131:. His mother, Margaret Olmsted, a woman who was enslaved by his uncle Edward A. Latimer. In the early part of his life he was enslaved by a man named Edward Mallery and was a "domestic servant" until the age of sixteen. After that time, his labor was hired out and he primarily worked driving a dray and as a shopkeeper. On two separate occasions, he spent time in prison as a result of the debts of his enslaver. He was eventually sold to enslaver James B. Gray. Gray was a shop owner whose store Latimer manned. He abused Latimer and it is thought that this abuse in part precipitated Latimer's flight to Boston.
147:, with Rebecca posing as a servant to her lighter-skinned husband. At last, they made their way to Boston, arriving on either October 7 or 8th. James Gray offered a reward of $ 25 if Latimer was captured in Virginia and $ 50 plus expenses if he was captured outside Virginia. On the day George Latimer and Rebecca arrived in Boston, Latimer was recognized by a man named William R. Carpenter, a former employee of James Gray, who contacted Gray. On October 20, Latimer was arrested. The initial charge was larceny. Latimer was brought before Justice
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detention or arrest of suspected fugitives. The latter demanded that laws be passed severing any connection between
Massachusetts and slavery. Latimer's freedom was purchased while these petition drives were still ongoing, but they had a considerable impact. The petition delivered to the State Assembly contained 64,526 signatures and weighed 150 pounds by the time it was delivered on February 17, 1843. This petition was a significant contribution to the passage of the
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A major development that occurred as a result of
Latimer's arrest was the Latimer Committee's creation of two separate petitions, the "Great Massachusetts Petition" and the "Great Petition to Congress." The former requested a law banning the involvement of state officials or public property in the
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Latimer's arrest resulted in an uproar so great that "Boston was, without a doubt, the most potentially violent city in
America." The case brought about an immense public response in the state of Massachusetts. Latimer's counsel, Sewell, chaired a meeting at Faneuil Hall where attendees not only
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171:, who was known to have strong anti-slavery views. Sewall argued that Latimer should have the right to have his identity determined by a jury. This attempt at freeing Latimer, however, also failed, as Shaw denied the writ. According to the abolitionist paper
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and increased collective action in the black community of
Massachusetts. One example of this is the fundraising efforts that helped raise the money that was eventually used to purchase Latimer. These meetings were addressed by such abolitionists as
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There is not a great deal of information available about
Latimer's life as a free man. He continued to be involved in, and connected to, the abolitionist movement. In 1851 he was involved in the rescue of an escaped enslaved person,
190:, William F. Channing, and Frederick Cabot. Issues came out every other day. The Latimer Journal reported that the social unrest related to Latimer's imprisonment was such that "fire and bloodshed threatened in every direction."
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After his freedom was purchased, George
Latimer remained involved in the abolitionist cause, attending anti-slavery conventions and helping to gather signatures for the two petitions that were started while he was imprisoned.
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202:," which prevented Massachusetts officials from assisting in the detention of suspected fugitive enslaved people and banned the use of state facilities to detain such suspects. The petition to Congress, delivered to
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vowed resistance to slave-catching but also voted for disunion. Additional meetings were held throughout the state, called "Latimer
Meetings." These meetings included both black and white abolitionists.
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After
Latimer's arrest word spread through the black community and a group led by Henry G. Tracy attempted to rescue him. They were unsuccessful. Latimer's lawyer,
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On
October 4, 1842, Latimer and his wife, Rebecca, who was pregnant at the time, ran away. The pair hid beneath the deck of a northbound ship that took them to
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115:(July 4, 1819 – May 29, 1897) was an escaped slave whose case became a major political issue in Massachusetts.
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Latimer's arrest spurred other action as well. It was the "immediate impetus" for the organization of the
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Latimer's primary occupation was as a paperhanger and he worked in this capacity for forty-five years in
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Bostonians: Family Life and Community Struggle in the Antebellum North
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Black Boston: African American Life and Culture in Urban America, 1750-1860
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was created by the men appointed to the newly formed Latimer Committee,
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George A. Latimer, William H. Latimer, Margaret Ann Latimer Hawley, and
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Rebecca Latimer, Charlotte (Williams) Saunders, Mary (Turner) Williams
327:"The George Latimer Case: A Benchmark in the Struggle for Freedom"
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Pro-fugitive slave riots and civil disorder in the United States
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Latimer's freedom was eventually purchased from Gray for $ 400.
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was less successful, with no legislation resulting from it.
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Boston African American community prior to the Civil War
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Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion, Volume 1
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Justice Accused: Antislavery and the Judicial Process
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728:(abolitionist, father of Edward G. Walker)
704:(abolitionist, public speaker, journalist)
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445:. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.
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155:Events surrounding Latimer's imprisonment
686:(dentist, doctor, lawyer, abolitionist)
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123:George Washington Latimer was born in
514:Slavery in the colonial United States
383:. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1999.
106:Mitchell Latimer and Margaret Olmsted
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626:(abolitionist, author, businessman)
893:Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society
881:Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society
875:Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society
355:. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2007.
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566:(slave memoirists, abolitionists)
167:from Massachusetts Chief Justice
163:, then sought a writ of personal
1003:African Meeting House and Museum
608:(abolitionist, Rev. War soldier)
237:Photograph by Reed Studio c.1880
16:American escaped enslaved person
1153:People from Lynn, Massachusetts
674:(teacher, abolitionist, author)
596:(abolitionist, slave memoirist)
211:New England Freedom Association
151:, who ordered that he be held.
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1034:Lewis and Harriet Hayden House
184:Latimer and North Star Journal
143:. From there they traveled to
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1148:People from Norfolk, Virginia
662:(lawyer, abolitionist, judge)
1024:Charles Street Meeting House
654:George Middleton (1735–1815)
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789:1857 Supreme Court decision
554:(minister, slave memoirist)
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1102:Copp's Hill Burying Ground
807:Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
698:(abolitionist, politician)
620:(abolitionist, politician)
972:(Mass. Rev. War soldiers)
614:(freemason, abolitionist)
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375:Horton, James Oliver and
113:George Washington Latimer
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25:George Washington Latimer
1163:Fugitive American slaves
1063:Influential publications
889:(abolitionism, equality)
716:(minister, abolitionist)
692:(college grad., teacher)
602:(abolitionist, minister)
590:(abolitionist, minister)
188:Henry Ingersoll Bowditch
129:Elizabeth City, Virginia
976:Prince Hall Freemasonry
899:Prince Hall Freemasonry
760:Back-to-Africa movement
564:Ellen and William Craft
560:(abolitionist, soldier)
459:The George Latimer Case
1117:Abolition Riot of 1836
1107:William Lloyd Garrison
1039:George Middleton House
954:Twelfth Baptist Church
786:Dred Scott v. Sandford
744:associated individuals
668:(abolitionist, writer)
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1044:William C. Nell House
944:African Meeting House
921:African Meeting House
523:Prominent individuals
351:Rodriguez, Junius P.
263:Alexander Graham Bell
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1014:Black Heritage Trail
570:Rebecca Lee Crumpler
509:Black Heritage Trail
417:Levesque, George A.
259:Lewis Howard Latimer
220:Charles Lenox Remond
161:Samuel Edmund Sewall
97:Lewis Howard Latimer
1054:John J. Smith House
915:Home of Primus Hall
742:Relevant topics and
690:John Brown Russwurm
666:William Cooper Nell
538:(college professor)
530:Macon Bolling Allen
443:Black Abolitionists
441:Quarles, Benjamin.
255:Lynn, Massachusetts
135:Escape from slavery
76:Lynn, Massachusetts
998:Abiel Smith School
927:Abiel Smith School
830:History of slavery
638:(Rev. War soldier)
287:"FamilySearch.org"
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923:(1806–1835)
917:(1798–1806)
819:Thomas Sims
778:Legal cases
678:Thomas Paul
612:Prince Hall
606:Primus Hall
572:(physician)
200:Latimer Law
169:Lemuel Shaw
1132:Categories
764:Paul Cuffe
710:(minister)
708:Baron Stow
680:(minister)
672:Susan Paul
632:(minister)
273:References
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49:1819-07-04
908:Education
141:Baltimore
103:Parent(s)
84:Spouse(s)
937:Religion
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298:June 27,
165:replevin
92:Children
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