of his Country, and thereby saved from endless bondage, were both under Captain Tudas, and belong to the faithful eleven hundred Philadelphia black warriors. He farther informs us, that the Engineer gave them credit for having thrown up superior works to any other men employed in the service, and having done more work in the same time, anddrank less, by four-fifth, than twice their number of "Old Countrymen." The relics of the breastworks, still stand on or near the banks of the Schuylkill, as a living monument of the fidelity of the black race to their State and Country. Mr. Stansberry, is still living, and Captain Tudas, now quite an old man, about "turning the corner," as he expresses it, is a very intelligent old gentleman, and a living history of facts. There are few white men of his age and opportunities, that equal him at all in intelligence on any subject. He is a kind of living synoptic-historical Encyclopedia.
[2]Captain Jonathan Tudas, who led the 500 brave blacks out to build the Redoubt, is now living in Philadelphia, and since the commencement of this publication, we learned the following particulars: When the news arrived of the approach of the British under Major General Ross, upon Baltimore, the expectation ran high, that the city would be taken, and forced marches made, immediately upon Philadelphia. The whole City consequently was thrown into great alarm, when Captain Tudas, applied to the United States Engineer, and offered the services of colored men, who during the week, were summoned to meet at the African Methodist Episcopal Church, on the following Sabbath; when from the pulpit, the Right Rev. Richard Allen, Bishop of the Connexion, made known to the people the peril of the Country, and demands of the Commonwealth; when, the next day, Monday, five hundred volunteered, working incessantly during that day, and on Tuesday, six hundred more were added, swelling the number to eleven hundred men. William Stansberry, arrested and tried a few years ago, as a fugitive slave from Maryland, and Mr. Ignatius Beck, an old respectable colored man, who appeared as a witness, and by whose testimony alone, Mr. Stansberry was released from the grasp of the oppression of his Country, and thereby saved from endless bondage, were both under Captain Tudas, and belong to the faithful eleven hundred Philadelphia black warriors. He farther informs us, that the Engineer gave them credit for having thrown up superior works to any other men employed in the service, and having done more work in the same time, anddrank less, by four-fifth, than twice their number of "Old Countrymen." The relics of the breastworks, still stand on or near the banks of the Schuylkill, as a living monument of the fidelity of the black race to their State and Country. Mr. Stansberry, is still living, and Captain Tudas, now quite an old man, about "turning the corner," as he expresses it, is a very intelligent old gentleman, and a living history of facts. There are few white men of his age and opportunities, that equal him at all in intelligence on any subject. He is a kind of living synoptic-historical Encyclopedia.
[2]Captain Jonathan Tudas, who led the 500 brave blacks out to build the Redoubt, is now living in Philadelphia, and since the commencement of this publication, we learned the following particulars: When the news arrived of the approach of the British under Major General Ross, upon Baltimore, the expectation ran high, that the city would be taken, and forced marches made, immediately upon Philadelphia. The whole City consequently was thrown into great alarm, when Captain Tudas, applied to the United States Engineer, and offered the services of colored men, who during the week, were summoned to meet at the African Methodist Episcopal Church, on the following Sabbath; when from the pulpit, the Right Rev. Richard Allen, Bishop of the Connexion, made known to the people the peril of the Country, and demands of the Commonwealth; when, the next day, Monday, five hundred volunteered, working incessantly during that day, and on Tuesday, six hundred more were added, swelling the number to eleven hundred men. William Stansberry, arrested and tried a few years ago, as a fugitive slave from Maryland, and Mr. Ignatius Beck, an old respectable colored man, who appeared as a witness, and by whose testimony alone, Mr. Stansberry was released from the grasp of the oppression of his Country, and thereby saved from endless bondage, were both under Captain Tudas, and belong to the faithful eleven hundred Philadelphia black warriors. He farther informs us, that the Engineer gave them credit for having thrown up superior works to any other men employed in the service, and having done more work in the same time, anddrank less, by four-fifth, than twice their number of "Old Countrymen." The relics of the breastworks, still stand on or near the banks of the Schuylkill, as a living monument of the fidelity of the black race to their State and Country. Mr. Stansberry, is still living, and Captain Tudas, now quite an old man, about "turning the corner," as he expresses it, is a very intelligent old gentleman, and a living history of facts. There are few white men of his age and opportunities, that equal him at all in intelligence on any subject. He is a kind of living synoptic-historical Encyclopedia.
The utility of men in their private capacity as citizens, is of no less import than that of any other department of the community in which they live; indeed, the fitness of men for positions in the body politic, can only be justly measured by their qualification as citizens. And we may safely venture the declaration, that in the history of the world, there has never been a nation, that among the oppressed class of inhabitants—a class entirely ineligible to any political position of honor, profit or trust—wholly discarded from the recognition of citizens' rights—not even permitted to carry the mail, nor drive a mail coach—there never has, in the history of nations, been any people thus situated, who has made equal progress in attainments with the colored people of the United States. It would be as unnecessary as it is impossible, to particularize all the individuals; we shall therefore be satisfied, with a classification and a few individual cases. Our history in this country is well known, and quite sufficiently treated on in these pages already, without the necessity of repetition here; it is enough to know that by the most cruel acts of injustice and crime, our forefathers were forced by small numbers, and enslaved in the country—the great body now to the number of three millions and a half, still groaning in bondage—that the half million now free, are the descendants of the few who by various means, are fortunate enough to gain their liberty from Southern bondage—that no act of general emancipation has ever taken place, and no chance as yet for a general rebellion—we say in view of all these facts, we proceed to give a cursory history of the attainments—the civil, social, business and professional, and literary attainments of colored men and women, and challenge comparison with the world—according to circumstances—in times past and present.
Though shorn of their strength, disarmed of manhood, and stripped of every right, encouraged by the part performed by their brethren and fathers in the Revolutionary struggle—with no records of their deeds in history, and no means of knowing them save orally, as overheard from the mouths of their oppressors, and tradition as kept up among themselves—that memorable event, had not yet ceased its thrill through the new-born nation, until a glimmer of hope—a ray of light had beamed forth, and enlightened minds thought to be in total darkness. Minds of no ordinary character, but those which embraced business, professions, and literature—minds, which at once grasped the earth, encompassed the seas, soared into the air, and mounted the skies. And it is none the less creditable to the colored people, that among those who have stood the most conspicuous and shone the brightest in the earliest period of our history, there are those of pure and unmixed African blood. A credit—but that which is creditable to the African, cannot disgrace any into whose veins his blood may chance to flow. The elevation of the colored man can only be completed by the elevation of the pure descendants of Africa; because to deny his equality, is to deny in a like proportion, the equality of all those mixed with the African organization; and to establish his inferiority, will be to degrade every person related to him by consanguinity; therefore, to establish the equality of the African with the European race, establishes the equality of every person intermediate between the two races. This established beyond contradiction, the general equality of men.
In the year 1773, though held in servitude, and without the advantages or privileges of the schools of the day, accomplishing herself by her own perseverance; Phillis Wheatley appeared in the arena, the brilliancy of whose genius, as a poetess, delighted Europe and astonished America, and by a special act of the British Parliament, 1773, her productions were published for the Crown. She was an admirer of President Washington, and addressed to him lines, which elicited from the Father of his country, a complimentary and courteous reply. In the absence of the poem addressed to General Washington, which was not written until after her work was published, we insert a stanza from one addressed (intended for the students) "To the University at Cambridge." We may further remark, that the poems were originally written, not with the most distant idea of publication, but simply for the amusement and during the leisure moments of the author.
"Improve your privileges while they stay,Ye pupils, and each hour redeem, that bearsOr good or bad report of you to heav'n.Let sin, that baneful evil of the soul,By you be shunn'd, nor once remit your guard;Suppress the deadly serpent in its egg.Ye blooming plants of human race divine,AnEthioptells you 'tis your greatest foe;Its transient sweetness turns to endless pain,And in immense perdition sinks the soul."
"Improve your privileges while they stay,Ye pupils, and each hour redeem, that bearsOr good or bad report of you to heav'n.Let sin, that baneful evil of the soul,By you be shunn'd, nor once remit your guard;Suppress the deadly serpent in its egg.Ye blooming plants of human race divine,AnEthioptells you 'tis your greatest foe;Its transient sweetness turns to endless pain,And in immense perdition sinks the soul."
"Improve your privileges while they stay,
Ye pupils, and each hour redeem, that bears
Or good or bad report of you to heav'n.
Let sin, that baneful evil of the soul,
By you be shunn'd, nor once remit your guard;
Suppress the deadly serpent in its egg.
Ye blooming plants of human race divine,
AnEthioptells you 'tis your greatest foe;
Its transient sweetness turns to endless pain,
And in immense perdition sinks the soul."
"Cambridge, February28, 1776."Miss Phillis:"Your favor of the 26th of October, did not reach my hands till the middle of December. Time enough, you will say, to have given an answer ere this. Granted. But a variety of important occurrences, continually interposing to divert the mind and withdraw the attention, I hope will apologise for the delay, and plead my excuse for the seeming, but not real neglect. I thank you most sincerely for your polite notice of me, in the elegant lines you enclosed; and however undeserving I may be of such encomium and panegyric, the style and manner exhibit a striking proof of your poetic talents; in honor of which, and as a tribute justly due to you, I would have published the poem, had I not been apprehensive, that, while I only meant to give the world this new instance of your genius, I might have incurred the imputation of vanity. This, and nothing else, determined me not to give it place in the public prints."If you should ever come to Cambridge, or near head-quarters, I shall be happy to see a person so favored by the Muses, and to whom Nature has been so liberal and beneficent in her dispensations."I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,"GEORGE WASHINGTON."Miss Phillis Wheatley."
"Cambridge, February28, 1776.
"Miss Phillis:
"Your favor of the 26th of October, did not reach my hands till the middle of December. Time enough, you will say, to have given an answer ere this. Granted. But a variety of important occurrences, continually interposing to divert the mind and withdraw the attention, I hope will apologise for the delay, and plead my excuse for the seeming, but not real neglect. I thank you most sincerely for your polite notice of me, in the elegant lines you enclosed; and however undeserving I may be of such encomium and panegyric, the style and manner exhibit a striking proof of your poetic talents; in honor of which, and as a tribute justly due to you, I would have published the poem, had I not been apprehensive, that, while I only meant to give the world this new instance of your genius, I might have incurred the imputation of vanity. This, and nothing else, determined me not to give it place in the public prints.
"If you should ever come to Cambridge, or near head-quarters, I shall be happy to see a person so favored by the Muses, and to whom Nature has been so liberal and beneficent in her dispensations.
"I am, with great respect, your obedient servant,
"GEORGE WASHINGTON.
"Miss Phillis Wheatley."
The tenor, style, and manner of President Washington's letter to Miss Wheatley—the publication of her works, together with an accompanying likeness of the author, and her inscription and dedication of the volume to the "Right Honorable the Countess of Huntingdon," show, that she, though young, was a person of no ordinary mind, no common attainments; but at the time, one of the brightest ornaments among the American literati. She also was well versed in Latin, in which language she composed several pieces. Miss Wheatley died in 1780, at the age of 26 years, being seven years of age when brought to this country in 1761.
Doctor Peter, who married Miss Wheatley, 1775, was a man of business, tact, and talents—being first a grocer, and afterwards studied law, which he practised with great success, becoming quite wealthy by defending the cause of the oppressed before the different tribunals of the country. And who shone brighter in his day, than Benjamin Bannaker, of Baltimore county, Maryland, who by industry and force of character, became a distinguished mathematician and astronomer,—"for many years," says Davenport's Biographical Dictionary, "calculated and published the Maryland Ephemerides." He was a correspondent of the Honorable Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State of the United States, taking the earliest opportunity of his acquaintanceship, to call his attention to the evils of American slavery, and doubtless his acquaintance with the apostle of American Democracy, had much to do with his reflections on that most pernicious evil in this country. Mr. Bannaker was also a naturalist, and wrote a treatise on locusts. He was invited by the Commission of United States Civil Engineers, to assist in the survey of the Ten Miles Square, for the District of Columbia. He assisted the Board, who, it is thought, could not have succeeded without him. His Almanac was preferred to that of Leadbeater, or any other calculator cotemporary with himself. He had no family, and resided in a house alone, but principally made his home with the Elliott family. He was upright, honorable, and virtuous; entertaining religious scruples similar to the Friends. He died in 1807, near Baltimore. Honorable John H.B. Latrobe, Esq., of Baltimore, is his biographer.
In 1812, Captain Paul Cuffy was an extensive trader and mariner, sailing out of Boston, to the West Indies and Europe, by which enterprise, he amassed an immense fortune. He was known to the commercial world of his day, and, if not so wealthy, stood quite as fair, and as much respected, as Captain George Laws or Commodore Vanderbilt, the Cunards of America. Captain Cuffy went to Africa, where he died in a few years.
James Durham, originally of Philadelphia, in 1778, at the early age of twenty-one, was the most learned physician in New Orleans. He spoke English, French and Spanish, learnedly, and the great Dr. Rush said of him, "I conversed with him on medicine, and found him very learned. I thought I could give him information concerning the treatment of diseases; but I learned from him more than he could expect from me." And it must be admitted, he must have been learned in his profession, to have elicited such an encomium from Dr. Rush, who stood then at the head of his profession in the country.
We have designed nothing here, but merely to give an individual case of the various developments of talents and acquirements in the several departments of respectability, discarding generalization, and name none but the Africo-American of unmixed extraction, who rose into note subsequent to the American Revolution. In the persons of note and distinction hereafter to be given, we shall not confine ourselves to any such narrow selections, but shall name persons, male and female, regardless of their extraction, so that they are colored persons, which is quite enough for our purpose. And our only excuse for the policy in the above course is, that we desire to disarm the vilifiers of our race, who disparage us, giving themselves credit for whatever is commendable that may emanate from us, if there be the least opportunity of claiming it by "blood." We shall now proceed to review the attainments of colored men and women of the present day.
In calling attention to the practical utility of colored people of the present day, we shall not be general in our observations, but simply, direct attention to a few particular instances, in which colored persons have been responsibly engaged in extensive business, or occupying useful positions, thus contributing to the general welfare of community at large, filling their places in society as men and women.
It will studiously be borne in mind, that our sole object in giving these cases publicity, is to refute the objections urged against us, that we are not useful members of society. That we are consumers and non-producers—that we contribute nothing to the general progress of man. No people who have enjoyed no greater opportunity for improvement, could possibly have made greater progress in the same length of time than have done the colored people of the present day.
A people laboring under many disadvantages, may not be expected to present at once, especially before they have become entirely untrammeled, evidence of entire equality with more highly favored people.
When Mr. Jefferson, the great American Statesman and philosopher, was questioned by an English gentleman, on the subject of American greatness, and referred to their literature as an evidence of inferiority to the more highly favored and long-existing European nations; Mr. Jefferson's reply was—"When the United States have existed as long as a nation, as Greece before she produced her Homer and Socrates; Rome, before she produced her Virgil, Horace, and Cicero; and England, before she produced her Pope, Dryden, and Bacon"; then he might consider the comparison a just one. And all we shall ask, is not to wait so long as this, not to wait until we become a nation at all, so far as the United States are concerned, but only to unfetter our brethren, and give us, the freemen, an equal chance for emulation, and we will admit any comparison you may please to make in a quarter of a century after.
For a number of years, the late James Forten, of Philadelphia, was the proprietor of one of the principal sail manufactories, constantly employing a large number of men, black and white, supplying a large number of masters and owners of vessels, with full rigging for their crafts.
On the failure of an extensive house, T. & Co., in that city, during the pressure which followed a removal of the deposits of the United States Treasury in 1837, Mr. Forten lost by that firm, nine thousand dollars. Being himself in good circumstances at the time, hearing of the failure of old constant patrons, he called at the house; one of the proprietors, Mr. T., on his entering the warehouse door, came forward, taking him by the hand observed, "Ah! Mr. Forten, it is useless to call on us—we are gone—we can do nothing!" at which Mr. Forten remarked, "Sir, I hope you think better of me than to suppose me capable of calling on a friend to torture him in adversity! I came, sir, to express my regret at your misfortune, and if possible, to cheer you by words of encouragement. If your liabilities were all in my hands, you should never be under the necessity of closing business." Mr. Forten exchanged paper and signatures with some of the first business men in Philadelphia, and raised and educated a large and respectable family of sons and daughters, leaving an excellent widow.
Joseph Cassey, recently deceased, was the "architect of his own fortune," and by industry and application to business, became a money broker in the city of Philadelphia; who becoming indisposed from a chronic affection, was obliged to retire from business for many years previous to his death. Had Mr. Cassey been favored with health, he doubtless would have become a very wealthy man. His name and paper was good in any house in the city, and there was no banker of moderate capital, of more benefit to the business community than was Joseph Cassey. He also left a young and promising family of five sons, one daughter, a most excellent widow, and a fortune of seventy-five thousand dollars, clear of all encumbrance.
Stephen Smith, of the firm of Smith and Whipper, is a remarkable man in many respects, and decidedly the most wealthy colored man in the United States. Mr. Smith commenced business after he was thirty years of age, without the advantages of a good business education, but by application, qualified himself for the arduous duties of his vocation. For many years, he has been known as the principal lumber merchant in Columbia, Lancaster Co., Pa., and for several years past associated with W. Whipper, a gentleman of great force of character, talents, and business qualifications, Mr. Smith residing in Philadelphia. Smith and Whipper, are very extensive business men, and very valuable members of the community, both of Lancaster and Philadelphia counties. By the judicious investment of their capital, they keep in constant employment a large number of persons; purchasing many rafts at a time, and many thousand bushels of coal. It is not only the laborer in "drawing boards," and the coal hauler and heaver, that are here benefitted by their capital, but the original owners of the lumber and coal purchased by them, and the large number of boatmen and raftsmen employed in bringing these commodities to market.
In the winter of 1849, these gentlemen had in store, several thousand bushels of coal, two million two hundred and fifty thousand feet of lumber; twenty-two of the finest merchantmen cars running on the railway from Philadelphia to Baltimore; nine thousand dollars' worth of stock in the Columbia Bridge; eighteen thousand dollars in stock in the Columbia Bank; and besides this, Mr. Smith was then the reputed owner of fifty-two good brick houses of various dimensions in the city of Philadelphia, besides several in the city of Lancaster, and the town of Columbia. Mr. Smith's paper, or the paper of the firm, is good for any amount wherever they are known; and we have known gentlemen to present the paper of some of the best men in the city, which was cashed by him at sight. The principal active business attended to by Mr. S. in person, is that of buying good negotiable and other paper, and speculating in real estate. The business of the firm is attended to by Mr. Whipper, who is a relative. Take Smith and Whipper from Lancaster and Philadelphia counties, and the business community will experience a hiatus in its connexion, that may not be easily filled.
Samuel T. Wilcox, of Cincinnati, Ohio, also stands conspicuously among the most respectable business men of the day. Being yet a young man, just scanning forty, he is one among the extraordinary men of the times. Born, like the most of colored men in this country, in obscurity, of poor parents, raised without the assistance of a father, and to a commonplace business, without the advantages of schools, by his own perseverance, he qualified himself to the extent that gave him an inclination to traffic, which he did for several years on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, investing his gains in real estate, until he acquired a considerable property. For the purpose of extending his usefulness, and at the same time pursuing a vocation more in accordance with his own desires, a few years since, he embarked in the wholesale and retail Family Grocery business, and now has the best general assortment and most extensive business house of the kind, in the city of Cincinnati. The establishment is really beautiful, having the appearance more of an apothecary store, than a Grocery House. Mr. Wilcox has a Pickling and Preserving establishment besides, separate from his business house, owning a great deal of first class real estate. There is no man in the community in which he lives, that turns money to a greater advantage than Mr. Wilcox, and none by whom the community is more benefited for the amount of capital invested. He makes constant and heavy bills in eastern houses, and there are doubtless now many merchants in New York, Boston, and Baltimore cities, who have been dealing with S.T. Wilcox, and never until the reading of this notice of him, knew that he was a colored man. He has never yet been east after his goods, but pursuing a policy which he has adopted, orders them; but if deceived in an article, never deals with the same house again. He always gets a good article. The paper of Mr. Wilcox, is good for any amount.
Henry Boyd, is also a man of great energy of character, the proprietor of an extensive Bedstead manufactory, with a large capital invested, giving constant employment to eighteen or twenty-five men, black and white. Some of the finest and handsomest articles of the bedstead in the city, are at the establishment of Mr. Boyd. He fills orders from all parts of the West and South, his orders from the South being very heavy. He is the patentee, or holds the right of the Patent Bedsteads, and like Mr. Wilcox, there are hundreds who deal with Mr. Boyd at a distance, who do not know that he is a colored man. Mr. Boyd is a useful member of society, and Cincinnati would not, if she could, be without him. He fills a place that every man is not capable of supplying, of whatever quarter of the globe his forefathers may have been denizens.
Messrs. Knight and Bell of the same place, Cincinnati, Ohio, are very successful and excellent mechanics. In the spring of 1851, (one year ago) they put in their "sealed proposal" for the plastering of the public buildings of the county of Hamilton—alms-house, &c.—and got the contract, which required ten thousand dollars' security. The work was finished in fine artistic style, in which a large number of mechanics and laborers were employed, while at the same time, they were carrying on many other contracts of less extent, in the city—the public buildings being some four miles out. They are men of stern integrity, and highly respected in the community.
David Jenkins of Columbus, Ohio, a good mechanic, painter, glazier, and paper-hanger by trade, also received by contract, the painting, glazing, and papering of some of the public buildings of the State, in autumn 1847. He is much respected in the capital city of his state, being extensively patronised, having on contract, the great "Neill House," and many of the largest gentlemen's residences in the city and neighborhood, to keep in finish. Mr. Jenkins is a very useful man and member of society.
John C. Bowers, for many years, has been the proprietor of a fashionable merchant tailor house, who has associated with him in business, his brother Thomas Bowers, said to be one of the best, if not the very best, mercers in the city. His style of cutting and fitting, is preferred by the first business men, and other gentlemen of Philadelphia, in whom their patrons principally consist.
Mr. Cordovell, for more than twenty-five years, was the leading mercer and tailor, reporter and originator of fashions in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. The reported fashions of Cordovell, are said to have frequently become the leading fashions of Paris; and the writer was informed, by Mr. B., a leading merchant tailor in a populous city, that many of the eastern American reports were nothing more than a copy, in some cases modified, of those of Cordovell. Mr. Cordovell, has for the last four or five years, been residing in France, living on a handsome fortune, the fruits of his genius; and though "retired from business," it is said, that he still invents fashions for the Parisian reporters, which yields him annually a large income.
William H. Riley, of Philadelphia, has been for years, one of the leading fashionable gentlemen's boot-makers. Riley's style and cut of boots, taking the preeminence in the estimation of a great many of the most fashionable, and business men in the city. Mr. Riley is much of a gentleman, and has acquired considerable means.
James Prosser, Sen., of Philadelphia, has long been the popular proprietor of a fashionable restaurant in the city. The name of James Prosser, among the merchants of Philadelphia, is inseparable with their daily hours of recreation, and pleasure. Mr. Prosser, is withal, a most gentlemanly man, and has the happy faculty of treating his customers in such a manner, that those who call once, will be sure to call at his place again. His name and paper is good among the business men of the city.
Henry Minton also is the proprietor of a fashionable restaurant and resort of business men and gentlemen of the city. The tables of Mr. Henry Minton are continually laden with the most choice offerings to epicures, and the saloon during certain hours of the day, presents the appearance of a bee hive, such is the stir, din, and buz, among the throng of Chesnut street gentlemen, who flock in there to pay tribute at the shrine of bountifulness. Mr. Minton has acquired a notoriety, even in that proud city, which makes his house one of the most popular resorts.
Mr. Hill, of Chillicothe, Ohio, was for years, the leading tanner and currier in that section of country, buying up the hides of the surrounding country, and giving employment to large numbers of men. Mr. Hill kept in constant employment, a white clerk, who once a year took down, as was then the custom, one or more flatboats loaded with leather and other domestic produce, by which he realised large profits, accumulating a great deal of wealth. By endorsement, failure, and other mistransactions, Mr. Hill became reduced in circumstances, and died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1845. He gave his children a liberal business education.
Benjamin Richards, Sen., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, forty years ago, was one of the leading business men of the place. Being a butcher by trade, he carried on the business extensively, employing a white clerk, and held a heavy contract with the United States, supplying the various military posts with provisions. Mr. Richards possessed a large property in real estate, and was at one time reputed very wealthy, he and the late general O'H. being considered the most wealthy individuals of the place,—Mr. Richards taking the precedence; the estate of general O'H. now being estimated at seven millions of dollars. Mr. Richards has been known, to buy up a drove of cattle at one time. By mismanagement, he lost his estate, upon which many gentlemen are now living at ease in the city.
William H. Topp, of Albany, N.Y., has for several years been one of the leading merchant tailors of the city. Starting in the world without aid, he educated and qualified himself for business; and now has orders from all parts of the state, the city of New York not excepted, for "Topp's style of clothing." Mr. Topp stands high in his community as a business man, and a useful and upright member of society. His paper or endorsement is good at any time.
Henry Scott & Co., of New York city, have for many years been engaged extensively in the pickling business, keeping constantly in warehouse, a very heavy stock of articles in their line. He, like the most of others, had no assistance at the commencement, but by manly determination and perseverance, raised himself to what he is. His business is principally confined to supplying vessels with articles and provisions in his line of business, which in this great metropolis is very great. There have doubtless been many a purser, who cashed and filed in his office the bill of Henry Scott, without ever dreaming of his being a colored man. Mr. Scott is extensively known in the great City, and respected as an upright, prompt, energetic business man, and highly esteemed by all who know him.
Mr. Hutson, for years, kept in New York, an intelligence office. At his demise, he was succeeded by Philip A. Bell, who continues to keep one of the leading offices in the city. Mr. Bell is an excellent business man, talented, prompt, shrewd, and full of tact. And what seems to be a trait of character, only to be found associated with talent, Mr. Bell is highly sensitive, and very eccentric. A warm, good hearted man, he has not only enlisted the friendship of all his patrons, but also endeared himself to the multitude of persons who continually throng his office seeking situations. One of his usual expressions to the young women and men in addressing himself to them is, "My child"—this is kind, and philanthropic, and has a tendency to make himself liked. His business is very extensive, being sought from all parts of the city, by the first people of the community. It is said to be not unusual, for the peasantry of Liverpool, to speak of Mr. Bell, as a benefactor of the emigrant domestics. Mr. Bell is extensively known in the business community—none more so—and highly esteemed as a valuable citizen.
Thomas Downing, for thirty years, in the city of New York, has been proprietor of one of the leading restaurants. His establishment situated in the midst of the Wall street bankers, the business has always been of a leading and profitable character. Mr. Downing has commanded great influence, and much means, and it is said of him that he has made "three fortunes." Benevolent, kind, and liberal minded, his head was always willing, his heart ready, and his hands open to "give." Mr. Downing is still very popular, doing a most excellent business, and highly respected throughout New York. Indeed, you scarcely hear any other establishment of the kind spoken of than Downing's.
Henry M. Collins, of the City of Pittsburg, stands among the men of note; and we could not complete this list of usefulness, without the name of Mr. Collins. Raised a poor boy, thrown upon the uncertainties of chance, without example of precept, save such as the public at large presents; Mr. Collins quit his former vocation of a riverman, and without means, except one hundred and fifty dollars, and no assistance from any quarter, commenced speculating in real estate. And though only rising forty, has done more to improve the Sixth Ward of Pittsburg, than any other individual, save one, Captain W., who built on Company capital. Mr. Collins was the first person who commenced erecting an improved style of buildings; indeed, there was little else than old trees in that quarter of the city when Mr. Collins began. He continued to build, and dispose of handsome dwellings, until a different class of citizens entirely, was attracted to that quarter of the town, among them, one of the oldest and most respectable and wealthy citizens, an ex-Alderman. After this, the wealthy citizens turned their attention to the District; and now, it is one of the most fashionable quarters of the City, and bids fair to become, the preferred part for family residences. Mr. Collins' advice and counsel was solicited by some of the first lawyers, and land speculators, in matters of real estate. He has left or contemplates leaving Pittsburg, in April, for California, where he intends entering extensively into land speculation, and doubtless, with the superior advantages of this place, if his success is but half what it was in the former, but a few years will find him counted among the wealthy. Mr. Collins is a highly valuable man in any community in which he may live, and he leaves Pittsburg much to the regret of the leading citizens. Without capital, he had established such a reputation, that his name and paper were good in some of the first Banking houses.
Owen A. Barrett of Pittsburg, Pa., is the original proprietor of "B.A. Fahnestock's Celebrated Vermifuge." Mr. Fahnestock raised Mr. Barrett from childhood, instructing him in all the science of practical pharmacy, continuing him in his employment after manhood, when Mr. Barrett discovered the "sovereign remedy" forlumbricalii, and as an act of gratitude to his benefactor, he communicated it to him, but not until he had fully tested its efficacy. The proprietor of the house, finding the remedy good, secured his patent, or copy right, or whatever is secured, and never in the history of remedies in the United States, has any equaled, at least in sale, this of "B.A. Fahnestock's Vermifuge." Mr. Fahnestock, like a gentleman and Christian, has kept Mr. Barrett in his extensive House, compounding this and other medicines, for sixteen or eighteen years.
In 1840 it was estimated, that of this article alone, the concern had realized eighty-five thousand dollars. Doubtless, this is true, and certainly proves Mr. Barrett to be of benefit, not only in his community, but like many others we have mentioned, to the country and the world.
Lewis Hayden, of Boston, is well deserving a place among the examples of character here given. But eight years ago, having emerged from bondage, he raised by his efforts, as an act of gratitude and duty, six hundred and fifty dollars, the amount demanded by mutual agreement, by the authorities in Kentucky, as a ransom for Calvin Fairbanks, then in the State Prison, at Frankfort, accused for assisting him in effecting his escape. In 1848, he went to Boston, and having made acquaintance, and gained confidence with several business men, Mr. Hayden opened a fashionable Clothing House in Cambridge street, where he has within the last year, enlarged his establishment, being patronized by some of the most respectable citizens of that wealthy Metropolis. Mr. Hayden has made considerable progress, considering his disadvantages, in his educational improvements. He has great energy of character, and extensive information. Lewis Hayden by perseverance, may yet become a very wealthy man. He is generally esteemed by the Boston people—all seeming to know him.
George T. Downing, a gentleman of education and fine business attainments, is proprietor of one of the principal Public houses and places of resort, at Newport, Rhode Island, during the watering Season. This fashionable establishment is spoken of as among the best conducted places in the country—the Proprietor among the most gentlemanly.
Edward V. Clark, is among the most deserving and active business men in New York, and but a few years are required, to place Mr. Clark in point of business importance, among the first men in the city. His stock consists of Jewelry and Silver Wares, and consequently, are always valuable, requiring a heavy capital to keep up business. His name and paper, has a respectable credit, even among the urbane denizens of Wall street.
John Julius and Lady, were for several years, the Proprietors of Concert Hall, aCaffé, then the most fashionable resort for ladies and gentlemen in Pittsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Julius, held Assemblies and Balls, attended by the first people of the city—being himself a fine violinist and dancing master, he superintended the music and dancing. When General William Henry Harrison in 1840, then the President elect of the United States, visited that city, his levee to and reception of the Ladies were held at Concert Hall, under the superintendence of Monsieur John and Madame Edna Julius, the colored host and hostess. No House was ever better conducted than under their fostering care, and excellent management, and the citizens all much regretted their retirement from the establishment.
In Penyan, Western New York, Messrs. William Platt and Joseph C. Cassey, are said to be the leading Lumber Merchants of the place. Situated in the midst of a great improving country, their business extends, and increases in importance every year. The latter gentleman was raised to the business by Smith and Whipper, the great Lumber Merchants of Columbia, Pa., where he was principal Book-Keeper for several years. Mr. Cassey has the credit of being one of the best Accountants, and Business Men in the United States of his age. Doubtless, a few years' perseverance, and strict application to business, will find them ranked among the most influential men of their neighborhood.
Anthony Weston, of Charleston, South Carolina, has acquired an independent fortune, by his mechanical ingenuity, and skillful workmanship. About the year 1831, William Thomas Catto, mentioned in another place, commenced an improvement on a Thrashing Machine, when on taking sick, Mr. Weston improved on it, to the extent of thrashing a thousand bushels a day. This Thrashing Mill, was commenced by a Yankee, by the name of Emmons, who failing to succeed, Mr. Catto, then a Millwright—since a Minister—improved it to the extent of thrashing five hundred bushels a day; when Mr. Weston, took it in hand, and brought it to the perfection stated, for the use of Col. Benjamin Franklin Hunt, a distinguished lawyer of Charleston, upon whose plantation, the machine was built, and to whom it belonged. Anthony Weston, is the greatest Millwright in the South, being extensively employed far and near, and by Southern people, thought the best in the United States.
Dereef and Howard, are very extensive Wood-Factors, keeping a large number of men employed, a regular Clerk and Book-Keeper, supplying the citizens, steamers, vessels, and factories of Charleston with fuel. In this business a very heavy capital is invested: besides which, they are the owners and proprietors of several vessels trading on the coast. They are men of great business habits, and command a great deal of respect and influence in the city of Charleston.
There is nothing more common in the city of New Orleans, than Colored Clerks, Salesmen and Business men. In many stores on Chartier, Camp and other business streets, there may always be seen colored men and women, as salesmen, and saleswomen, behind the counter. Several of the largest Cotton-Press houses, have colored Clerks in them; and on the arrival of steamers at the Levees, among the first to board them, and take down the Manifestos to make their transfers, are colored Clerks. In 1839-40, one of the most respectable Brokers and Bankers of the City, was a black gentleman.
Mr. William Goodrich of York, Pennsylvania, has considerable interest in the branch of the Baltimore Railroad, from Lancaster. In 1849, he had a warehouse in York, and owned ten first-rate merchandise cars on the Road, doing a fine business. His son, Glenalvon G. Goodrich, a young man of good education, is a good artist, and proprietor of a Daguerreo-type Gallery.
Certainly, there need be no further proofs required, at least in this department, to show the claims and practical utility of colored people as citizen members of society. We have shown, that in proportion to their numbers, they vie and compare favorably in point of means and possessions, with the class of citizens who from chance of superior advantages, have studiously contrived to oppress and deprive them of equal rights and privileges, in common with themselves.
Dr. James McCune Smith, a graduate of the Scientific and Medical Schools of the University of Glasgow, has for the last fifteen years, been a successful practitioner of medicine and surgery in the city of New York. Dr. Smith is a man of no ordinary talents, and stands high as a scholar and gentleman in the city, amidst theliteratiof a hundred seats of learning.
In 1843, when the character of the colored race was assailed to disparagement, by the representative of a combination of maligners, such was the influence of the Doctor, that the citizens at once agreed to give their presence to a fair public discussion of the subject—the Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the races. This discussion was kept up for several evenings, attended by large and fashionable assemblages of ladies and gentlemen, until it closed. Doctor Smith, in the estimation of the audience, easily triumphed over his antagonist, who had made this a studied subject. The Doctor is the author of several valuable productions, and in 1846, a very valuable scientific paper, issued from the press in pamphlet form, on the "Influence of Climate on Longevity, with special reference to Life Insurance." This paper, we may surmise, was produced in refutation of the attempt at a physiological disquisition on the part of Hon. John C. Calhoun, United States Senator, on the colored race, which met with considerable favor from some quarters, until the appearance of Dr. Smith's pamphlet—since when, we have heard nothing about Calhoun's learned argument. It may be well to remark, that Senator Calhoun read medicine before he read law, and it would have been well for him if he had left medical subjects remain wherehe leftthem, for law. We extract a simple note of explanation without the main argument, to show with what ease the Doctor refutes an absurd argument: "The reason why the proportion of mortality is not a measure of longevity, is the following:—The proportion of mortality is a statement of how many persons die in a population; this, of course, does not state the age at which those persons die. If 1 in 45 die in Sweden, and 1 in 22 in Grenada, the ages of the dead might be alike in both countries; here the greater mortality might actually accompany the greater longevity."—Note to page 6.
About three months since, at a public meeting of scientific gentlemen, for the formation of a "Statistic Institute," Doctor Smith was nominated as one of five gentlemen, to draught a constitution. This, of course, anticipated his membership to the Institution. He, for a number of years, has held the office of Physician to the Colored Orphan Asylum, an excellent institution, at which he is the only colored officer. The Doctor is very learned.
Rev. Samuel Ringgold Ward was, for several years, pastor of a white congregation, in Courtlandville, N.Y., of the Congregational persuasion, and editor of an excellent newspaper, devoted to the religious elevation of that denomination. Mr. Ward is a man of great talents—his fame is widespread as an orator and man of learning, and needs no encomium from us. His name stood on nomination for two or three years, as Liberty-party candidate for Vice President of the United States. Mr. Ward has embraced the legal profession, and intends to practise law. Governor Seward said of him, that he "never heard true eloquence until he heard Samuel R. Ward speak." Mr. Ward has recently left the United States, for Canada West, and is destined to be a great statesman.
Rev. Henry Highland Garnett, was also the pastor of a white congregation, in Troy, N.Y. Mr. Garnett is a graduate of Oneida Institute, a speaker of great pathetic eloquence, and has written several valuable pamphlets. In 1844, Mr. Garnett appeared before the Judiciary Committee of the Legislature at the capital, in behalf of the rights of the colored citizens of the State, and in a speech of matchless eloquence, he held them for four hours spell-bound.
He has also been co-editor of a newspaper, which was conducted with ability. As a token of respect, the "Young Men's Literary Society of Troy," elected him a life-member—and he was frequently solicited to deliver lectures before different lyceums. Mr. Garnett left the United States in the summer of 1849, and now resides in England, where he is highly esteemed.
Rev. James William Charles Pennington, D.D., a clergyman of New York city, was born in Maryland,—left when young—came to Brooklyn—educated himself—studied divinity—went to Hartford, Conn.;—took charge of a Presbyterian congregation of colored people—went to England—returned—went to the West Indies—returned—was called to the Shiloh Presbyterian Colored Congregation—was sent a Delegate to the Peace Congress at Paris, in 1849, preached there, and attended the National Levee at the mansion of the Foreign Secretary of State, Minister De Tocqueville; and had the degree ofDoctor of Divinityconferred on him by the ancient time-honored University of Heidleburg, in Germany.
Dr. Pennington is very learned in theology, has fine literacy attainments, and has written several useful pamphlets, and contributed to science, by the delivery of lectures before several scientific institutions in Europe.
He has, by invitation, delivered lectures before the "Glasgow Young Men's Christian Association"; and "St. George's Biblical, Literary, and Scientific Institute," London. In one of the discourses, the following extract will give an idea of the style and character of the speaker:—"One of the chief attributes of the mind is a desire for freedom; but it has been the great aim of slavery to extinguish that desire."
"To extinguish this attribute would be to extinguish mind itself. Every faculty which the master puts forth to subdue the slave, is met by a corresponding one in the latter."... "Christianity is the highest and most perfect form of civilization. It contains the only great standard of the only true and perfect standard of civilization. When tried by this standard, we are compelled to confess, that we have not on earth, one strictly civilized nation; for so long as the sword is part of a nation's household furniture, it cannot be called strictly civilized; and yet there is not a nation, great or small, black or white, that has laid aside the sword."—pp. 7-14. The Doctor has been editor of a newspaper, which was ably conducted. He belongs to the Third Presbytery of New York, and stands very high as a minister of the Gospel, and gentleman.
Rev. John Francis Cook, a learned clergyman of Washington City, has taught an academy in the District of Columbia for years, under the subscribed sanction and patronage of many of the members of Congress, the Mayor of Washington, and some of the first men of the nation, for the education of colored youth of both sexes. Mr. Cook has done a great deal of good at the Capitol; is highly esteemed, and has set as Moderator of a body of Presbyterian Clergymen, assembled at Richmond, Va., all white, except himself.
Charles L. Reason, Esq., a learned gentleman, for many years teacher in one of the Public Schools in New York, in 1849, was elected by the trustees of that institution, Professor of Mathematics and Belles Lettres in Centre College, at McGrawville, in the State of New York. After a short connection with the College, Professor Reason, for some cause, retired from the Institution, much to the regret of the students, who, though a young man, loved him as an elder brother—and contrary to the desire of his fellow-professors.
Mr. Reason is decidedly a man of letters, a high-souled gentleman, a most useful citizen in any community—much respected and beloved by all who know him, and most scrupulously modest—a brilliant trait in the character of a teacher. We learn that Professor Reason, is about to be called to take charge of the High School for the education of colored youth of both sexes, now in course of completion in Philadelphia. The people of New York will regret to part with Professor Reason.
Charles Lenox Remond, Esq., of Salem, Massachusetts, is among the most talented men of the country. Mr. Remond is a native of the town he resides in, and at an early age, evinced more than ordinary talents. At the age of twenty-one, at which time (1832) the cause of the colored people had just begun to attract public attention, he began to take an interest in public affairs, and was present for the first time, at the great convention of colored men, of that year, at which the distinguished colonization gentlemen named in another part of this work, among them, Rev. R.R. Gurley, and Elliot Cresson, Esqs., were present. At this convention, we think, Mr. Remond made his virgin speech. From that time forth he became known as an orator, and now stands second to no living man as a declaimer. This is his great forte, and to hear him speak, sends a thrill through the whole system, and a tremor through the brain.
In 1835, he went to England, making a tour of the United Kingdom, where he remained for two years, lecturing with great success; and if we mistake not was presented the hospitality of one of the towns of Scotland, at which he received a token of respect, in a code of resolutions adopted expressive of the sentiments of the people, signed by the town officers, inscribed to "Charles Lenox Remond, Esq.," a form of address never given in the United Kingdom, only where the person is held in the highest esteem for their attainments; the "Mr." always being used instead.
To C.L. Remond, are the people of Massachusetts indebted for the abolition of the odious distinction of caste, on account of condition. For up to this period, neither common white, nor genteel colored persons, could ride in first class cars; since which time, all who are able and willing to pay, go in them. In fact, there is but one class of cars, (except the emigrant cars which are necessary for the safety and comfort of other passengers) in Massachusetts.
Mr. Remond, appeared at one time before the legislature of Massachusetts, in behalf of the rights of the people above named, where with peals of startling eloquence, he moved that great body of intelligent New Englanders, to a respectful consideration of his subject; which eventually resulted as stated. The distinguished Judge Kelley, of Philadelphia, an accomplished scholar and orator, in 1849, in reply to an expression that Mr. Remond spoke like himself, observed, that it was the greatest compliment he ever had paid to his talents. "Proud indeed should I feel," said the learned Jurist, "were I such an orator as Mr. Remond." Charles Lenox Remond is the soul of an honorable gentleman.
Robert Morris, Jr., Esq., attorney and counsellor at law, is a member of the Essex county bar in Boston. Mr. Morris has also had the commission of magistracy conferred upon him, by his excellency George N. Briggs, recent governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, a high honor and compliment to an Attorney; the commission usually being conferred on none but the oldest or most meritorious among the members of the bar. He also keeps the books of one of the wealthy rail road companies, a business almost entirely confined to lawyers in that city. Mr. Morris is a talented gentleman, and stands very high at the Boston bar. He sometimes holds the magistrate's court in Chelsea, where his family resides, and is very highly esteemed by the whole community of both cities, and has a fine practice.
Macon B. Allen, Esq., attorney and counsellor at law, is also a member of the Essex bar. He is spoken of as a gentleman of fine education.
Robert Douglass, Jr., for many years, has kept a study and gallery of painting and daguerreotype in the city of Philadelphia. Mr. Douglass is an excellent artist—being a fine portrait and landscape painter, which art he practised before the discovery of daguerreotype. He is also a good lithographer, a gentleman of fine educational attainments, very clever talents, and highly esteemed in that city. Mr. Douglass has been twice to the West Indies and Europe.
J. Presley Ball is the principal daguerreotypist of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Ball commenced the practice of his art about seven years ago, being then quite young, and inexperienced, as all young beginners are, laboring under many difficulties. He nevertheless, persevered, until he made a business, and established confidence in his skill; and now he does more business than any other artist in the profession in that city. His gallery, which is very large, finely skylighted, and handsomely furnished, is literally crowded from morning until evening with ladies, gentlemen, and children. He made some valuable improvements in the art, all for his own convenience. There is none more of a gentleman than J. Presley Ball. He has a brother, Mr. Thomas Ball, and a white gentleman to assist him. Few go to Cincinnati, without paying the daguerrean gallery of Mr. Ball, a visit.
The great organ of the "Liberty Party" in the United States, is now conducted by one who requires not a notice from such an obscure source—we mean Frederick Douglass, of Rochester, N.Y. His history is well known—it was written by more faithful hands than ours—it was written by himself. It stands enrolled on the reminiscences of Germany, and France, and in full length oil, in the academy of arts, and in bust of bronze or marble, in the museum of London. Mr. Douglass is also the sole owner of the printing establishment from which the paper is issued, and was promoted to this responsible position, by the power of his talents. He is a masterly letter writer, ably edits his paper, and as a speaker, and orator, let the scenes of a New York tabernacle, within two years, answer instead. Mr. Douglass is highly respected as a citizen and gentleman in Rochester.
In Syracuse, N.Y., resides George Boyer Vashon, Esq., A.M., a graduate of Oberlin Collegiate Institute, Attorney at Law, Member of the Syracuse Bar. Mr. Vashon, is a ripe scholar, an accomplished Essayist, and a chaste classic Poet; his style running very much in the strain of Byron's best efforts. He probably takes Byron as his model, and Childe Harold, as a sample, as in his youthful days, he was a fond admirer ofGeorge Gordon Noel Byron, always calling his whole name, when he named him. His Preceptor in Law, was the Honorable Walter, Judge Forward, late Controller, subsequently, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and recentlyCharge de Affairesto Denmark, now President of the Bench of the District Court of the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Vashon was admitted to the Bar of the city of New York, in the fall of 1847, to practise in all the Courts of the State. He immediately subsequently, sailed to the West Indies, from whence he returned in the fall of 1850. He has contributed considerably to a number of the respectable journals of the country.
Mrs. Ann Maria Johnson, of the School of Mrs. Tillman and Mrs. Johnson, Teachers in French Worsted Needle Work, at the Exhibition of the Mechanics' Institute in Chicago, Ill., 1846, took the First Prize, and got her Diploma, for the best embroidery in cloth. This was very flattering to those ladies, especially the Diplomast, considering the great odds they had to contend with. The ladies were very successful teachers—their classes were always large.
In Williamsburg there is T. Joiner White, M.D.; in Brooklyn Peter Ray, M.D.; and in the city of New York, also, John Degrass, M.D., all young Physicians, who have time and experience yet before them, and promise fair to be good and useful members of society.
Miss Eliza Greenfield theBlack Swan, is among the most extraordinary persons of the present century. Being raised in obscurity, inured to callings far beneath her propensity, and unsuited to her taste, she had a desire to cultivate her talents, but no one to encourage her. Whenever she made the effort, she was discouraged—perhaps ridiculed; and thus discouraged, she would shrink again from her anxious task. She knew she could sing, and knew she could sing unlike any body else; knew she sung better than any whom she had heard of the popular singers, but could not tell why others could not think with, and appreciate her. In this way it seems, she was thrown about for three years, never meeting with a person who could fully appreciate her talents; and we have it from her own lips, that not until after the arrival of Jenny Lind and Parodi in the country, was she aware of the high character of her own talents. She knew she possessed them, because they were inherent, inseparable with her being. She attended the Concerts of Mad'll. Jenny Lind, and Operas of Parodi, and at once saw the "secret of their success"—they possessed talents, that no other popular singers mastered.
She went home; her heart fluttered; she stole an opportunity when no one listened, to mock or gossip; let out her voice, whenecce!she found her strainsfournotesaboveSweden's favored Nightingale; she descended when lo! she found her tonesthreenotesbelow!she thanked God with a "still small voice"; and now, she ranks second in point of voice, to no vocalist in the world. Miss Greenfield, if she only be judicious and careful, may become yet, in point of popularity, what Miss Lind was. The Black Swan, is singing to fine fashionable houses, and bids fair to stand unrivalled in the world of Song.
Patrick Henry Reason, a gentleman of ability and fine artist, stands high as an Engraver in the city of New York. Mr. Reason has been in business for years, in that city, and has sent out to the world, many beautiful specimens of his skillful hand. He was the first artist, we believe in the United States, who produced a plate of that beautiful touching little picture, the Kneeling Slave; the first picture of which represented a handsome, innocent little girl upon her knees, with hands outstretched, leaving the manacles dangling before her, anxiously looking and wishfully asking, "Am I not a sister?" It was beautiful—sorrowfully beautiful. He has we understand, frequently done Government engraving. Mr. P.H. is a brother of Professor Charles L. Reason.
David Jones Peck, M.D., a graduate of Rush Medical College, a talented young gentleman, practised Medicine for two years in Philadelphia. He left there in 1850.
William H. Allen, Esq., A.B., successor to Professor C.L. Reason, is Professor of Languages in Centre College, at McGrawville, N.Y. Professor Allen, is a gentleman of fine education, a graduate of Oneida Institute, and educated himself entirely by his own industry, having the aid of but fifty dollars during the whole period. The Professor is a talented Lecturer on Ancient History, and much of a gentleman.
Martin H. Freeman, A.B., a young gentleman, graduate of Rutland College, in Vermont, is "Junior Professor," in Allegheny Institute, Allegheny county, Pa. The Professor is a gentleman of talents, and doing much good in his position.
Rev. Molliston Madison Clark, a gentleman of great talents, a noble speaker, educated at Jefferson College, Pa., sailed to Europe in 1846, and was a member of the Evangelical Alliance. Mr. Clark kept a regular Journal of his travels through the United Kingdom of England, Scotland and Ireland. As well as a Greek and Latin, he is also a French and Spanish Linguist. He has all the eccentricity of Rowland Hill, manifested only in a very different manner.
William C. Nell, of Rochester, N.Y., formerly of Boston, has long been known as a gentleman of chaste and lofty sentiments, and a pure philanthropist. Mr. Nell, in company with Mr. Frederick Douglass, was present by invitation, and took his seat at table, at the celebration of Franklin's Birth Day, by the Typographical and Editorial corps of Rochester. In 1850, being again residing in Boston, he was nominated and ran for the Legislature of Massachusetts, by the Free Soil party of Essex county. Mr. Nell stood even with his party vote in the District.
He recently issued from the Boston press a Pamphlet, on the colored men who served in the wars of the United States of 1776, and 1812. This pamphlet is very useful as a book of reference on this subject, and Mr. Nell, of course does not aim at a full historical view. The circumstances under which it was got out, justify this belief. He was collecting materials in the winter of 1850-51, when he was taken down to his bed with a severe attack of disease of one of his lungs, with which he lingered, unable to leave his room for weeks. In the Spring, recovering somewhat his health, so as to go out—during this time, he had the little pamphlet published, as a means of pecuniary aid, promising another part to be forthcoming some subsequent period, which the writer hopes may soon be issued. Mr. Nell, is an excellent man, and deserves the patronage of the public.
Joseph G. Anderson, successor to Captain Frank Johnson, of Philadelphia, is now one of the most distinguished musicians in the country. Mr. Anderson is an artist professionally and practically, mastering various instruments, a composer of music, and a gentleman of fine accomplishments in other respects. His musical fame will grow with his age, which one day must place him in the front ranks of his profession, among the master in the world.
William Jackson, is among the leading musicians of New York city, and ranks among the most skillful violinists of America. This gentleman is a master of his favorite instrument, executing with ease the most difficult and critical composition. He is generally preferred in social and private parties, among the first families of the city, where the amateur and gentleman is more regarded than the mere services of the musician. Mr. Jackson is a teacher of music, and only requires a more favorable opportunity to vie with Ole Bull or Paganini.
Rev. Daniel A. Payne, commenced his literary career in Charleston, South Carolina, where he taught school for some time. In 1833 or 1834, he came North, placing himself in the Lutheran Theological Seminary, at Gettysburg, under the tutorage of the learned and distinguished Dr. Schmucker, where he finished his education as a Lutheran clergyman. To extend his usefulness, he joined the African Methodist Connexion, and for several years resided in Baltimore, where he taught an Academy for colored youth and maidens, gaining the respect and esteem of all who had the fortune to become acquainted with him. He is now engaged travelling and collecting information, for the publication of a history of one of the colored Methodist denominations in the United States. Mr. Payne is a pure and chaste poet, having published a small volume of his productions in 1850, under the title of "Pleasures and other Miscellaneous Poems, by Daniel A. Payne," issued from the press of Sherwood and Company, Baltimore, Maryland.
Rev. William T. Catto, a clergyman of fine talents, finished his education in the Theological Seminary in Charleston, South Carolina. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Charleston, and in 1848, under the best recommendations for piety, acquirements, and all the qualifications necessary to his high mission as a clergyman, was sent out as a missionary to preach the Gospel to all who needed it; but to make himself more useful, he joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church Connexion, and is now a useful and successful preacher in Philadelphia.
The musical profession of Philadelphia has long had a valuable votary in the person of William Appo, an accomplished pianist. Mr. Appo has been a teacher of the piano forte, for more than twenty years, alternately in the cities of New York and Philadelphia, and sometimes in Baltimore. His profession extends amongst the citizens generally, from the more moderate in circumstances, to the ladies and daughters of the most wealthy gentlemen in community. This gentleman is a fine scholar, and as well as music, teaches the French language successfully. His young daughter, Helen, a miss of fourteen years of age, inherits the musical talents of her father, and is now organist in the central Presbyterian Church. The name of William Appo, is generally known as a popular teacher of music, but few who are not personally acquainted with him, know that he is a colored gentleman.
Augustus Washington, an artist of fine taste and perception, is numbered among the most successful Daguerreotypists in Hartford, Connecticut. His establishment is said to be visited daily by large numbers of the citizens of all classes; and this gallery is perhaps, the only one in the country, that keeps a female attendant, and dressing-room for ladies. He recommends, in his cards, black dresses to be worn for sitting; and those who go unsuitably dressed, are supplied with drapery, and properly enrobed.
John Newton Templeton, A.M., for fifteen years an upright, active, and very useful citizen of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, was a graduate of Athens College, in the State of Ohio. Mr. Templeton, after an active life of more than twenty years, principally spent in school teaching, died in Pittsburg, in July, 1851, leaving an amiable widow and infant son.
Thomas Paul, A.B., of Boston, a gentleman of fine talents and amiable disposition, whose life has been mainly devoted to teaching, is a graduate of Bowdoin College, in Maine. Mr. Paul is now the recipient of a salary of fifteen hundred dollars a year as teacher of a school in Boston.
Rev. Benjamin Franklin Templeton, pastor of St. Mary street Church, Philadelphia, was educated at Hanover College, near Madison, Indiana. In 1838, Mr. Templeton was ordained a minister of the Ripley Presbytery, in Ohio; subsequently, in 1841, established a church, the Sixth Presbyterian, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, from which place he was called, in 1844, to take charge of his present pastorate. Mr. Templeton is a beautiful speaker, and an amiable gentleman.[3]
John B. Russworm, a gentleman of splendid talents, graduated at Bowdoin College, many years ago. Mr. Russworm was a class-mate of Honorable John P. Hale, United States Senator, and after leaving College as his first public act, commenced the publication of a newspaper, for the elevation of colored Americans, called "Freedom's Journal." Subsequently to the publication of his paper, Mr. Russworm became interested in the Colonization scheme, then in its infancy, and went to Liberia; after which he went to Bassa Cove, of which place he was made governor, where he died in 1851.
Benjamin Coker, a colored Methodist clergyman, forty years ago, wrote and issued, in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, a pamphlet, setting forth in glowing terms, the evils of American slavery, and the wrongs inflicted on the colored race. Rev. Daniel A. Payne, a talented clergyman, mentioned in this work, has now in his possession a copy of the pamphlet, and informs us, that the whole ground assumed by the modern abolitionists, was taken and reviewed in this pamphlet, by Daniel Coker. We may reasonably infer, that the ideas of Anti-Slavery, as taught by the friends of the black race at the present day, were borrowed from Mr. Coker; though, perhaps, policy forbade due credit to the proper source. Coker, like Russworm, became interested in the cause of African Colonization, and went to Africa; where he subsequently became an extensive coast trader, having several vessels, one of which he commanded in person, taking up his residence on the island of Sherbro, where he is said to have lived in great splendor. He died in 1845 or 1846, at an advanced age, leaving a family of sons and daughters.
Henry Bibb, an eloquent speaker, for several years, was the principal traveling lecturer for the Liberty Party of Michigan. Mr. Bibb, with equal advantages, would equal many of those who fill high places in the country, and now assume superiority over him and his kindred. He fled an exile from the United States, in 1850, to Canada, to escape the terrible consequences of the Republican Fugitive Slave Law, which threatened him with a total destruction of liberty. Mr. Bibb established the "Voice of the Fugitive," a newspaper, in Sandwich, Canada West, which is managed and conducted with credit.
Titus Basfield, graduated at Franklin College, New Athens, Ohio, receiving his religious instruction from the late Dr. Jonathan Walker, of that place, a physician and Covenanter clergyman. He afterwards graduated in theology at the Theological Seminary of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, was ordained, and traveled preaching and lecturing to the people of his peculiar faith and the public, for several years. He went to New London, Canada West, where he has charge of a Scotch congregation of religious votaries to that ancient doctrine of salvation.
Mary Ann Shadd, a very intelligent young lady, peculiarly eccentric, published an excellent pamphlet, issued from the press in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1849, on the elevation of the colored people. The writer of this work, was favored with an examination of it before publication, which he then highly approved of, as an excellent introduction to a great subject, fraught with so much interest. Miss Shadd has traveled much, and now has charge of a school in Sandwich, Canada West.
James McCrummill, of Philadelphia, is a skillful surgeon-dentist, and manufacturer of porcelain teeth, having practised the profession for many years in that city. He is said to be equal to the best in the city, and probably only requires an undivided attention to establish the reality.
Joseph Wilson, Thomas Kennard, and William Nickless, are also practising dentists in the city of Philadelphia. Mr. Kennard is said to be one of the bestworkmenin the manufacture of artificial teeth, andgums—a new discovery, and very valuable article, in this most beautiful and highly useful art. He devotes several hours a day, to the manufacture of these articles for one of the principal surgeon-dentists of Arch street.
James M. Whitfield, of Buffalo, New York, though in an humble position, (for which we think he is somewhat reprehensible), is one of the purest poets in America. He has written much for different newspapers; and, by industry and application—being already a good English scholar—did he but place himself in a favorable situation in life, would not be second to John Greenleaf Whittier, nor the late Edgar A. Poe.
Mary Elizabeth Miles, in accordance with the established rules, graduated as a teacher, in the Normal School, at Albany, New York, several years ago. Miss Miles (now Mrs. Bibb) was a very talented young lady and successful teacher. She spent several years of usefulness in Massachusetts, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after which she went to Cincinnati, as assistant-teacher in Gilmore's "High School for Colored Children," which ended her public position in life. She now resides in Sandwich, Canada West.
Lucy Stanton, of Columbus, Ohio, is a graduate of Oberlin Collegiate Institute, in that State. She is now engaged in teaching school in that city, in which she is reputed to be successful. She is quite a young lady, and has her promise of life all before her, and bids fair to become a woman of much usefulness in society.
Doctor Bias, of Philadelphia, spoken of in another place, graduated at the close of the session of 1851-52, in the Eclectic Medical College, in that city. The doctor is highly esteemed by the physicians of his system, who continually interchange calls with him. He is also a practical phrenologist,—which profession he does not now attend to, giving his undivided attention to the practice of medicine,—and has written a pamphlet on that subject, entitled, "Synopsis of Phrenology, and the Phrenological Developments, as given by J.J. Gould Bias." No man perhaps, in the community of Philadelphia, possesses more self-will, and determination of character, than Dr. James Joshua Gould Bias. Mr. Whipper says of him, that he is "a Napoleon in character." The sterling trait in his character is, that he grasps afteroriginality, and grapples with every difficulty. Such a man, must and will succeed in his undertakings.