A Guide to the Microfilm Publication of the Papers of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania
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A Guide to the Microfilm Publication of The Papers of The Pennsylvania Abolition Society at The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Prepared by Jeffrey Nordlinger Bumbrey Pro uesf Start here. --- This volume is a finding aid to a ProQuest Research Collection in Microform. To learn more visit: www.proquest.com or call (800) 521-0600 About ProQuest: ProQuest connects people with vetted, reliable information. Key to serious research, the company has forged a 70-year reputation as a gateway to the world's knowledge- from dissertations to governmental and cultural archives to news, in all its forms. Its role is essential to libraries and other organizations whose missions depend on the delivery of complete, trustworthy information. 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway • P.O Box 1346 • Ann Arbor, Ml48106·1346 • USA • Tel: 734.461.4700 • Toll-free 800·521·0600 • www.proquest.com A Guide to the Microfilm Publication of The Papers of The Pennsylvania Abolition Society at The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Prepared by Jeffrey Nordlinger Bumbrey The Pennsylvania Abolition Society and The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, 1976 Copyright ©r976 by the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. Composed and Printed by The Falcon Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Distributed by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. ISBN 0-9107 32-12-4 Contents Introduction 5 Notes to the Researcher 6 Historical Sketch of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society 7 Chronology 17 Editorial Procedures 19 Bibliographical Notes 21 History of the Collection 23 Series and Reel Notes 25 Appendixes 49 Introduction The Pennsylvania Abolition Society is unique in two aspects of its existence. It is the oldest such organization in continual existence in America and, since 1775, it has continued to adhere to the principle implied in its title: The Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage and for Improving the Condition of the African Race. The material contained herein will show that the Society has consistently applied itself to fulfilling the purposes of its founders. Publication of this material will, we are certain, document the importance of the Society in the history of the Commonwealth. We hope, too, that scholars and laymen alike will find this a rich resource of the troubled history of abolition and race relations; we hope that all will join with us in celebrating our successes and learn from our failures. We are indebted to our partners in this enterprise, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. We are especially indebted to Jeffrey Nordlinger Bum brey who prepared the microfilm and much of the material in this guide. We wish to acknowledge, too, the assistance of James E. Mooney, Direc tor, and Peter J. Parker, Chief of Manuscripts of the Historical Society. It is a sobering thought that after two hundred years the purposes of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society have yet to be fully realized. Edythe M. Chew President, 1976 5 Notes to the Researcher No restncuons have been placed on the use of this microfilm for reference purposes and individual frames may be reproduced to facilitate scholarly research. However, neither reels nor significant portions thereof may be reproduced without the written permission of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society. Nor may individual frames or their contents be pub lished in any form without the written permission of the Society. The researcher is reminded that the literary rights to the materials generated by the Pennsylvania Abolition Society remain with the Society. Brief quotations are authorized. However, the user is cautioned that the principles of common-law copyright apply not only to the Society's own papers but also to the materials generated by individuals corresponding with the Society. The exclusive right to decide when and how letters and personal writings should first be published belongs to the author, his heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain the permission of the owners of the literary rights of any materials contained on this film before publishing in extenso. Inquiries concerning rights and permissions should be addressed to: President, Pennsylvania Abolition Society, % Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. Citations should read: Pennsylvania Abolition Society Collection (microfilm publi cation), Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1976. 6 Historical Sketch The Pennsylvania Abolition Society had its origins in early anti-slavery activities of Philadelphia Quakers. The exhortations ofJohn Woolman and Anthony Benezet had convinced many Friends that the egalitarian and humanitarian doctrines of the Quakers must be extended to include the enslaved black man. It was Quaker conscience, rather than civic conscious ness, that led Friends to form an abolition society in 1775. Friends were not alone in voicing this concern. During 1772 and 1773 "the Clergy of the Church of England and Dissenters," according to Anthony Benezet, "freely joined" Friends in petitions to the Pennsylvania Assembly against the importation of slaves. The Assembly responded by appointing a select committee on February 4, 1773, to draft an act that would perpetuate the £20 duty on slaves. But the passage of this act was hardly the victory that Friends and their allies sought. Later that year they faced another, more immediate, challenge that gave direction to their anti-slavery efforts. In 1773, Benjamin Bannarman, a resident of Virginia, purchased an Indian woman named Dinah Nevil and her four children from Nathaniel Lowry of New Jersey. Bannarman arranged for his newly-acquired slaves to be delivered in Philadelphia. However, on their arrival, Nevil protested publicly that she and her children were "free people." She apparently found sympathetic support, for the mayor of Philadelphia intervened and trans ferred her and the children to the city's Work House to await a legal hearing on the case. Under the leadership of Israel Pemberton, a group of Quaker citizens entered a suit on behalf of Dinah Nevil, requesting the court to void Bannarman's claims. This case occupied the attention of Friends and the courts for two years, at the end of which the court declared Dinah Nevil and her children slaves. The court's decision and the increasing incidence of similar cases involv ing blacks who claimed to be free prompted "several citizens . to meet and forme themselves into a Society . to relieve others that might have a Legal Claime to Freedom and were deprived thereof." The newly formed Society met periodically during 1775, continuing in its attempts to release Dinah Nevil, and intevening in similar cases involving free blacks. In November, however, formal meetings ceased. Because sixteen of the of the original twenty-four members were Quakers, the Society decided that Quaker pacifism might discredit or render ineffec tual the Society's anti-slavery testimony. Philadelphia was a small city in 1775; nearly everyone knew the religious backgrounds of the members of 7 the Abolition Society. After Lexington and Concord, few could com prehend or respect the peace testimony of the Quaker minority. The Abolition Society itself might have been tainted by the views of some of its members. And, within the Society of Friends, neutrality became a more vexing question than slavery. In the face of confiscations and exile, most Friends withdrew from all public activities. The Abolition Society lan guished in consequence. Between 1775 and 1784, some programs initiated by the Abolition Society were continued by a few members acting as individuals. Although most historians note that the Abolition Society had no part in securing passage of the Pennsylvania Gradual Emancipation Law in 1780, Anthony Benezet waged a strong campaign in its favor. The new statute, flawed as it was, was to provide both the impetus and framework for much of the Abolition Society's work for the next two decades. The law provided that no child born in Pennsylvania should be a slave, but that children born of slave mothers should be bound servants until the age of twenty-eight. Persons already enslaved were to be registered by their masters before 1 November 1780; unregistered slaves were to be set free. The Abolition Society's manumission books' registers of indentures, included on this film, attest to its sustained efforts to ensure that this newly-created class of bound servants would receive their legal rights. The Act also stipulated that blacks, whether free or slave, were equal before the law. To be sure, a slave could not be a witness against a freeman, but blacks were now legal persons whose rights had to be protected. Despite its weaknesses, the Act encouraged Benezet and other members of the dormant Abolition Society to continue their individual efforts. In 1781 they secured the freedom of Dinah Nevil. Thomas Harrison, secretary of the Society in 1775, into whose care Nevil and her children had been committed, purchased the family with his own funds and manumitted them. Continued opposition of the courts to Nevil's claims left Harrison no alternative, but he and others realized that individual efforts would be costly and ineffective. The aging Benezet tried several times to revitalize the Society between 1781 and 1783, but to no avail. Even after the effective end of hostilities between Britain and the colonies in 1781, Pennsylvania Quakers were uncertain of their future. Many were attempting to recover confiscated property and most were dismayed at finding themselves disfranchised by the new state government's test act. Not until 1784 did the few remaining members call a meeting for the reestablishment of the Society. Their motivation was a cause celebre involv ing two free black men accused of being runaway slaves. In the summer of 1783, while awaiting trial in the Philadelphia Work House, these men 8 unsuccessfully appealed to several influential citizens to act on their behalf.