Read Part One HERE
In this post I will continue to focus on a woman named Mary Meachum. She lived from 1801 - 1869. Mary and her husband also helped enslaved people escape to Illinois, where slavey was outlawed. Their work inolved considerable risk due to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 - a law authorizing the hunting and capture of escaped enslaved people and requirement that they be returned to their enslavers.
Rev John Berry Meachum grew up as an enslaved person in Virginia and Kentucky before earning enough money to purchase his freedom. Before leaving Kentucky, he met Mary, an enslaved person who was set to be moved by her enslavers to St Louis. John followed Mary to St Louis where he bought her freedom and eventually established the First African Baptist Church, the first black congregation in St Louis. Through his work as a skilled craftsman and barrel maker, John was able to buy the freedom of many enslaved people in St Louis. After John's death in 1854, Mary continued their work educating and freeing enslaved people.
Read Part Eighty-Six HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment