By 1834, Black churches had begun to exist in various parts of the United States. In this year, the First African Church of New Orleans, which had been officially founded in October of 1826, received two new Baptist pastors after the death of its founding pastor. These Brethren Sanders and Satterfield breathed new life into the church with their worship leadership, and membership flourished once...
It is the year 1826, 30 years after the American Revolution boldly stated that all men are created equal, but this first-hand account of Theodore Canot, an Italian adventurer paints a much darker picture of the times. Brantz Mayer’s 1854 work, “Captain Canot; Twenty Years of an African Slaver” vividly describes his friend’s grizzly profession; providing a historical document unmatched in...
Mathew Buchanan's letter in 1826 nervously mentioned intelligence that Thomas Edmiston's heirs were trying to take over his land in Washington County, Virginia. He would not give up his land without a fight, but one small problem arose. He had no proof that he owned it. Buchanan found out that land dealings could get nasty. Initially, he had partnered with Thomas Edmiston to purchase a piece...
A man swept into a dimly lit tavern and muttered, "Whiskey," in a hoarse voice before collapsing into a creaky wooden chair. On the table next to him lay a folded newspaper with the day's date. He snatched up the paper, the Virginia Gazette, and began leafing through it. He nodded to himself when he read that in North Carolina some planters held a contest to see whose slaves could...
On January 9, 1826, in Washington, D.C., the American Colonization Society (ACS) convened to review the annual “Report of the Managers.” William H. Fitzhugh, Esq. of Virginia, a vice president of the society, offered resolutions to expand funding options. With a task as large as removing and relocating freed blacks from the United States back to Africa, “private charity is inadequate to...
During the Second Great Awakening, there were many religious figures who transformed the way the general population thought about religion and its social practices. Much of the new religious thought came from upstate New York from areas called “burned-over districts,” because of the frequency with which they experienced religious revivals, or transformative incidents, which changed a person’s...
Alexander Gall advertised his ice delivery service in Portsmouth's American Beacon and Portsmouth Daily on May 18, 1826. Gall's advertisement ran in the local newspaper for a month. This allowed for the news of Gall's service to effectively spread among the people of Portsmouth. Gall brought ice to the homes of his customers in a horse-drawn wagon. Gall delivered ice daily to...
In an 1826 article, an Alabama newspaper warned readers and slave buyers of an untrustworthy slave trader who dealt in kidnapped free blacks. Victims were found in Mississippi, greatly abused or dead. The slave trader had even captured a young free black boy from his parents. The free men informed a gentleman, at whose house he stopped, that they were free born, and begged his interference to...
In the beginning of the 1820s, Albemarle County merchants advertised all year round of large stocks of staples they had for sale at Reasonable Prices, Bacon, cured in the manner for family use, nice white corn meal, and Barrels Brown sugar different quantities are just a few examples. By 1826, a new kind of merchant had come to town. John Cochran & Co. took up occupancy in a well-known building...
It was June 6th, 1826 when David R. Dunham, inspector of customs at New Smyrna, located a small schooner from Virginia that was operating quite oddly. The ‘John Richard” which was captained by James Spillman, arrived in St. Augustine from Alexandria with provisions for the U.S. troops that were stationed in Florida. Captain Spillman intended to immediately stock-up and depart for...