Still, W[illia]m, letter, 31 North Fifth Street, Philadelphia, August 7, 1850, to [James O? Cousins, Cincinnati, Ohio]. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T36110JV
DescriptionWilliam Still relates the story of Peter Freedman [Peter Still] coming to William Still's office in Philadelphia to learn how to locate relatives; notes the writer's realization and amazement that Peter was one of his "long absent brothers"; and states that Peter has thus located various family members: his mother, five brothers and three sisters. This item is labeled in ink as if addressed to "Peter Freedman," with an added notation in pencil regarding its transmittal to Cousins.
Data Life Cycle Event(s) Type: Digital exhibition Label: Struggle Without End: New Jersey and the Civi War Curator: Perrone, Fernanda Project manager: Radick, Caryn Funder: New Jersey Council for the Humanities Name: African Americans in New Jersey before the Civil War
Additional Detail(s)
Type: Exhibition case
Name: African Americans in New Jersey before the Civil War
Detail: A large and vibrant African-American community lived in New Jersey before the Civil War. On the eve of the conflict, the black population was 25, 336 out of a total of 646,699. Years after the abolition of slavery, African Americans still lacked legal and political rights. The new state constitution of 1844 restricted voting to white male citizens. African Americans in New Jersey also faced poverty, job discrimination, and racism. The Fugitive Slave Bill subjected escapees from the South to deportation. During the tense period leading up to the conflict, African-American community leaders emerged to play important roles in the abolition movement and the Underground Railroad.
Additional Detail(s)
Type: Exhibition caption
Detail: Born a slave in Maryland in 1801, Peter Still was later sold to an Alabama slaveholder. By 1850, he had accumulated enough money to purchase his own freedom and head north, but he had to leave his wife, Vina, and children behind. In Philadelphia, he visited the Anti-Slavery Office in the hope of locating his parents and relatives, who years before had escaped to New Jersey. To his surprise, the clerk in the office was his brother William Still. In this letter from William Still describes their meeting: “my feelings became unutterable.”
CollectionPeter Still papers, 1850-1875
Organization NameRutgers University. Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives., NjRV
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