But ONE Race But ONE Race The Life of Robert Purvis Margaret Hope Bacon STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2007 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384 Production by Judith Block Marketing by Susan M. Petrie Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bacon, Margaret Hope. But one race : the life of Robert Purvis / Margaret Hope Bacon. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-7007-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Purvis, Robert, 1810–1898. 2. African American abolitionists—Biography. 3. Abolitionists—United States—Biography. 4. African American civil rights workers—Biography. 5. African Americans—Pennsylvania—Philadelphia—Biography. 6. Philadelphia (Pa.)—Biography. 7. Antislavery movements—Pennsylvania— Philadelphia—History—19th century. 8. Philadelphia (Pa.)—Race relations—History— 19th century. I. Title. E449.P983B33 2007 973.7'114092—dc22 [B] 2006012419 10987654321 In grateful appreciation for the help and support of my husband S. Allen Bacon Contents Acknowledgments ix Ancestral Chart of the Purvis Family xiii Introduction 1 1. Of Southern Birth 7 2. The City of Brotherly Love 17 3. Present at the Beginning 29 4. World Traveler 43 5. “We are Not Intruders Here”59 6. To Aid the Fleeing Slave 75 7. A Time of Loss 89 8. Gentleman Farmer 101 9. “This Wicked Law”117 10. “Are We Not Men?”131 11. “A Proud Day for the Colored Man” 145 12. “Equality of Rights for All”161 13. The Freedmen’s Savings Bank 175 vii viii Contents 14. “We are To the Manner Born”191 15. “His Magnificent Record”207 Notes 213 Bibliography 255 Index 267 Acknowledgments T he origins of this book date back to 1997 when I published an article on Robert Purvis in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, en- titled “The Double Curse of Sex and Race: Robert Purvis and Human Rights.” I found the research for this essay difficult because of the absence of family correspondence, on which I had relied in all my previous biogra- phies. Intriguing as I discovered Purvis to be, I could not believe it would be possible to write a full-length biography under the circumstances. At this point, I met Dr. Julie Winch, author of the prizewinning A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten. Julie Winch was still at work on James Forten; she collected a considerable amount of material on Robert Purvis. This she generously shared with me, encouraging me to undertake further study of Purvis. To read my footnotes is to discover how deeply in- debted I am to her continuing generosity in sharing data. In addition, she read drafts of my manuscript and made many corrections. Julie Winch also introduced me to Reginald Pitts, a professional genealogical researcher, specializing in black families. He was an important helpmate. The footnotes at the end of the text make clear how much he has helped. I must also acknowledge continuing help from John Purvis of Scot- land, who has collected information on the worldwide Purvis family and shared all his work on the Robert Purvis branch. Another source of unfailing help throughout this long project has been Beatrice Walton, librarian of the Byberry Friends Meeting, who has supplied much material on Byberry Hall, Byberry School, and the com- munity of Byberry, where Robert Purvis spent many years. Dr. Joseph Borome, who has written a number scholarly articles on Robert Purvis, was encouraging and helpful. ix x Acknowledgments I would especially like to thank the Friends Historical Library, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Dr. Theo Fair, president of the Penn- sylvania Abolition Society, and James Livingston, for their permission to use materials found in their collections throughout this book. Much of the work on this book I conducted at the Friends Histori- cal Library, Swarthmore College. I am indebted to the former curator, Mary Ellen Chijioke, as well as the present curator, Christopher Dens- more, and archivists Susanna K. Morikawa and Patricia C. O’Donnell. Patricia also helped with developing the genealogical chart. The Swarth- more College Library’s Department of Interlibrary Loan was helpful in obtaining many books and tapes for me. Phillip Lapsansky, Charlene Peacock, and Linda August of the Li- brary Company of Philadelphia; Rachel Onfu, and Linda Stanley of the Manuscript Division of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; John Pol- lack of the Rare Books Collection, University of Pennsylvania; and Emma Lapsansky–Werner, Curator of Special Collections at Haverford College, were helpful in the project. At Special Collections in addition I would like to thank Ann W. Upton, Joelle Bertolet, and Diana Franzu- soff Petersen. I must also thank Dr. Roger Lane of Haverford who gen- erously lent me the microfilm tapes of William Dorsey’s scrapbooks of Philadelphia. This book would have been impossible to write without the gener- ous support of the staff of various research libraries, who made photo- copies of letters pertaining to Robert Purvis and granted me permission to quote from them. These include: Marianne Cawley of the South Caro- lina Room, Charleston County Public Library; the staff of the South Carolina State Department of History and Archives, and of the South Carolinian Library in Columbia, South Carolina; the Sophia Smith Col- lection, Smith College; the Anti-Slavery Papers, Boston Public Library; Sydney Gay Collection, Columbia University Library; Wendell Phillips Papers, Harvard University Library; Moorland–Springarn Research Cen- ter, Howard University; George Arents Research Library, Syracuse Uni- versity; the Jones Library, Amherst, MA; the Library of Congress; Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Rare Books, University of Pennsylva- nia; and the American Antiquarian Society. Dr. Ira Brown supplied a great deal of material from his own re- searches on Pennsylvania black history; Dr. Marie Agnew–Marcelli gave me invaluable assistance in tracing Ann Hathaway Purvis; Jean Yellin Fagan helped me understand the connection between Robert Purvis and Harriet Jacobs; Mary Sewell–Smith of St. Thomas Episcopal Church Acknowledgments xi aided me in searching church records; Helen Ganay Toppins helped me with research in New York City; Marcus Huey, and Barbara Graf aided with pictures of artifacts passed down in the Purvis family; and Bill Pep- per assisted me in scanning pictures. Teresa Engeman proofread the man- uscript. Judith Block handled the production at SUNY Press. Beverly Palmer of Pomona College encouraged me, and I am as always indebted to my husband, S. Allen Bacon, for his patience and his belief in me. William Purvis bd. 1832 dd. 1857 William Purvis Jr. Ancestral Chart Robert Purvis bd. 1806 bd. 1834 dd. 1828 of the Purvis Family dd. 1862 Joseph Purvis Alice Hathaway Purvis bd. 1837 bd. 17 Feb 1872 dd. 1851 dd. 26 Jan 1934 & Frederick H. Robie Harriet Purvis bd. 27 Dec 1862 bd. 1839 dd. 18 Apr 1919 dd. 1904 William Purvis m. 1904 Charles Burleigh Purvis bd. 1762 John Purvis Robert Hathaway Purvis bd. 4 Apr 1841 dd. 1826, 10/3 bd. 9 Aug 1873 dd. 30 Jan 1929 um. Elizabeth Thompson dd. 12 Feb 1937 & Ann Hathaway Baron Judah & Jane Bower bd. 11 Mar 1831 Harriet Judah dd. 5 June 1898 bd. 17 Feb 1783 bd. 1763 Robert Purvis dd. 10 Dec 1869 dd. 1830 um. Robert Purvis bd. 1810 bd. 1873 dd. 1898 Dido Badaracka dd. 1933 & Harriet Davy Forten bd. 1764 Charles Purvis bd. 1810 dd. ca 1840 bd. 1874 Henry W. Purvis dd. 1875 dd. 1931 bd. Nov 1843 Augustus Purvis dd. 28 Sep 1907 bd. 1884 & Ella Zenobia Barre m. 1872 dd. 1969 Joseph Purvis Marie Purvis bd. 1812 bd. 1887 dd. 1857 dd. 1911 & Sarah L. Forten Louise DeMar Purvis Granville Purvis bd. 1895 bd. 1846 dd. 1971 dd. 1911 & Elizabeth M. Gleason Marion Purvis bd. 1903 Georgianna Purvis bd. 1850 dd. 1877 Introduction T hroughout the nineteenth century the struggle to end slavery, to assist escaping slaves to make their way to safety, and to achieve full rights for black citizens, was conducted by a number of free blacks in the Northern states, in concert with white liberals. Not until Benjamin Quarles pub- lished his pioneer study, Black Abolitionists, in 1969 was attention shifted from the white abolitionists, especially those clustered around William Lloyd Garrison, to their black colleagues. While the general public has been aware of the contributions of such stars as Frederick Douglass, Har- riet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and William Still, the outstanding work of many heroic black men and women has remained largely veiled. Robert Purvis, the subject of this study, has been one of these un- sung heroes. A wealthy, light-skinned, and very handsome businessman, he was part of Philadelphia’s black upper class of which Julie Winch has written so helpfully in Philadelphia’s Black Elite.1 In his day, he was best known not only for his stirring oratory on behalf of the rights of black people to full and equal citizenship, but also his continuing rage that such rights were denied. Short-tempered with the enemies of his race, he was a mild and loving husband,