James H. Birch (or Burch; fl. 1837–1860s) was an American slave trader in the District of Columbia.

In 1837, Dorcas Allen and her four children were put up for sale by her old owner's wife's new husband. While in Birch's "three-story Duke street pen" previously owned by Franklin & Armfield, she killed two of her four children rather than see them sold south. District Attorney Francis Scott Key advised Nathan Allen, husband of Dorcas and father of the children, to raise money to try to buy their freedom. With contributions from figures like John Quincy Adams it was done and Allen and her children were freed from Birch's shackles.[1]

Birch was responsible for the kidnapping and selling of Solomon Northup, a free man, in Washington in 1841. Northup wrote a memoir of his time as a slave, Twelve Years a Slave. Birch was tried but acquitted for the kidnap of Northup. Birch was acquitted in part because the law did not allow Solomon Northup, a black man, to give evidence. Following his acquittal, Birch demanded charges be filed against Solomon Northup for trying to defraud him, but then withdrew the case.[2][3][4][5][6]

James H. Birch is not to be confused with the William Birch who was a slave trader associated with Price, Birch and Co., the firm that ran the old Franklin & Armfield/George Kephart slave jail on Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia at the beginning of the American Civil War.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nunley, Tamika Y. (2021-01-29). At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C. UNC Press Books. pp. 78–80. ISBN 978-1-4696-6223-7.
  2. ↑ "The Kidnapping Case: Narrative of the Seizure and Recovery of Solomon Northrup" (PDF). The New York Times. January 20, 1853. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Narrative of the Seizure and Recovery of Solomon Northrup". New York Times. Documenting the American South. January 20, 1853. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  4. ↑ Doherty, Prudence (2014-03-06). "Chronicling America Dispatches: Vermont Papers Tell the Story of Solomon Northup | National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)". Neh.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-05-20. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  5. ↑ "Alexandria Plans To Purchase Historic Slave Pen-Turned-Museum". WAMU. Archived from the original on 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  6. ↑ VTDNP (28 March 2014). "Vermont Papers Tell the Story of Solomon Northup | Vermont Digital Newspaper Project (VTDNP)". Library.uvm.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2020-06-09.


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