Eli Baptist (1820 - May 26, 1905)[1][2]: 180 was an American abolitionist.
Life
editBaptist was born free in Cumberland, Pennsylvania.[2]: 180 He moved to Springfield, Massachusetts around 1846, where he worked first at a window blind factory and then, following the factory's closure, as a peddler of soap and candles.[2]: 180
He became an associate of abolitionist John Brown after he moved to Springfield in 1847.[3]: 10 In 1851, Baptist may have become a member of the League of Gideonites, a group in part founded by Brown to resist the Fugitive Slave Act and protect Springfield's African-American community.[2]: 181
In 1860, Baptist decided to immigrate to Haiti alongside Perry and Ruth Cox Adams and the families of Henry Griffin and Henry Joseph James.[4]: 82 He returned to New York City in June 1864,[4]: 83 and from there returned to Springfield, after which point he became "one of the city's leading citizens".[2]: 180 He was a member of the Free Church and the Masonic Lodge.[3]: 10
Baptist was a member of the Sanford Street Church (also called the Free Church and St. John's Congregational), and held a number of roles there over the years.[2]: 181
In 1866, Baptist and Thomas Thomas founded the Union Mutual Beneficial Society and the Masonic Lodge.[3]: 11 In 1884, the Massachusetts Governor gave Baptist a "justice of the peace commission".[2]: 181
Baptist died on May 26, 1905, at age 85, from "the infirmities of age and an old case of Bright's disease".[1]
References
edit- ^ a b The History of St. John's Congregational Church, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1844-1962. History Committee, St. John's Congregational Church. 1962. p. 131.
- ^ a b c d e f g McCarthy, Cliff (2022). "Who Were the Members of Springfield's League of Gileadites?" (PDF). 'Historical Journal of Massachusetts. 50 (1).
- ^ a b c Kazini, Imani (1977). "Black Springfield: A Historical Study". Contributions in Black Studies. 1: 5–14.
- ^ a b Carvalho, Joseph III (2012). "Uncovering the Stories of Black Families in Springfield and Hampden County, Massachusetts: 1650–1865" (PDF). Historical Journal of Massachusetts. 40 (1): 59–93.
- ^ Rocco, Louis J. Jr. (2020). "Full of Light and Fire": John Brown in Springfield (Thesis). University of Massachusetts Boston.