BROOKLINE HISTORY:
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD & SLAVERY
Some Resources
"Walk-around" resources here in town:
1. Two Certified Underground Railroad homes:
Samuel and Eliza Philbrick, 182 Walnut Street
Sheltered among others: Ellen Craft (see print resources below) Grimke sisters wintered here one year & spoke to first anti-slavery gathering held in Brookline here. The Philbricks were a principal funder of Garrison's The Liberator, a founder of the Mass Anti-Slavery Society and stood up to the minister and leaders of First Parish regarding a black
child who was to be segregated to the balcony at the church. They also
lead ab boycott of sugar and molasses unless certain they weren't produced
by slaves and
Refused to vote in nat'l elections b/c of slavery
The house was originally built for the Tappan brothers, of whom
Lewis became well known nationally for his anti-slaver
work (including on the Amistad case)
William and Sarah Bowditch, 9 Toxteth St
Sheltered among others, Henry "Box" Brown as well as John
Brown's son as he was fleeing the federal marshals after
Harper's Ferry
An officer of the Mass Anti-Slavery Society
In the 1870's, as an elected official in the Town, proposed a motion
in Town Meeting that would "memorialize" the State
legislature to give women the vote; the motion was soundly
defeated
Refused to participate in nat'l elections b/c of slavery
N.B.: No other URR houses are known to be still standing, though there
were other URR houses then. Perhaps one of the most famous, Ellis Loring's home is still standing near the Parkway and the marshes in Boston, where it was moved to after the Civil War.
2. Walnut Street Cemetery
Slaves were buried here, probably almost all in the unmarked "potter's field"
towards the back. I have read that Mrs. White's slave Dinah was buried here
with a headstone, but I don't know if that stone remains today. (Mrs. White
also wrote a poem about Dinah.)
3. Town Hall, Washington Street
As you enter the Town Hall, on your right is a bronze plaque listing all those
from Brookline who fought on April 19, 1775. The list includes three slaves at the bottom, recognizable by such a designation as "Esq. Boylston's Prince".
The Town Hall of the 19th century was the scene of debates on slavery (by the Selectmen) and of public talks by anti-slavery leaders, including William & Ellen Craft. Ellen Craft later came to hide in Brookline in fear of her life and much later, after the Civil War, returned to speak in Brookline. For a time in the late 20th century, the Town awarded "William & Ellen Craft" awards to outstanding African-Americans working for the schools (& Town?).
4. Amos Lawrence's house, Ivy Street (the current home of Jon Westling,\
President of BU)
Amos Lawrence, after whom the Lawrence School is named, supported
John Brown in Kansas (hence Lawrence Kansas) in his effort to keep Kansas free from slavery. He sent rifles to Brown in boxes labeled "books" to use in defense against pro-slavery mobs. Lawrence was involved in other anti-slavery efforts as well.
5. Devotion House, Washington Street
Edward Devotion was a slave owner. Included in the property he gave to the Town for the establishment of the first public school was land, "a Negrow", tools, house and bedding.
6. Street names
These names are links, but it's not known if the streets were named to honor these particular men or to honor other men of their families. Mr. Devotion was not the only slave owner in Brookline in the 17th or 18th century. Several streets bear the names of families, which have owned slaves at one time or perhaps for several generations. The slave owners that are known are John Heath, George Cabot, Joseph Aspinwall, Samuel White, Ebeneezer Davis, and Dr. Boylston, who demonstrated the safety of the smallpox vaccine by inoculating his slave and his son.
People Resources:
7. Greer Hardwicke, Town historian/preservation planner
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD & SLAVERY
Some Resources
"Walk-around" resources here in town:
1. Two Certified Underground Railroad homes:
Samuel and Eliza Philbrick, 182 Walnut Street
Sheltered among others: Ellen Craft (see print resources below) Grimke sisters wintered here one year & spoke to first anti-slavery gathering held in Brookline here. The Philbricks were a principal funder of Garrison's The Liberator, a founder of the Mass Anti-Slavery Society and stood up to the minister and leaders of First Parish regarding a black
William and Sarah Bowditch, 9 Toxteth St
Sheltered among others, Henry "Box" Brown as well as John
In the 1870's, as an elected official in the Town, proposed a motion
N.B.: No other URR houses are known to be still standing, though there
were other URR houses then. Perhaps one of the most famous, Ellis Loring's home is still standing near the Parkway and the marshes in Boston, where it was moved to after the Civil War.
2. Walnut Street Cemetery
3. Town Hall, Washington Street
As you enter the Town Hall, on your right is a bronze plaque listing all those
from Brookline who fought on April 19, 1775. The list includes three slaves at the bottom, recognizable by such a designation as "Esq. Boylston's Prince".
The Town Hall of the 19th century was the scene of debates on slavery (by the Selectmen) and of public talks by anti-slavery leaders, including William & Ellen Craft. Ellen Craft later came to hide in Brookline in fear of her life and much later, after the Civil War, returned to speak in Brookline. For a time in the late 20th century, the Town awarded "William & Ellen Craft" awards to outstanding African-Americans working for the schools (& Town?).
4. Amos Lawrence's house, Ivy Street (the current home of Jon Westling,\
President of BU)
Amos Lawrence, after whom the Lawrence School is named, supported
John Brown in Kansas (hence Lawrence Kansas) in his effort to keep Kansas free from slavery. He sent rifles to Brown in boxes labeled "books" to use in defense against pro-slavery mobs. Lawrence was involved in other anti-slavery efforts as well.
5. Devotion House, Washington Street
Edward Devotion was a slave owner. Included in the property he gave to the Town for the establishment of the first public school was land, "a Negrow", tools, house and bedding.
6. Street names
These names are links, but it's not known if the streets were named to honor these particular men or to honor other men of their families. Mr. Devotion was not the only slave owner in Brookline in the 17th or 18th century. Several streets bear the names of families, which have owned slaves at one time or perhaps for several generations. The slave owners that are known are John Heath, George Cabot, Joseph Aspinwall, Samuel White, Ebeneezer Davis, and Dr. Boylston, who demonstrated the safety of the smallpox vaccine by inoculating his slave and his son.
People Resources:
7. Greer Hardwicke, Town historian/preservation planner
8.
George Chapman, minister at St Pauls' Church, a co-producer of the video
"Blacks in Brookline"
9. Brookline Underground RR Committee, chair: Sheila Parks
10. Brookline Underground Railroad Committee schools liaison: Barbara Brown & Scott Garren
11. Bob McCain, former Brookline School Cttee member, current Framingham resident and co-narrator of "Blacks in Brookline" video.
Video Resources: "Blacks in Brookline" a short video history, copies of which were deposited in all schools and all town library branches. Original is with George Chapman (see above).
Print resources:
1. "Brookline in the Anti-Slavery Movement," Harold P. Williams, Brookline Historical Publications Society, #18, 13 pp. 1899. This short pamphlet is my favorite reading on the subject. It offers lively writing and a large amount of information; it also gives a clear sense of the divisions in Town and how the Town changed. Based on interviews with the actual participants in the anti-slavery movement in Town.
2. History of Brookline (the chapter "Brookline in the Civil War includes the pre-war period).
3. The Brookline Trunk, Louise Kent. A wonderful children's book with each chapter on a different period in Brookline's history. Lots of contextual information and lots of social history. Includes information on Devotion, on the pro and anti-slavery sentiments in town and on the Civil War (Gr 4-6?)
4. Sketches of Brookline, Woods. I haven't read the book, but it is used as a source for information in other books & pamphlets thatI've read.
5. Town Hall records: debates in selectmen's meetings; Town Meetings, of public meetings; of property, including slaves; of houses that had housed escaping slaves; of cemetery records. . . of much more. . . .
6. Brookline Historical Society: records & proceedings. (The Mass. Historical Society undoubtedly has source information on Brookline Underground RR leaders, as they were also anti-slavery leaders in the state.)
Three children's books on Ellen Craft, the most famous person who hid in Brookline under the most dangerous circumstances:
7. Black Foremothers, Dorothy Sterling; with a chapter on Ellen Craft (gr 5?)
8. Profiles in Black and White, E. Chittenden; with a chapter on Ellen Craft (gr 4?)
9. Two Tickets to Freedom, Florence Freedman and Ezra Jack Keats. This book offers the full account, written for children, of Ellen and William Craft's escape to freedom and the further escape they had to make from the Boston area, when the slave catchers came after them.
Barbara B. Brown
44 Waverly Street, Brookline MA 02445
617-738-5663
africa@bu.edu
on behalf of the Brookline Underground Railroad Committee
prepared January 2002
"Blacks in Brookline"
9. Brookline Underground RR Committee, chair: Sheila Parks
10. Brookline Underground Railroad Committee schools liaison: Barbara Brown & Scott Garren
11. Bob McCain, former Brookline School Cttee member, current Framingham resident and co-narrator of "Blacks in Brookline" video.
Video Resources: "Blacks in Brookline" a short video history, copies of which were deposited in all schools and all town library branches. Original is with George Chapman (see above).
Print resources:
1. "Brookline in the Anti-Slavery Movement," Harold P. Williams, Brookline Historical Publications Society, #18, 13 pp. 1899. This short pamphlet is my favorite reading on the subject. It offers lively writing and a large amount of information; it also gives a clear sense of the divisions in Town and how the Town changed. Based on interviews with the actual participants in the anti-slavery movement in Town.
2. History of Brookline (the chapter "Brookline in the Civil War includes the pre-war period).
3. The Brookline Trunk, Louise Kent. A wonderful children's book with each chapter on a different period in Brookline's history. Lots of contextual information and lots of social history. Includes information on Devotion, on the pro and anti-slavery sentiments in town and on the Civil War (Gr 4-6?)
4. Sketches of Brookline, Woods. I haven't read the book, but it is used as a source for information in other books & pamphlets thatI've read.
5. Town Hall records: debates in selectmen's meetings; Town Meetings, of public meetings; of property, including slaves; of houses that had housed escaping slaves; of cemetery records. . . of much more. . . .
6. Brookline Historical Society: records & proceedings. (The Mass. Historical Society undoubtedly has source information on Brookline Underground RR leaders, as they were also anti-slavery leaders in the state.)
Three children's books on Ellen Craft, the most famous person who hid in Brookline under the most dangerous circumstances:
7. Black Foremothers, Dorothy Sterling; with a chapter on Ellen Craft (gr 5?)
8. Profiles in Black and White, E. Chittenden; with a chapter on Ellen Craft (gr 4?)
9. Two Tickets to Freedom, Florence Freedman and Ezra Jack Keats. This book offers the full account, written for children, of Ellen and William Craft's escape to freedom and the further escape they had to make from the Boston area, when the slave catchers came after them.
Barbara B. Brown
44 Waverly Street, Brookline MA 02445