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This item SOLD at 2024 Jun 08 @ 09:47UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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Original Photograph of Some Founding Members of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee (and members of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, c 1855-1860 with Notes Enclosed.
Essay and Discussion by Fred N. Holabird, c2024
Ferrotype of some of eight of the Founding Members of the Pennsylvania Vigilance Committee and members of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, circa 1855-1860 with note identifying the men. It may be the only photograph of these important men from this time.
This is an exceptionally important discovery of an early photograph of some of the founding members of the Pennsylvania Vigilance Committee and members of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, an off-shoot of the American Anti-Slavery Society with roots to the 1830s.
These men were all instrumental in the ”Underground Railroad”, and each risked his life in the assistance of escaped slaves by the use of their houses, horses, carriages, food and lodging.
The “Underground Railroad” had been a somewhat loosely run semi-organization intent on helping slaves escape slavery and slave state. The American Anti-Slavery Society was formed in the early 1830’s, but the “Underground Railroad” remained a bit unorganized. Understanding the need for organization resulting in expediency, transportation and protection, the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society and the Pennsylvania Vigilance Committee was formed in the 1850s of which this photograph is testament.
Each of the men has an important biographical story. Their work, in concert with many others including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and the family of John Brown (Harper’s Ferry), led to the transport, protection and freedom for thousands of former slaves, many of whom emigrated to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Canada. Always under attack by partisan Press, as well as unscrupulous lawmen using long outdated laws and legal loopholes to arrest and imprison some of these men, they spent decades furthering the cause of freedom for all.
Little did these men know that the man in the lower right corner, William Still, would later write and publish a massive work entitled “Underground Railroad” in 1872 that contains more than 600 pages of first-hand information about the anti-slavery movement, a work that today should be required reading in every school in America, a part of history far too important to sit on the back shelf. Images of some of the men in this photograph are found in Still’s work, though some only in sketch form.
Many of these men are of Presbyterian faith, others Quakers.
The stories of the men in this photograph could easily occupy one or more volumes, while their anti-slavery work progressed through several decades including the Civil War.
The Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 was a major step toward freedom, but the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in December, 1865 after the end of the Civil War ended slavery forever.
The ferrotype photograph is encased in a classic glass covered gold frame contained inside a folding brown leather case, 3 ¼ x 3 ¾”. Inside the case was a carefully folded handwritten document in brown ink that is a map to the identity of each man, generally with some comments. This “map” is described below:
“Vigilance Committee of Philadelphia, Underground Railroad”
Upper left: James M. McKim, Secretary to the Anti slavery Society, Philadelphia.
Middle top: N. W. DePree, Colored man, Presbyterian elder.
C. Wise (no other info)
Middle left: Thomas Garrett, Wilmington, Delaware, (a slave state) who has rescued 2800 human beings from slavery. Who on one occasion when he had been fined to the full extent of his possessions for sheltering a poor slave woman. And was warned by the Marshall to mind his own business in future, replied that he had then assisted 1405 slaves to escape. That he thought the penalty imposed might be considered as a license for the rest of his life. “but” he added, “be that as it may if any of you know of any poor slave that needs assistance send him to me, as I now publicly pledge myself to double my diligence, and never neglect an opportunity to assist a slave to freedom.” He has kept his pledge.
Middle right: Robert Purvis, Colored man. A large railway shareholder, who is only allowed to travel in the negro car; a gentleman of property, an extensive contributor to the public revenues, from which the public schools are maintained – whose children have been expelled from school, sent home weeping because of the skin God has given them. A successful farmer whose fine fowls have been rejected from competition at the poultry show because the owner was colored!!!
Lower left: Jacob White, colored man.
middle: Passmon Williamson who was imprisoned by Judge Kane for telling a slave she was free in Pennsylvania.
William Still, sec Vigilance committee, colored man, brother of Peter Still.
This small, carefully worded “map” made in very fine (small) pen and ink print was folded into the photograph case holding the photographs of eight people involved in the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee, and thereby the Underground Railroad. It is undated.
This rare photograph ensemble of eight men unlocks a door to history that is so important, and arguably so overlooked that it cries out for attention. It holds the key to important questions that demand answers into an area of history that few understand or even know about during one of the Country’s most tumultuous times, the Civil War. It was a highly valued keepsake within a Presbyterian family possibly represented by one of the people in the images, though the exact identification is now lost to time. It was so valuable to the family that kept it, that it went to Europe for safe-keeping, before returning to a Presbyterian family back in the United States. This is the second time I have witnessed this – the first being an original Willaim J. Stone copy of the Declaration of Independence that went overseas during the Civil War for protection, and returned home after 1900.
The piece is so important, it immediately leads to a published work from 1872 by one of the men in the photograph case that I found so invigorating, so important, and so timeless, that one wonders why it was not required reading in schools.
Enough of the preamble. Let’s get on to business, and ask that first question: “Who are these guys?”
The identity of the eight men, from left to right, then top to bottom are:
1. James M. McKim
2. N. W. De Pree
3. C. Wise
4. Thomas Garrett
5. Robert Purvis
6. Jacob C. White
7. Passmore Williamson
8. William Still
Garrett and Purvis occupy center stage in the ensemble, indicating a perhaps greater importance to the original owner.
Who are these men? Most have little or no biographical information easily found on simple Google searches. However, tertiary sources, such as the Dictionary of American Biography with their carefully annotated reference sections quickly leads to more, in particular Still’s masterpiece “Underground Railroad, as did newspapers.com
1. James (Miller) McKim. “Secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society, Philadelphia” noted on the original document. McKim (1810-1874) graduated from a Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts in 1833. That same year here represented the Carlisle “negro constituency in the Philadelphia convention” at which the American Anti-Slavery Society was formed. He was the first pastor at the Womelsdorf Presbyterian Church in Bucks County (c1835). He married a Quaker gal in 1840 (Sarah Speakman) who shared his views. He succeeded John Greenleaf Whittier as the editor of Pennsylvania Freeman. In 1859 the Mckims went with John Brown’s wife to Harper’s Ferry to “receive” her husbands body. McKim was very active in promoting former slaves to fight for the Union in the Civil War. In 1860-1861 his residence was in Pennsylvania. William Still considered McKim as a major force in the abolitionist movement.
2. N. (Nathaniel) W. De Pree. De Pree is in the 1847 African-American Census. Born about 1810. In 1840 he was listed as “Free Colored.” He lived at 334 E. 6th Street, Philadelphia, a noted Colored section of town, where he had lived since at least 1845 (an assumption of street name change). He was a tailor and shirtmaker, with his shop at 742 South Street, where it remained through at least 1871. His wages were $350/yr and had three apprentices. He attended the Lombard Street School. De Pree was very active with this group of men at all of the Anti-Slavery Society and Vigilance Committee meetings. His name was sometimes spelled “Depee.”
3. C. (Charles) Wise. (noting stated about Wise on the original document). Wise was an acting officer of the acting committee of the underground railroad. In 1854 he worked with McKim in the Anti-Slavery office, both men effectively running the business. Wise was active with the men on this list. He was discussed by Still in his book “Underground Railroad” (1872), inclusive of a sketch of him, but little information was provided, other than he was a very early supporter of the abolition movement and the UGR. Little is known of Mr. Wise.
4. Thomas Garrett, “Wilmington, Delaware (a slave state) who has rescued 2800 human beings from slavery. Who on one occasion when he had been fined to the full extent of his possessions for sheltering a poor slave woman. And was warned by the Marshall to mind his own business in future, replied that he had then assisted 1405 slaves to escape. That he thought the penalty imposed might be considered as a license for the rest of his life. “but” he added, “be that as it may if any of you know of any poor slave that needs assistance send him to me, as I now publicly pledge myself to double my diligence, and never neglect an opportunity to assist a slave to freedom.” He has kept his pledge.” Garrett (1789-1871) was the son of Pennsylvania Quakers. At an early age after marrying, he moved his new family to Wilmington, Delaware where he worked in the hardware business. He remarried shortly after his wife died only a few years after arriving in Delaware. Garrett’s father had a free colored woman working for him at his Pennsylvania farm. She was kidnapped and Garrett chased after the man, returning her to freedom. The incident led Garrett to a new purpose in life: to help free slaves. Garrett was always under threat of arrest. He even had a $10,000 reward placed on his capture, but he evaded the pro-slavery faction. In 1848 he was prosecuted for helping slaves escape, sentenced, and had his possessions taken from him as a fine. With help from friends, he rebuilt his business, remained a stalwart in the abolition movement until the day he died. Garrett worked with all the men on this list, as well as Fred Douglass and Harriet Tubman.
5. Robert Purvis. “Colored man. A large railway shareholder, who is only allowed to travel in the negro car; a gentleman of property, an extensive contributor to the public revenues, from which the public schools are maintained – whose children have been expelled from school, sent home weeping because of the skin God has given them. A successful farmer whose fine fowls have been rejected from competition at the poultry show because the owner was colored!!!” Purvis (1810-1898). Purvis, born in South Carolina and later moved to Pennsylvania, graduated from Amherst College. He was the son of an Israelite and a Moor grandmother. His mother was listed as a “free born woman”. Purvis was thus of a natural darker skin. His father was an abolitionist, teaching his children at an early age of the wrongs of slavery. Both Robert and his younger brother Joseph were ardent anti-slavery men. Robert was present for the formation of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, and later was a member and officer of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, as well as the Pennsylvania Vigilance Committee. The Pennsylvania Vigilance Committee was formed in 1852, and Purvis was elected Chairman. It was here that the seven men of this photograph met, as all seven men were present at the formation and were on the General Vigilance Committee. (see pp 611-612 in UGRR) His work for the underground railroad was known to all, and his house served as a safe house for all that needed it, as were his horses and carriages available to the anti-slavery causes. Purvis joined Frederick Douglass in promoting the recruitment of freed slaves into the Union Army. While the document states Purvis was a “large Railroad shareholder”, my (fh) only assumption is that is was in conjunction with Passmore Williamson, a fellow abolitionist who we know owned railroad stock. His son Charles was chief surgeon at the Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, DC. When Purvis died, his obituary was short, but he wanted it stated that he was the last surviving member of the Anti-Slavery Society.
6. Jacob C. White. “Colored Man,” Owned significant real property in Philadelphia including 100 city lots sold to John McKee in 1852, later sold to Jeremiah Asher, then seized by Sheriff Robert Ewing for sale under a debt of $1059. Jacob White’s son, Jacob White, Jr. was also very active in the various anti-slavery issues and committees, particularly with this group of men.
7. Passmore Williamson. “Imprisoned by Judge Kane for telling a slave she was free in Pennsylvania.” Williamson became a household word (name) during the abolition, anti-slavery and underground railroad movement. He spent a significant part of his life and all of his earnings fighting for the rights of the slaves. In the 1850s he was imprisoned by Judge Kane for telling a slave woman she was free on Pennsylvania soil. Old laws allowed the judge to look past the slavery issue and instead rule that the slave was “property” and as such could not be stolen from its owner. He was imprisoned and all of his property confiscated as a fine. Kane was later placed by a politician “in a category of infamy with those former years whose judicial conduct had disgraced the ermine.” (Philadelphia Inquirer 8/2/1865). Williamson went on to continually work to free slaves, continued to get arrested, continued to fight for the rights of slaves, becoming a household word in the 1860s. One such quote says it all: “They are of the abolition “underground railroad” complexion, and belong principally to the Passmore Williamson … school…” [when speaking of Robert Taylor, a prominent Philadelphia merchant, street railroad president, and republican] (2/13/1860, Baltimore Sun)
8. William Still. “Sec. Vigilance Committee, colored man, brother of Peter Still.” With this document written probably before 1863, the author may have saved what history may say is “the best for last.” William Still (1821-1902) was the son of a Maryland slave that went north to New Jersey after purchasing his freedom. Still grew up in a family of 18 children who all worked on the family farm. In 1844 he moved to Philadelphia and by 1847 was a clerk for the Pennsylvania Society for the abolition of slavery. His house became one of the many underground railroad “safe houses” (as we call them today) for escaped slaves. It was reported by one reference that 19 out of every 20 slaved that passed through Philadelphia stayed at his house for safety, food and shelter, including John Brown’s wife on the way to Harper’s Ferry. (ADOAB, v18, p23, 1936). In 1851-1861 he was the chairman and corresponding secretary of the Philadelphia branch of the underground railroad. Still kept meticulous records. He even went to Canada to check upon the escaped slaves that moved there for a better life. His records are so thorough and so powerful that he penned “The Underground Railroad” in 1872 which is an absolutely remarkable book that should be required reading today. His notes are owned by the Pennsylvania Abolition Society and kept at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, a priceless record of history. Still was also chairman of the Pennsylvania Vigilance Committee at one time. During the Civil War he was a stove and coal businessman. Still was well educated and wrote a few pieces during his life. He founded the first colored YMCA. Member First Presbyterian Colored Church, 1862.
These men obviously acted in unison as a group, hence the photograph. Perhaps the most important man “missing” from the photograph was William Lloyd Garrison, but he may not have been a member of that first Vigilance committee.
Many important Americans, heretofore unrecognized, risked their lives to help escaped slaves. Others yet were the great orators, publicly speaking at every opportunity. At the top of this list is Frederick Douglass, who was a regular partner of Purvis, White, De Pee and many of the rest of this group. Harry Ward Beecher was another outspoken abolitionist that attended some of the meetings mentioned here. John Brown’s family was another. By 1863, the ranks of the Anti-Slavery Society had grown, more attended meetings, and more notices were published in eastern newspapers. Susan B. Anthony attended the 30 year anniversary of the American Anti-Slavery Society in Boston, as did Purvis, McKim, and Williamson.
Fred Douglass and Purvis worked fervently to get men of color to join the Union Army. Civil War Sgt. Wm Harvey Carney used the UGRR to escape to Massachusetts, where he later enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts, and became the first black to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Dating the photograph and document is difficult. Only one document lists all seven of the Philadelphia men at one time, and Garrett in Wilmington, and that is of the formation of the Pennsylvania Vigilance Committee in 1852. Each of those men were on that committee except Garrett, though by that time Garrett was a key figure in the Abolition movement. (see p 612, UGRR)
Who did this photograph belong to? Unfortunately, the family name is temporarily lost to history. But we can eliminate several people. Possible elimination: Garrett was a Quaker. If the photo belonged to Still, it would be with his records. The others (White, Williamson and Wise) have backgrounds that generally do not reveal religion, though that is far from conclusive evidence. Possible original owner: McKim and DePree were vocal Presbyterians. Purvis was Chairman of the Society, and may have kept his.
Another copy of this photograph in the same apparent size is contained within an 1899 gift of the Garrison family to the Boston Public Library. The BPL copy, however, is not apparently a copy of a larger photographic portrait, as is the photograph here. Where is the original of which a photograph was taken for the photograph here? The chord visible in the top background clearly indicated a framed photograph of the eight men hanging on a wall, probably in the Pennsylvania Vigilance Committee office. That original also appears lost to history.
Here is a link to Still’s masterpiece in its original form. There was a second edition published, and there are yet others in HTML form available on the web.
https://archive.org/details/undergroundrailr00stil/page/92/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater&q=passmore
This link takes you to a section on Passmore Williamson. But start at the cover. It is a simple “UGRR” in gilt on the front board. Then start reading. And don’t stop until finished. You will learn more from this book than you ever thought was published of first-hand information about the “Underground Railroad.”
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26. RETURN POLICY: All items are guaranteed to be authentic unless otherwise noted. If authenticity is challenged, please call our office for assistance. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. You may only return any piece that was significantly inaccurately described by calling our office within 10 days of receipt of item(s) and notifying us of the error and reason for return. We do not refund postage or insurance. Please call us if you require a more specific condition report. Any items that are returned must be returned in the exact, unaltered condition. When we receive your bids we will assume you have read the description in the catalog, viewed the image of the item, have contacted us regarding any questions you may have on any lot and/or have previewed the lot in person.
27. This sale is being held under the laws of the State of Nevada.
28. HWAC shall not be held responsible for any problem due to the bidder’s failure to follow the rules, terms and conditions of this sale, or any failure to bid due to the loss of the online auction process provided by any of the online auction networks; or missed bids, changed bids or cancelled due the bidder’s failure to follow the proper bidding procedure outlined herein.
29. By placing a bid or otherwise participating in the auction, Bidder accepts these Terms and Conditions, and specifically agrees to the dispute resolution provided herein.
30. HWAC shall not be responsible for consequential damages, incidental damages, compensatory damages, or any other damages arising or claimed to be arising from the auction on any lot. Bidder’s sole remedy for any proven act or omission shall be rescission of sale and refund of the amount paid by Bidder.
31. Any claim, dispute, or controversy in connection with, relating to and/or arising out of the Auction, participation in the Auction, award of lots, damages of claims to lots, descriptions, condition reports, provenance, estimates, return and warranty rights, any interpretation of these Terms and Conditions, any alleged verbal modification of these Terms and Conditions and/or any purported settlement shall be exclusively heard by, and the parties consent to exclusive in personal jurisdiction of, the Superior Court of Washoe County, Nevada. The parties expressly waive any right to trial by jury. Any claim must be brought within one (1) year of the auction from which the claim arose or the claim is waived. In every case, the prevailing party shall be entitled to an award of its attorney’s fees and costs.