Eli Baptist
American abolitionist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eli Baptist (1820 - May 26, 1905)[1][2]: 180 was an American abolitionist and a leader of the African-American community in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Eli Baptist | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1820 Cumberland, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | May 26, 1905 (aged 84–85) |
Life
Baptist 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 [3]: 40
He became an associate of abolitionist John Brown after he moved to Springfield in 1847.[4]: 10 In 1851, Baptist may have become a member of the League of Gileadites, a group in part founded by Brown to resist the Fugitive Slave Act and protect Springfield's African-American community.[2]: 181 [3]: 40
In 1860, Baptist decided to immigrate to Haiti alongside Perry and Ruth Cox Adams and the families of Henry Griffin and Henry Joseph James.[5]: 82 He returned to New York City in June 1864,[5]: 83 and from there returned to Springfield, after which point he became "one of the city's leading citizens".[2]: 180
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 [4]: 10 In 1866, Baptist and Thomas Thomas founded the Union Mutual Beneficial Society and the Masonic Lodge in Springfield.[4]: 11 In 1884, the Massachusetts Governor gave Baptist a "justice of the peace commission".[2]: 181 In 1885, Baptist served as a pallbearer at the funeral of physician Jefferson Church, whose home in Springfield had served as an Underground Railroad stop.[3]: 29–30
Baptist died on May 26, 1905, at age 85, from "the infirmities of age and an old case of Bright's disease".[1]