Founder Robert Purvis in the 1840s
Co-founder James Forten

The Vigilant Association of Philadelphia was an abolitionist organization founded in August 1837 in Philadelphia to "create a fund to aid colored persons in distress".[1] The initial impetus came from Robert Purvis,[2] who had served on a previous Committee of Twelve in 1834, and his father-in-law, businessman James Forten.[3][4]

Up and running by 1938, the committee had begun to break down in 1852. William Still was an important conductor along the railroad and a founder of the vigialnce committee in Philadelphia.[5]

History

Its executive was the Vigilant Committee of Philadelphia and its first president was a black dentist, James McCrummell. Other abolitionists who helped included John Greenleaf Whittier, who helped form the committee and promoted the association in his newspaper Pennsylvania Freeman.[3][4]

There were five members of the acting committee for the Vigilant Association of Philadelphia, which included Nathaniel W. Depee, William Still, Jacob C. White, Passmore Williamson, and Charles Wise.[6][7][8]

In June 1842, future writer Harriet Jacobs was among the fugitive slaves who were aided by the Association.[9]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Foner, Eric (2 February 2016). Gateway to freedom : the hidden history of the underground railroad. ISBN 978-0-393-35219-1. OCLC 1086231994.
  2. ↑ Boromé, Joseph A.; White, Jacob C.; Ayres, Robert B.; McKim, J. M. (1968). "The Vigilant Committee of Philadelphia". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 92 (3): 320–351. ISSN 0031-4587.
  3. 1 2 Boromé 1968.
  4. 1 2 Tomek 2015.
  5. ↑ Gara, Larry (1961). "William Still and the Underground Railroad". Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. 28 (1): 33–44. ISSN 0031-4528.
  6. ↑ Sanders, Nancy I. (2012-06-01). Frederick Douglass for Kids: His Life and Times, with 21 Activities. Chicago Review Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-61374-357-7.
  7. ↑ Switala, William J. (2008-08-21). Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania. Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-4912-1.
  8. ↑ Still, William (2022-02-15). "Organization of the Vigilance Committee". Toronto Metropolitan University Pressbooks.
  9. ↑ Jean Fagan Yellin: Harriet Jacobs. A Life. New York 2004, p. 66.

Sources

  • Boromé, Joseph (1968), "The Vigilant Committee of Philadelphia", Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 92 (3): 320–351, JSTOR 20090197
  • Tomek, Beverly C. (2015), "Vigilance Committees", The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, Rutgers University


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