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Ancestry World Tree Project: SidYoung
Family
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Sid
Young Family
Entries:
3 34
Updated: Thu Jul
4
6:17:492 2
Contact:
Cecilia Young tli?
Index
IDescendancy | Register | Pedigree |
Ahnentafel
| Download GEDCOiN
ID :
124
Name:
Jesse PU H
. t M
Birth: Abt 1774 in South Carolina '
Death: Abt 1842 in Waynesville,Warren,Ohio
Ancest ra l F i le
IDNO:
34
LDS Baptism: status: Submitted
Endowment: status: Submitted
^PRIMARY: Y
Sealing Child: status: Submitted
Note
lone record has Jesse bom in S.C.. One record is found in the hands of Emily
P. Young. Lue Park 26730 HWY. 20 East Bend, Or 97701 gave us another record.
Another source has the hirthdate of Jesse as
25
Jan
1751,
Frederick Co
Va
[email protected] submitted Jesse pugh to ancestry.com
http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?TI=^0 DB=GEDIND PROX='-l F0='PUGH Fl=JESSE.
http://userdh.rootsweh.com/landrecords/cgi-hin/landrecord.cgi?main_id=1259591 datahase=Land
20Records retum_to=http://userdh.rootsweh.com/landrecords/ suhmitter_id=
Land Record
record for JESSE
PUGH
Name: JESSE PUGH
Date: 13
Nov
1822 Location: OH,
Document
: 1253 Serial :
OH0740
.2^
SALE Acres: 160.0000 Meridian or Watershed: 1ST PRINCIPAL Parcel: Township 2 N, Range \ t
Return to normal
view
Doris Ross Johnston's Our Texas Family
Entries: 29842 Updated: Fri Jun 7 17:13:20 2002 Contact: Doris Ross Johnston Home Page: OurTi
A Work in Progress ~ what you see is all I know, except for living people; if you don't see the pare
into
our
family, it's
useless
to
ask
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Ancestry World
Tree Project:
Sid
Young
Family Page 2of6
ID: 6853
Reference Number: 6853
Name: Elizabeth Pugh
Sex: F
CheingeDate: 24 JUN 2000
Birth:
ABT
792
Death: BEF
822
Father: Jesse Pugh b: 1763
Mother: Elizabeth Taylor b: 30APR 1762in Frederick Co. VA
Our Texas Family
AboutUs IContactUs | AffiliateProgram | PrivacyStatement
Copyright ?
1998-
2002 MyFamily.com Inc.and its subsidiaries
All use and access to Ancestiy.com subject to license
Crabtree
Entries: 532Updated: SatAug25 12:15:59 2001 Contact: LuellaWebb
:86 879
ID: 4 379352
Name: El izabeth
PUGH
Given
Name: El izabeth
Surname: Pugh
Sex:
F
Birth: 4 May 1819inNear Waynesville WarrenCounty Ohio
Death: 2 Jun 1901 in Colville Stevens Co. Washington
Father: Jesse PUGH b: 25 Jan 1750/51 in Frederich Virginia
Mother:
Elizabeth
TAYLOR
Marriage
1
Joseph
YOUNG
b:
14
Dec
1823
inNear
Waynesville Warren County
Ohio
Married: 16Aug 1842 inWarren County Ohio
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normal
view
LeeRoy E. Bowen
Entries: 938 Updated:ThuNov 1521:16:142001 Contact: LeeRoyBowen
ANCESTRY :592838
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AncestryWorldTree Project: Sid YoungFamily Page 3 of 6
ID:
129813318
Name:
Elizabeth PUGH
Given
Name:
Elizabeth
Surname: Pugh
Sex: F
Birth: 4
MAY
1819 in Wainsville Warren Ohio
Death: 2 JUN 1901 in Colville,Stevens,Washington
Burial: Pleasant Grove Ut Ut
LDS Baptism: 26 JUL 1869
Endowment : 8 JAN
1872
Note: Ances t ra l
File
Number : 2JSD TL
Father: Jesse PUGH b: AB T
1782
in Ohio
Mother:
Elizabeth
TAYLOR b: ABT 1787 in Ohio
Marriage 1 Joseph Charles YOUNG b: 4 DEC 1823 inWainsvilleOhio
Children
Charles
YOUNG
b: 3
JU N
1844
in
Wainsville Warren Ohio
Mary Ellen YOUNG b: DEC 1845 in Wainsville,Warren,Ohio
SophiaYOUNG b: JUL 1847 inWainsville,OH,Ohio
Sarah Elizabeth YOUNG b: DEC 1848 in Wainsville Warren Ohio
Rachel Ann YOUNG b: 4 FEB 1851 in Rush County,Rush,lndiana
LeRoy YOUNG b: 17JUL 1852 in Unorg. Terr. ln,Rush,Indiana
James Madison
YOUNG b: 11 MAR 1854 in Jackson Illinois
Peter
YOUNG
b: 23
MAR
1857 in ,Jackson,lllinois
William
Friend
YOUNG
b: 4 MAY 1859
in Jackson Co. lL Ohio
Eugene YOUNG b: 4 OCT 1862 in ,Jackson,lllinois
Josephine YOUNG b: 4 OCT 1862 in,Jackson,Illinois
Marriage 2 Joseph C YOUNG b: 14DEC 1823 inNear Waynesville,Warren,OH
Married: 18 AUG 1842 in Waynesville,Warren,OH
Sealing Spouse: 8 JAN 1872
Return
to
normal
view
Families of Paul Forstad and Peggy Tygart
Entries: 15862 Updated: Sun Feb 24 14:22:27 2002 Contact: Paul Forstad
ANCESTRY :1932384
ID :1158 4
N am e: E l izabe th P U G H
Sex: F
Birth: 4 MAY 1819 in Waynesville, Warren Co., Ohio
Death: 2
JUN
1901 in Colville, Stevens Co., Washington
Burial: JUN 1901 Pleasant Grove Cemetery, Pleasant Grove, Utah Co., Utah
Father:
Jesse PUGH b: 1782 in
Ohio
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,Ancestry
World Tree Project: Sid
Young
Family Page 4of6
Mother: Elizabeth TAYLOR b: 1787 in Ohio
Marriage 1Joseph
Charles
YOUNG b:4
DEC 1823
inWaynesville, Warren
Co., Ohio
Children
Sophia
Louise YOUNG b:
JUL 1847
inWainsville,Warren Co.,
Ohio
H e le n Y O U NG
R et ur n t o n or ma l v ie w
^My Germanic and Scotish Ancestors~~
Entries: 22358 Updated: TueMay28 18:11:35 2002Contact: Philipcampbell
ANCESTRY
PHILIP
CAMPBELL
My
Ancestors, some goes
back
tothe l s
and
others
only
tothe
1700 s. Any
info on
any
names
appricaited
ID:118158
Name: Elizabeth Pugh
Sex: F
Birth: 4 MAY 1819 in Waynesville,Warren Co.,Ohio
Death: 2 JUN 1901 in Colville,Stevens Co.,Washington
Burial: JUN 1901 Pleasant Grove Cemetery,Pleasant Grove,Utah Co.,Utah
_RIN:315 1
ChangeDate: 23MAY 2002 at 06:29:58
Father: Jesse Pugh b: 1782 in Ohio
Mother: Elizabeth Taylor b: 1787 in Ohio
Marriage 1Joseph Charles Young b: 4
DEC
1823 in
Waynesville,Warren
Co.,Ohio
1
Children
Sophia Louise
Young
b: JUL 1847 in Wainsville,Warren Co.,Ohio
Helen
Young
Sources :
Title:
GEDCOM
File : 1932384.ged
Author: Paul Anthony Forstad
Abbrev: Paul Anthony Forstad
Abbrev: GEDCOM File : 1932384.ged
Note :
4183 Apple Ridge Rd.
Sedalia
MO
65301
Date: 24
FEB 2 2
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^Ancestry World Tree Project: Sid Young Family Page 5 of 6
Campbells Clappers LaFevers Beights Augustines Waldrons van Zandts Reeshs Eaks di Grai
2
C/7Gwge
29 JUN 2002 at 07:04:44
Father: Ellis PUGH b: 21 JAN 1749 in Bushriver Newberry Sc
Mother: Phoebe
COPPACK
b: OCX 1750 in
Bush
River Newberry Sc
Father : E lh s P U GH
Mother :
Phoebe
OPPO K
Marriage 1 Elizabeth_TAYLOR b: 1776 in South Carolina
Married: 1800 in Bush River Newberry S C
Sealing Spouse:
Children
1 Leroy PUGH b: 1801 in south Carolina
2 Hannah PUGH b: 1805 in
South
Carolina
3 Rebecca
PUGH
b: 1807 in South Carolina
4 Cathenne_ PU_GH b: 1811 in South Carolina
5 4 Madha PUGH b: Abt 1812 in Warren Ohio
6
Levi PUGH
b: 1813
in
Warren Ohio
7 Elizabeth PUGH b: 4 MAY 1819 in Waynesville Warren Co Ohio
Marriage 2 MaryMoLford WOODRUFF b: 1794 in NewJersey
Married: 1822 in Ohio
Sealing Spouse:
Children
1 Samuel PUGH b: 15 MAY 1826 in Wayne Warren Ohio
2 James_PUGH b: Abt 1828 in Wayne Warren Ohio
3
Jesse PUGH
b: 4 APR 1831 in Warren Ohio
4 David PUGH b: 28 FEB 1823 in Warren Ohio
5 Casey. PUGH b: APR 1833 in Warren Ohio
6 Saiali PUGH b: Abt 1835 in Warren Ohio
7 Joseph PUGH b: 1836 in Ohio
8 PUGH b: Abt 838 in Ohio
Sources
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.Ancestry World Tree Project: Sid Young Family Page 6 of 6
1. Title:
1880 census
A bb re v: 1 88 0 c en su s
Text: Census Place: Pleasant Grove Utah Utah
Source:
FHL Film
1255339 National Archives Film
T9 1339 Page 306D
Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace
Joseph YOUNG
Self
M M W 56 OHIO
Occ:
Carpenter
Fa:
PENN.
Mo:
PENN.
Elizabeth
YOU
Wife F M W
61
OHIO
Occ: Keeping House Fa: PENN. Mo: PENN.
Martha
Y O U N G
Wife
F M W 41
ILLINOIS
Occ: Keeping House Fa: ILL. Mo: ILL.
Lenora
L.
YOU D au F S W 5 U T A H
Occ:
A t
Home Fa: OHIO
Mo:
ILLINOIS
Joseph KELLY SSon M S W 17 ILLINOIS
Occ:
A t
H o m e Fa: OHIO Mo: OHIO
Page: FHL Film 1255339
Note: has birth state as penn
Text: Census Place: Pleasant
Grove Utah
Utah
Source: FHL Film 1255339 National Archives Film T9-1339 Page 306D
Relation Sex Marr Race Age Birthplace
Joseph YOUNG Self M M W 56 OHIO
Occ: Carpenter Fa: PENN. Mo: PENN.
Elizabeth YOUNG Wife F M W 61
OHIO
Occ: Keeping House Fa: PENN. Mo: PENN.
Martha YOUNG Wife
F M W 41
ILLINOIS
Occ: Keeping House Fa: ILL. Mo: ILL.
Lenora L.
Y O UN G D au
F S W 5
UTAH
Occ: At Home Fa: OHIO Mo:
ILLINOIS
JosephKELLY SSonM S W 17ILLINOIS
Occ: At Home
Fa :
OHIO Mo: OHIO
2. Repository:
Name: Family History Library
Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA
Title: Ancestral File R)
Author:
The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Publication; Copyright c)
1987
June 1998 data as of 5 January 1998
Abbrev: Ancestral File R)
Index IDescendancy | Register| Pedigree | Ahnentafe | Download
G_ED_CO]>
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S U C H
A
G L A R IN G I N CO N S IS T EN C Y
The Unitarian Laity
and Anti-Slavery
in A n t e b e l l u m incinn t i
By
W a l t e r P.
H e r z
Director of Let Freedom Ring
F i rs t U n i ta r ia n C h u r ch
o fC in c in n a ti
r r
5 T
i M
.
kj FI f|.UilUiLU.Ciuj|^
Editorial
Review
Committee:
Fritz Casey-Leininger, Ph.D.
Edwin
Rider
Rev.
S h a r on D i tt m a r
Rev. Morris Hudgins
Supported in part by
grants
from
^
Ohio
umanities
ouncil
T h e
F un d f or Unitarian Universalism
Looking west from Vine Street along Fourth Street inthe niid 1830s. The smaller church was the home of
the
Unitarian congregation.
CincinnatiHistorical Society
^Yl^C^njEOCLBaAKY
381 OLD STAGIC B .
WAYNESVILLE
OHIO
45068
WAYNESVILLE
513/897 4826
513/897 4826
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fel ir
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INTRODUCTION
In the Spring of 1829 a group of Cincinnati Unitar
ianswho had beenmeeting in private homes for several
months decided, with the encouragement
of
theAmerican
UnitarianAssociation,to establisha church. They bought
the property on the southeast comer
of
Fourth and Race
Streets that May, incorporated on January 21,1830 as
First Congregational Church
of
Cincinnati, dedicated
their new building five months later and engaged a
minister. It was the first Unitarian Church in the West,
and the building remained its home throughout the
antebellum era.
The thirty-three members who signed the covenant
that month were all first generation immigrants from
New
England, the Mid-Atlantic States and Great Britain.
The men were predominantly lawyers, merchants and
entrepreneurs who had been drawn to Cincinnati by the
opportunity to participate in the rapidly growing City's
economic leadership of the West. As the membership
increased to
over
300 by the 1850s, the congregation
included a disproportionate share
of
Cincinnati's civic
leaders whose attitudes and actions were significant
indicators of the City's response to leading issues of the
day.
Increasingly during the antebellum, slavery was the
overriding issue that affected every aspect
of
Cincinnati's
life business, professional, political, social, cultural
andreligious. In a previousp per TheUnitarian Clergy
and Anti-Slavery in Antebellum Cincinnati, we focused
on our clergy's preaching and writings about the institu
tion of slavery.In this paper wewill examine the attitudes
and actions of the Church's laity in regard to three basic
facets of the anti-slaverymovementcolonization,
abolitionismand theUndergroundRailroad.Our goal is
to more fully appreciate this defining era of Cincinnati's
past so we can better understand the City's present, and
hence work more effectively for its future. As South
Carolina historian Charles Joyner said: Memory without
hope is unbearable, and hope withoutmemoryis impos
sible.
ANTI-SLAVERY CONTEXT
FUNDAMENTALS
Appreciation
of
First Congregational Church mem
bers
attitudes
and
a ct ion sas wel l a s t ho s e o f
Cincinnatians in generalrequires knowledge
of
certain
fmidamentals o f
th e
national
and
local
contexts
of
which
they were a part. Here are a few of the most important
on s
The
Coloniza t ion Movement :
The Amer ican
Coloni
zation Society was foimded in 1816 by evangelical
ministers in the North and Southem politicians who
agreed on the moral and practical desirability
of
gradual
voluntary emancipation
of
all slaves. However, the
founders also shared the strongly held opinion that free
v . . ry.
. -i '- V
Viewof Cincinnati from Kentucky in
1840
(Cincinnati Historical Society)
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MARY L
COOK
PUBLIC UBRAIY
381
OLD
STAGE
RD
WAYNESmLE
l
45068
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AfricanAmericans were incapableof livingsuccessfully
inwhite society, eitherbecausetheywereiimately
inferior or because theywould take many generations
of
development to catch up. Their solution to this fear
of
inundationby freeAfricanAmericanswas to purchase
land in
Africa^named
Liberia and ship them all there,
with initial financial help, to civilize the heathen.The
movement grew rapidly and by 1830 had chapters
throughout the nation. Free AfricanAmericans almost
universally, and vigorously, rejected the entire concept.
Though some slave-owners gave lip service and money
to the ACS program, very few emancipated any slaves;
and while evangelical adherents generally regarded
slavery as an evil, others usedmembership in the organi
zation as a cover, i.e., seeming to be anti-slavery while
actually doing nothing to end it. The Cincinnati chapter
of theAmerican Colonization Society flourished in the
late
1820s
and
1830s,
with
theNorth.TheOhiochapterof the
A.A.S.
was organized
in 1835,andat its first anniversary meetingestablished
Cinciimati as its permanent headquarters. Three members
of
First CongregationalChurch served on the Executive
Committee in 1836.
Cincinnati
White
Population: It is generally as
sumed that antebellum Cinciimati was pro South because
somany of its white citizens were migrants from south-
em states, particularlyVirginia andKentuclQ . However,
this was not the case in the 1820s. The publisher of the
1825 Cinciimati City Directory asked every white head
of
household listedwhere he/shewas bom. Of the 2,414
people, 40 were bom in the Mid Atlantic States, 18 in
New England, 16 in the South, 10 in Great Britain,
7 in Ireland, 5 in other European countries, 2 in
Ohio and 2 unknown. Among those from the South,
half came from Maryland and only 12 from Kentucky..
It is not likely the percent
f rom t he Sout h increased
during the antebelliun.
The most dramatic growth
came f rom German and
Irish immigration along
with a continuing influx
from New England, the
Mid-Atlantic States and
other European countries.
Cincinnati'sAfrican
American Population: In
1825 African
Americans
were
5
Cinciimati s
population. Mostweremanumitted, andotherswerestill
payingfor their freedom. Almostall were fromVirginia
or Kentucky, havingbeenattractedby Cinciimati's
proximitycombinedwith its growingneed for laborers.
Sogreatwas theattractionof jobs just acrossthe river
from slavery that by 1829AfricanAmericansconstituted
10 of theCity's populationof just under24,000people,
and white labor was increasingly bitter over the competi
tion for jobs. This greatlyconcemed the white power
structure, most ofwhose members were also leaders
of
the American Colonization Society. So it was decided to
enforce the hitherto largely ignored 1804Ohio law, as
amended in 1807,stating that noAfricanAmericancould
settle inOhio unless he posted a 500 bond signed by
two bondsmen who guaranteed his good behavior and
support. Theannoimcementwaspostedpublicly on July
1standcompliancedemandedwithinthirtydays. The
African American leaders complained loudly, but the best
theycouldget was an additional 30 days to
comply.
By
more than
100
members
including virtually all the
City's political, business
and religious leaders, with
several members First
Congregational Church
among its most prominent
participants.
Abolitionism: The
immediate an d
universal
abolishment of slavery did
not ex is t as a national
movement in September
of
1829whenDavidWalker's Appeal.. .to the Colored
Citizens
of
theWorldwas published.A freeAfrican
AmericanwhomigratedfromCharlestonto Boston and
ran a second-hand clothing store.Walker's 76 page
indictment
of
slavery,in the strongest possible language,
was addressed to al lAfricanAmericans. It
exhorted
them
to resist colonization and, as Americans, claim the
freedom promisedin the Declaration of Independence. It
quickly wentthrough threeprintings andwas
found
all
over the coimtry, includingthe Southwhere it provoked
offers
of
3,000 for Walker's head and 10,000 for
bringing himto theSouth alive. Walker's Appeal inspired
WilliamLloydGarrisonto leavehis editorialpositionfor
a colonizationist paperinBaltimore, returnto Bostonand
fulfill his dream
of
publishing an anti-slavery newspaper.
His first issue
of
The Liberator, published on January 31,
1831, launched the abolitionist movement. Two years
later hisAmericanAnti-SlaverySocietywas locked in a
struggle forpowerwith the colonizationists throughout
In 1829 the white power structure de
cided to enforce a hitherto largely ig
nored law stating that noAfricanAmeri
can could settle in Ohio unless he posted
a
500
bond. Within two years half of
Cincinnati's AfricanAmerican popula
tion
was
gone.
page 3
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fe i SSSfn
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the end
of
August, amid increasingly violent attacks by
whites, more than 1,000African Americans
had
left
Cincinnati for land they purchased near York, Ontario
with the help ofmoney donated by Quakers and other
sympathetic whites from Pennsylvania and New York.
There was no City Directory in 1830, but the one for
1831 reported 1,194 African Americans, or 4
of
the
population, a percent not exceeded again until the next
century
Cincinnati s Economy: The Cincinnati power struc
ture had achieved its purpose of reassuring the South that
the City was a good place to transact business. It was
dependent on trade with the southern states for its pros
perity, and remained so until the Civil War. The river
traffic f rom Cinc inna t i to
New
Or le an s a nd t he cities
between carried machinery of all kinds, pork, grains,
whiskey, clothing and other goods to the South; and they
retumed laden with cotton, sugar, molasses and imports
from Europe. Manufacturing the river boats was itself
one
of
Cincinnati s largest businesses. Many members
of
First Congregational Church were deeply involved in the
southem trade as business owners/managers, financiers
and attomeys. Further, during the summer months
Cincinnati teemed with vacationing plantation owners
and their families, many bringing personal slaves with
them. They filled hotels, patronized restaurants and
stores, and attended the theaters. The political and
business
leaders
of Cincinnati
were
determined
to
maintain this very profitable and friendly relationship.
They regarded abolitionist meetings and newspapers, as
well as other public anti-slavery activities, as unaccept
able
T DONALDSON FAMILY
When the thirty-three original members
of
First
CongregationalChurchsigned its covenant in 1830, six
were Donaldsons. The two oldest sons emigrated from
Wales to Clermont County in 1816. When they had
established themselves
on
a
farm
in th e
New
Richmond
area, their parents and four younger siblings joined them
in 1821. By 1829 Christian, (then 34) and William (then
31) had started a successful hardware and cutlery import
ing business in Cincinnati, located for many years at 18
Main St. Their mother, Anna Margaretta, and their two
sisters joined them, their father having died in 1824.They
lived on Race St between Th ird and Four th and
a few
years later moved to a house at Sixth and \dne. 25 year
old Thomas, the youngest son, remained on the farm in
New
Richmond; and the oldest, Francis,
retumed
to the
family estate in Wales.
Anna
Margaretta
Donaldson
(1767-1844)
This picture
is a
reproduction
of an
unattributed drawing in History
ofClaremont
County, Ohio by Louis H. Evarts (Lippincott,
Phila.
1880
Anna Margaretta Donaldson, who was 63 in 1830,
had
become a Unitarian and an anti-slavery advocate in
England, and her children were like-minded. Christian
and William were foimdingmembers of the OhioAnti-
Slavery Society in 1835; and either or both served on its
executive committee for the next decade. The family
moved to a home onMt. Ephraim (now Mt.Auburn) next
to the Avondale Road (now Sycamore/Auburn Ave.) one
of the routes
taken
north
from
downtown by fugitive
slaves, many
of
whom the family is said to have hidden
and then helped on their way. Anna Margaretta died at 77
in 1844, after which William returned to England. Then
Christianmoved back to Clermont County and joined
forces with his brother Thomas, who was a prominent
abolitionist and participant in the Underground Railroad.
Both were active in the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society until
the Civ il
War
We wil l
encounter
members of this
re
markable family again.
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MAIY
L COOK PlJEf
JC
381 OLD STAGE HiS
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OT R EARLY
ANTI SLAVERY
MEMBERS
Two other early members
of
the Churchwere in
volved significantly inAnti-slavery work: John R. Child
and Thomas Maylin. Child arrived in Cincinnati from
Massachusetts early enough to sign the covenant in 1830.
He was a relat ive
ofDavid Lee
Child, the
Boston attor
ney and abolitionist husband
of
writerLydia Maria Child,
one
of
the William Lloyd Garrison s most effective
supporters. Child went into the pork packing business,
later going into partnership with his brother-in-law,
Joseph Rawson, another member
of
the Church. Pork
packers were frequently cited by Levi Coffin as one
of
his most reliable sources
of
financial support for the
UndergroundRailroad. In light
of this circumstantial
evidence, the statements made by descendants
of
Child
that he helped fugitive slaves were probably based on
fact.
Maylinwas an English immigrant about whom we
know very little.He first
appearedin theCincinnati
City Directory in 1836listed
as a school teacher.
That
sameyear hewas onthe
executive committee
of th e
OhioAnti-SlaverySociety,
and remained in that position
until at least 1840.The
records are
not
c le ar a s to
when hejoined First
Con
gregationalChurch,but we
do know that startingin 1835he wasa prolificcontributor
to theWestemMessenger, a magazinefeaturing articleson
moral
philosophy
theology
government
andcommunal
societies aswellas poetryand literary criticism. Itwas
published monthly from1835 1841 andeditedbythe
Unitarian ministers in Louisville and
Cincinnati.
Contribu
tors includedmostof the prominent Transcendentalists,
including suchBostonUnitarians asRalph
Waldo
Emerson,
TheodoreParker,MargaretFullerand BronsonAlcott.
Slavery was the subject of some articles during the
first fewyears,but oppositionto -isms of all varieties
became a burning issue. Consequently, starting in mid
1837 the editors rejected all articles on creedsor
isms including abolitionism.When he was asked to re-
subscribe that July,Maylin declined in a letter protesting
themagazine s appearance of neutralityon the slavery
question, stating: I feel ashamed and mortified that a
professed advocate of broadandgenerous viewsof
Christianity .. .shouldbe chargeablewith sucha glaring
inconsistency, as to supporta systembuilt upon a flagrant
violation
of
that Law
of
Love [and ] vindicate the ac
knowledgedoppressor against the oppressed.
T 1836 RIOT
During the early 1830s the struggle between the
colonizationists and abolitionists took place in northem
Ohio, particularly inWestem Reserve and Oberlin
Colleges, lead by the charismatic Theodore DwightWeld
from upper New York State. The actionmoved to south-
em Ohiowhen Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati
recruited Rev.LymanBeecher as its president in 1832
and Weld enrolled as a student the following year. The
latter sought to convert his fellow students to abolition
ism, and organized a series ofdebates on slavery in 1834
that radicalized all but a few of the students on the issue,
creating a furor in Cincinnati. Most of the students
resigned when the Lane Board
of
Trustees insisted the
discussion o f
abolition
must cease. Some r e
mained in Cincinnati to
start
schools fo r
African
American
children, bu t the
majoritymoved en masse
to Oberlin College after it
promised to admit women
and Afncan
Americans
on
a basis
of
equality with
white
men. We ld
worked
full time as an agent
of
the
American Anti-Slavery
Society organizing chapters throughout Ohio.
On a missionary trip to the South for theA.C.S in
1832^he was then
a colonizationist
Weld met
th e
slave-owning lawyer James Bimey in Huntsville,AL and
recruited him to serve as agent for the Society in the
Southwest. By 1835Bimey recognized the futility of the
colonization movement, and was convinced by his
correspondencewithWeldto emancipatehis slavesand
publish an abolitionistnewspaper.Intense hostility
precluded his starting such a publication in Huntsville or
in his home town, Danville, KY., so he and Weld decided
on Cincinnati, which
was
still in a turmoil
over
the Lane
Seminarydebates.Wordgot out and threats ofviolence
were delivered as a warning against starting the paper.
So, with the advice and help of Christian andWilliam
Donaldson, Bimey started publication of the Philanthro
pist in the relative safety ofNew Richmond on January 1,
1836, with the editor commuting by boat from his home
in Cincinnati. As early as January 22nd a widely reported
In declining to resubscribe,Maylin wrote
that he
was
ashamed
and mortified
that
a magazinethat professedto advocate
Qiristianity shotild be chaigeablewith
such a glaringinconsistency as not to
oppose slavery.
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meetingof500 anti-abolitionists, lead byMayor Samuel
Davies, postmaster and Methodist ministerWilliam
Burke and former U.S. Senator Jacob Bumet, took place
in Cincinnati; and Bimey was again warnedto keep his
paper out of the City or suffer the consequences. By
April, circulation was doing well and Bimey was fed up
with th e arduous
commute. i
The
execut ive
com
mittee o f t he Oh io An ti -
Slavery Societyvoted to
assume hnancialrespon-
sibil ity for the Philan-
thropist and move to
Cincinnati as
its ofUcial m
publication.Three
of
the v
eight men on the com- f
mittee
were members
o f
First Congregational
ChurchChris t ian
and
WilliamDonaldson,
and
Thomas
The th e
ov
down a
occu-
pied by Afhcan Ameri-
cans to general public
applause
After
that
the
Hr ^fl|
City remained calm un-
til mid July. Then, with-
out warning, the shop of
Achilles Pugh, printer of
the Philanthropist, was Timothy Walker
1802-1856)
ransacked by
agroup of Widely
recognized
for his
scholarship, writing
and
twenty
men
on
the
night
teaching,
Walker elevated
Cincinnati
to a national
ofJuly 12th.
They were
centerof legal thinking. is1837
book
Introduc-
lead by
five
prominent tion toAmerican /.aw was the standard text for
business
men,
all bom in generations of first-year law students. Cincinnati
the northeast, and Historical Society).
headed by Joseph Gra-
hama Pennsylva-
nianowner
of
a large paper mill. These five tore up the
already printednext issueof thepaper anddismantled the
press,takingsmallpartswiththem. Theothersstoodguard
while the city watch observedthe affairand did not inter
fere.Thenext daya handbill writtenby Grahamwas widely
posted in the City. Under the headlineABOLITIONISTS
BEWARE,it threatened that ifthe paper wasre-established
Theplan ismatured to eradicate an evilwhicheveryciti
zen feels is undermining his business and property. This
failed to intimidate the A.A.S.which gave Pugh a 2,000
guarantee. He repaired his press and three days after the
raid thenew issuewasonthe street.Handbillsandnewspa
perarticleswarnedof dire consequencestocome,withspe
cific
threats
addressed to the Donaldson
brothers
an d Rees
Price, another abolitionist immigrant from England.
A public meeting of
, about 1,000 people was
|||Bj||^^ held
at the Lower
Market House on July
23 rd t o d ec id e whe th e r
Cincinnatians wi l l
permit the publication or
distribution o fAbolition
Hjk
papers
in
this City. The
iPr
resolutions adopted
clearly stated that
nothing short of absolute
discontinuance o f th e
Philanthropist could
a
to
Lower
Marke t Hous e Commi t-
tee
o f
thirteen men was
k
appointed
to
carry out
rthe
will
of th m ting
t i n cluded th ree mem
bers of First Congrega
t iona l Church: Thomas
Bakewell, owner of
a
foundry employing
'
about twenty
men;
1802-1856)
William Greene, a
scholarship, writing and prominent attomey and
Cincinnati
to
a national secretary of the Cincin-
s
1837 book
Introduc- natiWaterworks; and
the standard text for Timothy Walker, a fast
iw students. (Cincinnati
rising attomey who had
founded the C inc inna ti
Law Schoo l in 1833
with his partner, Ed
ward King. All three were members of the American
Colonization Society.Walkerwas the secretary
of
the
Lower Market House Committee (which also included
Jacob Bumet, Nicholas Longworth, John Foote and other
leaders bom
in
the Northeast).
A week ofnegotiations merely hardened the firmly
held convictions of
both
sides, and action was taken the
evening of July 30th.A mobwas organizedunder the
leadershipofGrahamand the otherswho invadedPugh's
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office e a rl ie r t h at m o n th . T w o a d di ti on a l l e ad e rs we re
added: John Clark, a tailor from Connecticut; and Joseph
Talbot, a carpenter from Virginia. The latter is the only
Southem-bom person I ve found who was involved in a
leadership role during the entire affair.After receiving
careful instructions, the mob reassembled at
7th and
Main where Pugh s shop was located. The presses were
torn down and the office totally dismantled. The rioters
proceeded to Pugh s home where they searched unsuc
cessfully for further supplies
of
ink and paper to destroy.
Then they went on to the Donaldson home at Sixth and
Vine where they were faced down by the redoubtable 69-
year-old Anna Margarettawhile her sons escaped out the
rear entrance; and then to Bimey s home nearby where
they found only his young
son. A f te r t h e rioters
removed all the furnishings
f ro m t he h om e
ofDr .
I s aac
Colby, another prominent
abolitionist, Graham
prevented further damage
to homes by redirecting
them
back
to Pugh s shop.
They removed the presses
and dragged them into the
river. F u r t h e r a c t io n
that
night was directed at a
seemier neighborhood with
interracial
brothels
wh i c h
were destroyed.The Mayor then advised the rioters they
had done enough for one night and to go home for some
rest, which most did.
Although the next two days saw additionalmob action,
volunteerorganizations keptmattersunder controluntil a
ia w
and order meeting was calledat the CourtHouse over
whichWilliam
urice
andJosephGrahampresided.They
expressed their dis pprov l ofmobsandtheirsupport in
establishing civicpeace, therebyendingthe 1836riot.It had
beenorganizedandmanagedby northemandforeignbom
communityleaderswhoweremembersof theAmerican
ColonizationSociety; it was directed against theOhioAnti-
SlaverySocietyin a concertedeffortto destroythe organi
zation and eliminate abolitionism in Cincinnati. Ironically,
the City s AfricanAmericanswere bystanders in this battle
ofwhites over their future as American
citizens.
ThePhilanthropistwas againback in publicationin a
matter ofdays.Circumstantialevidenceindicatesthiswas
probablydueto thesupport
of
a newmember
of
First
CongregationalChurch,J.A. James,a NewJerseynative.
He and his brother started a stereotypingbusiness in 1833,
andby 1835had establisheda largeprintingsupplyhouse
located a t
O n e
B ak er Street in t h e m i d d le of
downtowiL
They carried presses, inks, type fonts and paper as well as
making stereotypes.As we will see later, James was an
abolitionistand was in a position to re-equip Pugh s shop
quickly after each raid.As a member
of
the Church, he
certainlyknew theDonaldsonsandMaylin,providinghim
with every opportunityto leamwhat was needed to get the
Philanthropistup and running.
EVERY
HUR H
OOR I S LO SE
In the 1837Aimual Report
of
the Ohio Anti-Slavery
Society a briefsection on the Churches in Cincinnati
states: Every church door is closed to abolitionists. We
m a ke n o c om m en t. H e re i s
The rioters tore down Pugh s presses and
dismantled his
office,
then
searched
his
home unsuccessfullyfor further supplies
to destroy. Then they went on to the
D o n a l d s o n h o m e
a t Sixth a n d
Vine
where they were faced down by the
redoubtable 69-year-old Anna while her
sons escaped out the rear entrance.
the fact, the
naked
fact,
that in the year
of
our Lord
1837,
in
Cincinnati,
in
the
heart of a christian[sic]
republic wont to boast
of
its mental independence,
and
of
the purity
of
its
principles
of
civil and
religious liberty, not a
ch u r ch
c a n b e
o b t a i ne d f o r
the purpose
of
explaining
the full meaning of these
principles..Most
ch u r ch es
d i d n t e v e n
respond to the Society s requests to use their facilities for
meetings, and those few that did were negative.
The Trustees of First Congregational Church re
ceived a letter dated
June 26 1840
from the executive
committee
of
the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society containing
just such a request. Two
of
the eight signatories were
ChristianDonaldson and Thomas Maylin. This may not
h av e b ee n t he first t i me th e B o ar d h a d b e en a sk ed t o
address this particular issue, but it was the first ofwhich
we have any record. However, it should be noted that
Christian Donaldson had resigned from the church in
February
of
1836 over the public support church mem
bers gave to the effort that January to silence the Philan
thropist. He was persuaded to reconsiderby a very
contriteWilliam Greene. Ordinarily, the Trustees would
vote and respond quickly to this sort
of
request, but this
one was so controversial they asked the renters
of
pews
to consider it and decide the issue. The evident strength
o fa number of the written votes indicates it
wa s
a stormy
meeting. Forty-three men voted, i.e., those in whose
names the pews were rented; and the result was twelve
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Yea's, thirty Nay's and one 'indifferent.'
Among the Yea's were the expected ones such as
William Donaldson, ThomasMaylin, John R. Child and
the Rev.William Henry Channing. But there were also
some unexpected ones: William Greene, Timothy Walker
and Benjamin Umer, all of whom changed their views
since t he 1 83 6 riot; an d
Edmund
Dexter, Cincinnati s
most successful Whiskey
importer and rectifier. An d n
there w er e tw o n e w e r
m e m -
bers
of
th e
church; J. A.
James about whom
we
have
already spoken; and Massa-
-j
yf
/v'j f ^
flight to freedom. This was certainly true in First Congre
gational Church. This was the problem: In Cincinnati,
anti-abolitionism was socially correct and economically
beneficial. Aiding fugitive slaves was legally and eco
nomically suicidal, particularly for the members of an
urban congregation of successful and very visible finan
ciers, business owners and professionals. The former
attitude was displayed
publicly for all to see, while
X
y
y the
latter was kept scrupu-
\ lously pnvate.
O th er
factors
t o c o ns i de r
// X y- in helping ascertain the
.. participation of the Unitarian
Underground
'ry. Railroad
were:
1). The
> unreported contributions of
? women, who not only
^ j
participated in sewing
circles
yZ
^ .
and
other
seemingly innocent
groups that gave
matenal
C -
0^~
help
to the
cause
but also
performed countless situ-
ationaland frequently
courageous-acts of
kind
y fh/rC yiiiiomy //y.
ness for
fugitive slaves m
54^ / ...A ^
dire need;
2 The most
likely
^ ''' y
participation
ofmen in the
p Underground Railroad was
in v es to r s
w h o s e f in a n-
^ \
cial
contributionsgiven
in
r ' confidence, and often by
well-known public anti-
1^ abolitionistswere essential
First Congregat ional to its success; and 3) The
ows
members
voted previous two factors necessi-
and on e ' indifferent' tate virtually complete
0 Anti-Slavery Sod- relianceon circumstantial
Por
meetings. evidence and family tradition
in writing this section. The
cases of
t h e D o n al d so n s a t
their homeonMt. Ephraim,JohnR.Child and Richard
B. Field are such examples already presented. Weshall
now look at three more in greater detail.
THE
U N I T A R I A N THREESOME
This section actually involves four men. However,
on e of them
wa s not a Unitarian; b ut h e s the one
wh o
ties the stories together, i.e., Levi Coffin, the Quaker
'President'
of
the Underground Railroad. Fugitive slaves
sd4^.
ch u s etts - b o m R i c ha r d B .
Field, wh o in 1840 w as c o-
owner of the New England
Bakery on Fifth Street
b e t w e e n
V i ne
an d
R ac e. H i s
partner was Edward Harwood
who left a few years later to
go into the wholesale chemi
ca l
business. H a r wo o d w a s
an
a r d en t a b o li t io n i st
w h o
b e c a m e L e v i
C o f fi n s m o s t
visible a n d trusted
U n d e r
ground Railroad ally. Field's
d e s c en d e n ts s t a te d
h e
w as
involved in helping fugitive
slaves, and his association
with
H a r w o o d lends
so me
credibility to their claim.
-^ 9
/ /
y-t.-. i
. v.
i A
This 1840 record of First Congregational
Church (Unitarian) shows members voted
12 yeas,
30
nays and one 'indifferent'
not to le t th e Ohio Anti-Slavery Soci
ety use its facilities for meetings.
SOME FACTORS
IN
U N D E R G R O U N D
RAILROAD j[.^jg 1g4Q [-ecord
voteon the OhioAnti-Slavery not tO le t th e C
Society's request was prob- ety use Its faciiitle
ably indicative ofthe
general
'
unpopularity of abolitionism
in Cincinnati at the
timeif
anything, it
ma y
over-state
abolitionist strength. It is likely that even in 1861 a
majority of theUnitarian congregationas well as of
both
Cincinnati and the entire
North
was against the
total and immediate abolition of slavery. But the
majority's rejection of abolitionism in the 1840s and 50s
was not indicative of northern whites' general repudia
tion of the institution of slavery; nor did it convey their
demonstrated willingness to assist fugitive slaves in their
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Alphonso T a f t 1 8 1 0 - 1 8 9 1 )
Among
Taft s
most important cases was his
s u c c e s s f u l
f ns
of
th
McMicken will
thereby enabling this large
bequest to
help
firmlyestablish th e University of Cincinnati as
a leader in municipally sponsored college edu
cation . Cincinnati Historical Society)
had been coming through Cincinnati for decades before
Coffin arrived in 1847. The assistance provided them was
given overwhelmingly by the members of three African
American congregations, i.e., those
of
the BethelA.M.E.
Church later namedAllen Temple)founded in 1824,
UnionBaptist
Chiurch foxmded
in
1835
and ZionBaptist
Church
founded
in 1840.
Th eir reso u rces were limited
but largely overcome with courage, ingenuity and the
assistance of individual whites. However, the rapidly
growing numberof fugitives in the
184 s
increased the
need
for more financial resources, reliable battlefield
intelligence and better communications. Providing these,
with a degree of organization and remarkableinspira
tional leadership, was the crucialcontribution of Levi
Coffin wh o
moved
to Cincinnati in 1847, having already
made an outstanding record of Underground Railroad
success in Indiana. His commitment to preserving the
anonymityof investors and others for whom publicity
c o u ld h a ve
mean t
social and/or fi nanc i al rui n w as a bs o
lutehe was totally trustworthy.
T h e
Threesome: T h e three m en
i n v ol v e d a r e
Alphonso Taft, George Hoadly and Peter H. Clark. I will
first give a brief biography of each, and then relate
specific Underground Railroad stories with circumstantial
evidence involving one or more of them and associating
al l three
with
L e v i C o ffi n .
Alphonso Taft
was
bo m in V er mo nt in 1810. He
arrived in Cincinnati in 1842 following graduation from
Yale College and its law school, having first scouted the
West and selecting the City as the place with the most
opportunity for an ambitious young attorney. Taft was an
exceptionally able lawyer and a tacitum man
of
conserva
tive personal tastes. He was also a religious liberal and a
political progressive, exemplified by his firm adherence
to Unitarianism he was an active member
of
First
Congregational Church until his death); and by his
abandoning the Whigs over the slavery issue and being
one of the founders of the Republican Party in 1855 56
in Cincinnati, the State and Nationally. He regarded
slavery as an evil that should be abolished. Despite his
known abolitionism, Taft was not viewed as a r ad ic al an d
George Hoadly 1826-1902)
He an d T a f t w e r e tw o o f t he t hr ee Cincinnati
delegates
to
th e February
1856
meeting in
Pittsburgh
that
initiated organization of th e
Republican Party. Both left their original par
ties over the
issue of slavery. Cincinnati His
torical Society)
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remained highly respected throughout the community.
His first wife, Fanny Phelps, died in 1852 leaving him
with two s on s ; he m ar ri ed L ou is e To rr ey in 1853 who
gave him three more sonsthe first of
whom
was
William Howard Taft in 1857and a daughter. In 1864
Taft was elected to the Hamilton County Superior Court
and re-elected in 1868; was a leading candidate for the
Republican nomination for governor on two occasions;
served as Secretary ofWar and Attorney General in the
last years ofGrant s second administration; and finally
served as Minister to Austria-Hungary and then Russia.
The Taft
h om e o n
Mt. Aubu rn was no
more t h an
h l
a
mile up the road from the house the Donaldson family
l e ft abou t
th e
s ame t im e t he Tafts moved in . H e d ied in
1891.
George Hoadly was
bom
in Connecticut in 1824
where his father served as mayor of
New
Haven. The
family soon moved to Cleveland where his father also
served as mayor for many years. Hoadly graduated from
Westem Reserve College and Harvard Law School. Then,
following a probationary year in Zanesville, he came to
Cincinnati in 1848 andjoined
Salmon R Chase s law
firm where he was made a partner the following year.
That year he also joined First Congregational Church
where
he
remained
an
active
member until
he
left Cincin
nati in 1887. His brilliance as an attomey lead to his
election as City Solicitor in 1855. He was appointed to
the Superior Court in 1859 and elected to the reconsti
tuted Hamilton County Superior Court in 1863. He
resigned in 1866 after twice refusing appointment to the
Ohio Supreme Court, the first time tuming down his
former mentor Governor Chase. He became perhaps the
most successful corporate attomey in Cincinnati and was
for twenty years a professor at Cincinnati Law School. A
Democrat until 1855, Hoadly broke with that party over
the slavery issue and was associated with Taft in found
ing the Republican Party. He had cut his anti-slavery
teeth assisting Chase defend fugitive slaves and was a
firm abolitionist. Hoadly returned to the Democratic
Party over the tariffissue in 1876. He was subsequently
elected
Govemor ofOhio
as a strong advocate
of
African
American civil rights. After failing to win a second term
Hoadly moved to New York where he practiced corporate
law very successfully until his death in 1902. He was said
to have commented late in his life that his greatest
satisfaction as a lawyer was realized from his defense of
fugitive slaves early in his career.
Peter H. Clark was bom in
Cincinnati
in 1829 the
so n
o a mulatto
manumitted
slave
and
hi s
mulatto
wife.
H i s mo th e r
died
whe n h e w as a t od dl er a nd h e wa s
Peter H. Clark
1829-1925
s importance as an anti-slavery activist, edu
cator
and
politician ha s
gone
largely
unrecog
nized by generations of historians. He
was
not
ig no red by his
contemporaries
in Cincinnati,
Ohio or th e Nation. Cincinnati Historical So
ciety)
brought up by a loving step-mother in a close-knit family.
His father was a very successful barber who owned his
place of business on Broadway. Colored public schools
were not available yet, so he was educated in private
schools financed and staffed by
African
Americans
and
abolitionist
whites;
and
he
received an excellent educa
t ion for that time.
When
colored public schools were
authorized by state law in 1849largely due to the
lobbying
of
his uncle John 1. GainesClark was the first
teacher hired. In August of 1853 he was fired from his
job as an infidel because he stated at a public meeting he
admired the writings
of
Thomas Paine, and later admitted
he
was
a Deist.
He tumed
to full-time abolitionist writing
and speaking, at first in Ohio and then for national
audiences, before being rehired as a teacher in 1857. He
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became an active Republicanwhen the party was
founded and undoubtedlybecame well acquainted with
Taft and Hoadly,particularly when the outspokenly
abolitionist Rev. Moncure Conway assumed the pulpit
of
First Congregational Church in mid 1856, and soon
thereafter exalted Thomas Paine in public lectures.
Although he did not
join
the church formally until 1868,
Peter H. Clark was a Unitarian in thought and had
associated with at least two very important members
of
the congregation for over a decade by then. The story
of
Clark s largely ignored, but remarkable, career as aboli
tionist, educator and political activist is too lengthy to
include more than a few highlights in this paper. Sufhce
it to say here, his relationships with Taft, Hoadly and
First Congregational
Church were a highly
important factor in his life
an d
work until
1887,
when
both he and Hoadly left
Cincinnati.
Clark s
father
d ie d i n
1849
P e te r w a s elected a Trustee
the Asylum, a position he held for more than thirty years,
most
of
them as secretary
of
the Board. He and Levi
Coffin became c l o se c o l la b o rat o rs i n t he affairs both
the Asylum and, almost certainly, the Underground
Railroad.
C of tin
n e v e r m e n ti o n ed
C la rk s n a me i n
connection with the latter because he would likely have
been fired from his teachingjob. With his position as a
teacher, his history
of
assisting fugitive slaves and his
association
with
Levi Coffin, Peter H.
Clark
was
in
his
early twenties, already
known among
Underground
Railroad activists as a man to call in an emergency.
In mid August
of
1853 George Washington
McQuerry, a bright 28 year old mulatto who had lived in
Troy, Ohio north
of
Dayton) for four years,
had a steady jo b and a
loving wife and children,
was fingered as a fugitive
slave by a white informer
w h o
w ro t e
hi s o w n e r in
Washington County,
Kentucky. The owner
c am e w i th
an officer,
identified McQuerry, and
h a d h im t ak e n i nt o t he
custody by the Deputy
U.S. Marshal in Dayton.
He was put in irons and brought to Cincinnati. The party
arrived in the late evening and took quarters for the night
a t t he G ai t H ou se hotel. W or d th e
situation leaked
out
and a cr owd
Af r ican Amer icans collected b ut w as
restrained by the police. A steward in the hotel sent for
Peter H. Clark w ho w as informed th e circumstances.
Clark knew that
if
nothing were done the prisoner would
quicklybe put in the hands of the U.S. Commissioner in
Cincinnati charged with enforcing the Fugitive Slave
Law
of
1850 in the area and he would be immediately
retumed to Kentucky. U.S. Supreme Court Justice John
McLean was in Cincinnati riding circuit and Clark
immediately headed for his home in Avondale. He woke
the Judge in the wee hours
of
the morning and secured a
signed Writ of Habaeus Corpus demanding that
McQuerry and those who held him in custody appear in
Federal District Court at 10 a.m. that morning to show
cause why they deprived McQuerry
of
his liberty.After
intense legal wrangling between the Federal Judge and
the U.S. Commissioner, the Writ wa s enforced. The
trial^with
James Bimey and John Joliffe as McQuerry s
very able defense team that was paid through Coffin s
The
McQuerry
Case
Pe t e r H . C l ar k w a s
raised
in the
Bethel
A.M.E
C h u r c h w h e r e assistance to
fugitive slaves was an
every day activity in which
all participated, including
members of his family. His uncle, John I. Gaines, oper
ated a wholesale produce and grocery business on the
waterfrontthat waspatronizedby river boat stewards
al l b u t a
fe w
o f t h em w e re Afiican Americans^who
informed him
of
any fugitive slaves on their boats who
needed help. His aunt Evelina was married to John
Woodson,a master carpenter who employed ten hands
and was head of the church Sunday school. His sister
Ann married the noted abolitionist speaker Gideon Q.
Langstonolderbrother of the more famousCharles
and John M.
angston^who
owned one
of
the largest
livery stables in Cincinnati. Abolitionism and assisting
fugitive slaveswere integralto Clark s life from his
earliest years.
His father w as o ne o f th e founders o f th e
Cincinnati
Colored OrphanAsylumin 1844-45. Prominentwhite
founders included Salmon P.Chase, who did the legal
work, and Christian Donaldson, who raised the money as
founding Treasurer A few yearslater the Coffinsmoved
to Cincinnati and took an interest in the Asylum, actually
runningit withoutchargefor a few years in the early
1850s when money was very tight. A few years after
T h e U.S. m a r s ha l s b r o ke i n to the Vine
Streetroom and recapturedtheir quarry in
a bloodyfightduring which one marshal
was severely stabbedand a slaveshot and
wounded. The
slaves
w e re r us he d b ac k t o
their owner in Covingtoiv by which time
ihe w o u n d e d one h a d
died.
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flmd-raising effortswas on the issue
of
whether or not
McQuerry was still a slave under the law. At the end
of
the lengthy arguments, JudgeMcLean, who was not in
sympathy with the Fugitive Slave Act, nevertheless felt
boimdby the law to rule against McQueny, who was
promptly returned to his owner in Kentucky. Peter H.
Clark had done all that could be
done^but
sadly it
wasn't enough.
The onne l l y ase
On June 13,1857 two fugitive
slaves^a
man and
wife missing for a week were traced to room 18 on the
sixth floor
of
a building on Vine Street just north
of
Fourth
The
U S
marshals broke
into
t he r oo m a nd
recaptured their quarry in a bloody fight during which
one
of
the Marshals was severely stabbed and the male
slave
shot
and wounded The slaves
were
rushed b ack to
their owner in Covington by which time the wounded one
had
died
The rooms^for there was another room behind
Room 18 were the office
of
William M. Connelly, a
writer for the Daily Commercial who had previously
publishedan abolitionistpaper Hewas out whenthe raid
took place, so an intensive effort to apprehend him for
harboring fugitive slaveswas initiated. Connelly got
wind of it and absconded
to New
York where
he
secured
a job on the Sun.
A number
of
issues were raised in the newspaper
articles reportingon thiswell publicized case. For
example,it was routinelynoted thebuildingwas owned
byAlphonso Taft, with the corollaryquestionas to
whether he knewwhatwas going on in his property; the
couplehad been livinginRoom18for a weekand itwas
wonderedhow it was possible for them to avoid discov
ery for that longwithoutothershavingabettedConnelly;
and there was speculation it was a regular station on the
Underground Railroadexistingunder the verynosesof
the authorities. After several months Connelly was
arrested inNew Yorkand brought back for trial. Levi
Coffin arranged bond for his release imtil trial, and
engaged
his
defense
team,
former
judge J.B.
Stallo
and
ex-govemor ThomasCorwin. He publicly mentioned
several
of
the bondsmen, including some familiar names,
followedby and others. The otherswereundoubtedly
prominentmenwhose names werekeptconfidential for
goodreasonperhaps men suchas Taftand oadly ( So
discreet
was
Coffin
he did not even
mention Taft
in
connection with the location of the incident years later in
his Reminiscences.)
Inthedays
building
up to thetrialtherewas
speculation
regarding the
evidence
thatmightbe
presented
OnMay5,
1858,the daythe trialopened,theEnquirerstated It is the
prosecutiondesigntomakeverycuriousrevelationswith
regard to the UndergroundRailroad.. .As we learn that
many
of
its directors, officers and conductors aremen
of
positionin ourmidst, theprogress
of
the trialwillbe
watched with no little interest. In the event, no such
revelationsoccurred,perhapsbecauseStanleyMatthews,
theprosecutor,wason very good professionaltermswith
both StalloandTaftas well as respectful
of
Coffin.
Cormelly was judged guilty, sentenced to twenty days
in jail and fined ten dollars. Admirers ensured his comfort
and good eating in the token confinement
of
jail; he was
visited by a parade of congratulatorymidwestemUnitar
ians who were meeting in Cincirmati, and alsoby a large
group ofMethodists who were also assembled in town.
Upon his release he was in great demand as a speaker.
The Connelly case was a spectacular example
of
the
attitudinal paradox in late 1850sCincirmati:A very
substantial majority
of
its citizens were unwilling to serve
as slave catchers for the South;
but
at the same time, they
adamantly rejected abolitionism as a means
of
ending the
'peculiar institution.'
The
ouse in Wa l n u t
il l s
OnMarch
31 1860
Peter H. Clark paid 800 in cash
for the house at 1119Kemper Road(nowYaleAve.), one
block east
of
MontgomeryPike (now GilbertAvenue), in
WalnutHills. The only known use made of his property
was, withClark's permission, for the organizational
meetings
of
Brown's ChapelA.M.B.Church held in its
living room in 1862.Clark sold the house for 600 on
April 5,1864, taking a twenty-five percent loss on the
investment. Since Clark taught at the WesternDistrict
School on Court Streetbetween Mound
and John
on th e
west side
of
downtown where he and his family lived at
225GeorgeStreet,the house couldhardlyhavebeen for
u se a s
theirhome
Inasmuch as
he and
hi s
wife had
tw o
very young childrenand a third on the way,it seems
improbablehe couldhave affordedsucha speculative
investmentor would even
have had
the cash
to
make it.
And it's very unlikely he was in a position to take a loss
of
200.Why did he buy the house and fromwhom did
he
get
the money?
In the mid 19thcentury,Montgomery Pike was one
of themajor arteriesnorth from downtown, and the first
African American community one would encoimteron it
was Walnut Hills. In fact, this was where Levi Coffin
occasionallyhid fugitive slaves.The volume
of
fugitives
from slavery increased greatly during the last few years
of
the antebellum. It seems likely that Coffin suggested to
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Clark the desirability
of
a safe house conveniently
located inWalnutHills for the regular use
of
fugitive
slaves being conducted from Cincinnati to points North.
Hemay even have suggested that they seek the funds for
purchasing such a house from his wealthy Unitarian
fnends; and further, that he buy the house in his name to
avoid any possibility
of
negative publicity about the
donors. Clark would certainly have agreed enthusiasti
cally with such a plan.
The Tafts and the Hoadlys had been close fnends for
many years. Also included in this social circle were
fellow
c h u r c h m e m b e r s
William G o o dm a n a n d L e m e r
B
Harrison
an d
t he i r wi ve s G o o dm a n w a s
founde r
an d
president
of
theWashington InsuranceCompany; and
Harrison was owner
of
a very successful wholesale
grocery business for which hemadeyearlybuying trips
to sugar plantations in Louisiana where he saw slavery at
work G o o dm a n a n d H a rr i so n w e re adherents ofMoncure
Conway,the outspokenlyabolitionistminister of First
Congregational Church,andwerecloset abolitionists. It
would have presented few,
if
any,problems for Clark to
describe the need for the houseprobably through Taft
or Hoadly and to get the money in cash. This would
only have beenpossiblebecausebothClarkandCoffin
were known to be trustworthy and reliably discreet. I
believe this is why and how the house was bought, and
then sold in 1864 when it was no longer necessary to
conceal fugitiveslaves.The proceedswouldundoubtedly
have been returned to the donors, who probably reckoned
the lossas a smallprice to pay for helping correct such a
glaring inconsistency.
Cod a
TheColoredOrphanAsylumwas atNinth andPlum
from
1845
until it m o ve d t o Avondale
in
1866
onto a
largetractpurchased bywealthy whitedonors In 867
Levi Co ffin retired fro m h is
work
at
t he Fr eedmen s
Bureau and built a retirement house on a piece
of
the
ColoredOrphanAsylum snew propertysold to himby
its Board
of
Trustees, with PeterH. Clark most likely
involved as the behind-the-scenes arranger. Coffin died
there in 1877 shortly after completing his Reminiscences.
Peter H. Clark was one of four AfiicanAmerican pall
bearers at his
funeral^and
he gave the only address at
the graveside ceremony.
C O N C L U S I O N
Thispapertellswhatwe nowknowabouttheanti-
slavery attitudes andactions of lay
members
of First
CongregationalChurchof Cincinnati. Weare confident
there are a great many more stories yet to be discovered.
The congregation s records are voluminous and
we re
still combing them for clues wemay have overlooked.
Complete as our records are, at least compared to those
of
many churches, there are some significant gaps^years
when records were lost, correspondence not saved or
material damaged and discarded. But we are continuing
our efforts to complete our memory as a means
of
empowering hope for the future^the hope ofabolishing
forever the glaring inconsistency.
ib l iography
This bibliography includes only the most important
readily accessible resources documenting this presenta
tion. In the interest ofmaking the paper easily accessible
to the general reader, I have not included the coimtless
newspaper, book andjoumal references I ve consulted.
The life and career
of
Peter H. Clark are the subject
of
a
book currently being co-authored by the writer
of
this
paper andMary Frederickson,Associate Professor
of
History at Miami University. It will be the first ever
written about this curiously neglected major figure of
Ohio s history.
First Unitarian Church Records, in the Cincinnati Histori
cal Society Library
SesquicentennialHistoryofFirstUnitarianChurchof
Cincinnati by E.S. Lutton (available onmicrofiche at
the Cincinnati Hamilton County Public Library)
Gentlemen
of
Property and Standing:Anti-Abolition
Mobs in JacksonianAmerica by Leonard Richards
Reminiscences
of
Levi Coffin by Levi Coffin
Historyof ClermontandBrownCounties,Ohio,Vol II,
Biographical by ByronWilliams(for theDonaldson
family)
Cincinnati, Queen City
of
theWest 1819-1838by Daniel
aron
InfluenceTranscendingMere Numbers:TheUnitarians
inNineteenth century Cincinnati byWalterP.Herz, in
QueenCityHeritage:The Joumal of the Cincinnati
Historical Society,volume 51, No.4,Winter 1993.
CentennialHistoryof CincinnatiandRepresentative
Citizens by Charles Theodore Greve, Vol. 1.
page 13
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513 897 2826
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v;?
t f^
BIBLE AND FAMILY
RECORD
Name
of Family
P r e s en t
Owner
Pu b l i s h e d
PUGH
Warren County Historical
Society
Stereotyped by E < J
White New
York
for The American Bible Socie ty 1829,
Smal l l e a t h e r
bound.
Azarlah
Pugh was born on the 27th
day
of
12 mo
181
^a^_C. Pugh
10th
June 1811
Ux Bartemious Pugh
in the yr of our
Lord
184A
I Frances M Pugh in the yr of our Lord 1845, the 20 of Feb
Joanna
Pugh
in the yr of our
Lord
1847, 7th of l
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PA; DIED OCTOBER 31, 1876HAMIL
N COUNTY,OHIO; BURIED SECTIONH, LOT 5, MIAMI CEMETERY,
EN COUNTY, OHIO.
SCOPALCHURCHHISTORY; ACHILLESPUOH OF WAYNESVULE
A ROOMWHEREBOTH THEVERY
SMALL
CATHOLIC ANDBHS-
(HIOUPS
WORSHIPPED
IN 1870.
Aynontj
the
pioneer orintcrs
v/as
Achilles Pu-Vi
la-rcx
.
I^nnsylvania u ker
.ho
Em.S
18m
ThM?
t
^t-rated
to
Anerloa with TVilUam Fwm
i
efforlntli ^
I 36 he be-
an prlntint a
paper
called
The
Philanthropist for the Ohio Anti-
Slavery
Society,
headed by
Janes
0.
Birney.
and profitable trade relations with
the
South .
Birney.s
h.ananitarianisn
rpiburjetL, PP .
arched
to
ublic meetint.,
presided
over by Mayor Samuel V.. Davies
and
declared that
no
abolition paper
should be
pubUsher;r
distributed in the tovm .
puoxisnea
or
^'i Jitinc
Quaker; ho
defiantly
uphold
his
;ht8 of free speech and a free press. Astout'principle
however,
tas
not
always
stood
up
well
before
a
stout
moL
'
broke 'th a crowd Jamed its
way
into Pugh s shop,
roke the press, and scjattered the type.
Push s p ress
again put out The
Wilanthropist. On Saturday night, July 30. tireless Tiril-
antos gathered the wildest mob
in
the annals
of early
cin-
c nnati.again crashed into Pugh s shop at Seventh.and
Streets,
showered
the
type into the
streets,
tore down the nress
and sacked
the
office. ft.rts of the
press
;ere
laurdrag-
'
ged down Hain Street
and
tossed into
the
Ohio River.
The righteous mob had made
all
provisions to uohold the
orilt: ? r,
Brpendent men upSld^
nufc
Ih \
brought along
tar
and
feathers,
fe^f^
something
about
Achilles
Pugh that desdained tar and
eathers, and he
was
simply ordered to leave
town.
For a
time Pugh published
the
paper
at
Springboro, T/arren
County, bringing
the
abominable sheet down the canal to
T afterward he re-established his shop here.
In k8'79 the firm of pugh Printers was
incorporated
as the
A
H.
Pugh
Printing
Company. Now
the corporation,
under
direc
tion of Achilles
H. Pugh 111, grandson
of the
founder,
has a
f?
Strcet(1905),
where
nearly
150 workers
re employed, and labels
and
commercial printing of hll kinds
produced*
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OM IVLb t
BY BARRY
BALS
Egmv
a ti mv
FTiea
A
Bold
Printer
Did you ever
hear
of
Achilles Pug^No? Mr.
Pugh
fi
CDa^inailjobprinter
hack
In the 1830's, a
humble
man
and
h on es t, who
set
hi s
by hand and
hump^
his shoulders feed
in g a
Job
press t lm
oper
ated by foot power.
Bom
in
Chester*County,
Pennsylvania. March
10,
1805, Mr. I^gh came
with
his parents to Cadiz,
Ohio,
when
four and a t
17 got a
Job
as prin ter s
devil In the
shop
of
ttie Cadiz Infor
mant,
t t e local weekly
newspaper,
m 1827
he
went
to Philadelphia
where
he
teamed
more about
ing.
Mr.
Pugh came
to
Cin
cinnati hi
1830
an d go t
a
Job
as man ag er o f the Evan
gelist, a religious periodical,
and s o w it h a way t o m ak e
a
better
living waa
married
in 1832 1 o Anna Mar i ah
Davis,
daughter of
John
Davis, of
Bedford Coimty,
Virginia.
A
few
years
later
he gained a partnership hi
th e Job
printing
business of
Morgan
8e
Sanxay,
Sevoith
and Main Sts., Cincinnati.
The
city
had a lo t of Job
s hop s ,
competition
was
keen and
th e
sledding was
s low.
EBE
LONG a bi g printing
Job came
along an d
Mr.
Pugh was elatedthe Phi
lanthropis t ,
a
newspaper
started in
1835
by
th e
execu
t ive commit tee
o f
th e Ohio
Ant i-S lavery Society,
i tself
organized
only
tha t year.
A
few
numbe r s
h a d
been
printed
at
New ihchmohd
b ut th e
committee
wanted
th e
paper p ri nt ed In Cin
c inna t i for r e a sms of I ts
own . Any how th e
circula
tion
field was
larger
there.
Cincinnati Ihen was a
strong pro^lavery
town
and
Mr. Pugh s
partners
refused
the
Job
on
th e grounds
that
th e newspaper 's doctr ines i
were
no t the i r own. Mr.
Pugh took
th e
Job anyhow
and
opened a little
shop
of
his own back of
his
home
on
Wa ln ut S tr ee t between
Sixth ahd Seventh Sts.
Re d idn t
ca re a hoo t
whether
th e Negro
remained
ens laved o r whether he
slipped
hi s
chains and
went
free,
so long as
the society
paid
It s
printing
bills and
boldly said
so .
On th e
other
hand, explained
th e
printer , If slavery cannot
stand d i s c u s s i o n , then
slavery Is wrong. Therefore
as a p ri nt er I t is the
line
o f m y business to
prin t
this
paper , c ha rg ing