54:, in 1798. His parents were Boston Ruby and Zeruiah Lewis. By 1820, he was living in Portland. He married Jannett C Pierre in 1821, who died in 1827. He then married Rachel Humphey in 1829, who died in 1861. He then married Ann M. Little in 1864. He lived at 81 Newbury Street in Portland, an address near the
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In
October 1834, he was one of four attendees from Portland at the founding convention of the Maine Anti-Slavery Convention, which led to the formation of the Maine Anti-Slavery Society that same year. In 1837, he served on the executive committee of the New England Temperance Convention, which was a
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Maine was one of the few states to grant voting rights to Black men. Maine gained statehood in 1820, and Ruby voted in Maine's first election at age 21. He joined the
National Republican Party and then the Whigs.
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newspaper in 1826 that condemned
Portland churches for treating Black members as second-class citizens. The same men then petitioned the state to incorporate what would become the Abyssinian Meeting House.
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around the city in his carriage during
Garrison's visit to Portland. Afterwards, Garrison had dinner at Ruby's Portland home with other leaders of the African-American community.
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His children were also important members of the Black community. William
Wilberforce Ruby was a captain in the Portland Fire Company. He is credited as the first to spot the
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Ruby also had various other professions besides hack driving. In 1820, Ruby was working in
Portland as a waiter. In 1827, Ruby became a sales agent for
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and hack stand owner. His hack stand operated at the Elm Tavern, which was located at the corner of Temple and
Federal Streets in Portland's
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monument marks the location. It was through his hack business that he became involved in transporting people on the
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406:"Reuben Ruby Hack Driver Drives William Lloyd Garrison Around Portland and Facilitates Mtg. w/Black leaders"
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and he worked to keep the fire from burning the
Abyssinian Meeting House,
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258:"Black History Month: Maine's Black history should not be forgotten"
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in 1848. He stayed four months and collected $ 3,000 worth of gold.
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113:. By the 1830s, he owned multiple carriages. In 1832, he drove
382:"Reuben Ruby and Maine Anti-Slavery Society's founding -"
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Ruby and five other men wrote a letter published in the
333:"Exploring Black history on Portland's Freedom Trail -"
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Ruby died in 1878, aged 78 or 79. He is interred in
430:"Reuben Ruby Strikes Gold in California Gold Rush"
22:(1798–1878) was an African-American businessman,
357:"Hack Stand of Reuben Ruby Historical Marker"
156:convention of African-American supporters of
93:A longtime resident of Maine's largest city,
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38:political life and a founding member of the
568:African-American people in Maine politics
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69:, who was the first Black graduate of
558:African-American temperance activists
220:"Ruby, Reuben (1798-1878) | Gray, ME"
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499:. The Liberator. September 29, 1837.
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282:"Greater Portland Landmarks - Blog"
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199:"Reuben Ruby: Hackman, Activist"
479:"Maine Anti-Slavery Convention"
553:African-American abolitionists
543:Activists from Portland, Maine
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380:Warner, Stacey (2023-06-16).
97:, Ruby was the state's first
331:O'Brien, Andy (2023-02-28).
16:African-American businessman
308:"The Night Portland Burned"
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286:Greater Portland Landmarks
256:Greene, Bob (2021-02-21).
548:Abolitionists from Maine
132:Abyssinian Meeting House
79:Reconstruction-era Texas
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40:Abyssinian Meeting House
538:People from Gray, Maine
497:"Temperance Convention"
510:Portland Freedom Trail
115:William Lloyd Garrison
107:Portland Freedom Trail
563:American taxi drivers
386:www.amjamboafrica.com
337:www.amjamboafrica.com
312:Portland Press Herald
203:Maine History Online
170:Forest City Cemetery
111:Underground Railroad
71:Portland High School
67:George Thompson Ruby
32:temperance supporter
28:slavery abolitionist
485:. November 1, 1834.
147:Political activism
63:Great Fire of 1866
454:"Radical Mainers"
306:pressherald.com.
224:www.graymaine.org
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533:1878 deaths
528:1798 births
458:The Bollard
99:hack driver
52:Gray, Maine
24:hack driver
20:Reuben Ruby
522:Categories
464:2023-11-29
439:2023-11-25
415:2023-11-25
391:2023-11-24
366:2023-11-24
342:2023-11-25
317:2023-11-25
292:2023-12-02
267:2023-11-25
229:2023-11-24
180:References
158:temperance
77:leader in
75:Republican
176:, Maine.
126:Gold Rush
103:Old Port
95:Portland
89:Career
46:Family
164:Death
36:Maine
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