In this excerpt from reminiscences of levi coffin, first published in 1876, the quaker and abolitionist describes how he and his cousin vestal coffin began to aid fugitive slaves in north carolina early in the 1800s. An active leader in the underground railroad in indiana and ohio, some unofficially called coffin the president of the underground railroad, estimating that three thousand fugitive slaves passed through his care. See all books authored by levi coffin, including reminiscences of levi coffin. He moved to cincinnati to over the operation leaving his business in capable hands and his home still to be used to harbor fugitives as he had every intention of returning to his home. He was nicknamed president of the underground railroad because of the thousands of slaves that are reported to have.
A trip to the site begins with a brief orientation video. Join facebook to connect with levi coffin and others you may know. Page 616 i have not seen half a dozen who did not damn the president. Advocated, and sold in his store, freelabor products not produced by slaves. Levi coffin 17981877 was a quaker abolitionist, businessman, and humanitarian who became an active leader in the underground railroad in indiana and ohio. An online book about this author is available, as is a wikipedia article. Levi coffin, abolitionist, temperance leader, and philanthropist, was born in new garden, guilford county, a descendant of tristam coffin, who came to america in 1642 and was one of nine purchasers of nantucket from the indians. Levi coffin s most popular book is fleeing for freedom. Levi coffin levi coffin october 28, 1798 september 16, 1877 was an american quaker, abolitionist, and businessman. Born and raised in north carolina, he later lived in indiana and ohio with his wife, catherine white, and the couples six children. Levi coffins early struggles with slavery beyond the. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as cds or access codes.
Levi coffin has 22 books on goodreads with 163 ratings. The entrance to the garret could be easily hidden by pushing a bed in front of it. Levi coffin, born october 28, 1798, new garden now in greensboro, north carolina, u. The twostory house is a modified federal style brick home. The entrance to the garret could be easily hidden by pushing a bed in. A twotime winner of a minnesota book award for childrens nonfiction, she loves. It was generally necessary for freedomseekers to travel under the cloak of darkness. There are 9 levi coffins in coffin family by louis coffin. Levi coffin october 28, 1798 september 16, 1877 was an american quaker, republican. The story of the levi coffin house summary the levi coffin house was an important station on the underground railroad because it was the home of levi and catharine coffin from 1839 to 1847 in newport now fountain city, indiana. The project gutenberg ebook of the underground railroad from. Levi coffin house the grand central station of the underground railroad. May 05, 2014 instrumentality, and many other incidents. One example is the two books i published that teach.
Levi coffin coffin, levi, 17981877 an online book about this author is available, as is a wikipedia article coffin, levi, 17981877. Many of the tales recounted by the allvolunteer staff of the levi coffin house were told by mr. Reminiscences of levi coffin levi coffin, ben richmond on. Levi coffin was an important figure in the underground railroad network that helped thousands of fugitive slaves escape to freedom in the years before the american civil war. Levi coffin coffin, levi, 17981877 the online books page. Levi coffin was only about 15 years of age when he began his work with the underground railroad, the network of clandestine activists across america who offered their homes and churches as safe respite for runaway slaves. By some estimates, during the first half of the 1800s, roughly a third of north carolinas residents moved to other states. Levi coffin was born 28th october 1798, to levi coffin sr. Down the street from the home, you can view william bushs grave at the willow grove cemetery. In spite of my tendency to choose books by their entertainment value, ive often published titles that reflect my quaker values, though not in obvious ways. An active leader in the underground railroad in indiana and ohio, some unofficially cal led cof fin the president of the underground railroad, estimating that three thousand fugitive slaves passed through his care.
The reputed president of the underground railroad, and reminiscences. Levi coffin house, fountain city ticket price timings. It was written by the brother of my great great great grand uncle bethuel coffin. He had strong opinions when it came to the freedom of slaves. Levi coffin house played a significant role in underground. Person appeal to the colonized citizens of the world dont wait for freedom, predict future. He worked hard to support his family and did all he could to support others. Levi and catharine coffin are considered by many to have been the president and first lady of the underground railroad. Youll enjoy her post about the levi coffin house in central indiana, and the. Levi coffin was a wellknown abolitionist, and a very important individual to the success of the underground railroad. I used some of the stories about the slaves that levi coffin helped from this book. A leading american antislavery reformer and a conductor of the underground railroad, levi coffin 17891877 contributed to the good repute in the north of illegal and contested fugitive slave activities levi coffin came of an old nantucket, mass. Levi coffin levi coffin levi coffin october 28, 1798. Friend of the slave, enemy of emancipation indiana.
Being a brief history of the labors of a lifetime in behalf of the slave, with the stories of numerous fugitives who gained their freedom through his instrumentality, and many other inc, and more on. Father of levi coffin of underground railroad fame. Eventually, he bought a large new house and continued to offer safe haven for fugitive slaves. In 1830s, coffin became the director of branch of second state bank of indiana called the richmond due to his major investment. However, amazon provides no facility to rate the formatting of a book separately from the content of the book. He was a member of the society of friends quakers and by 15 had begun assisting slaves to escape to the north.
Being a brief history of the labors of a lifetime in behalf of the slave, with the stories of numerous fugitives, who gained their freedom through his instrumentality and man. Reminiscences of levi coffin, the reputed president of the. Levi coffin was born on october 28, 1798 in north carolina. Reminiscences of levi coffin, the reputed president of the underground. Use fountain city trip planner to visit levi coffin house and many others to your visit. Choose from 2 different sets of levi coffin flashcards on quizlet. Historian ryan jordan in his book, slavery and the meetinghouse. His cousin lucretia coffin mott was a prominent abolitionist and womens rights activist. If you found yourself driving through fountain city in east central indiana, you might drive right past the red brick levi coffin house without giving it much consideration. Levi and catharine coffin house state historic site, fountain city, in. Volunteersespecially tour guidesare an integral part of bringing levi and catharine coffins story to life. Levi coffin books list of books by author levi coffin. Only son and seventh child of levi and prudence williams coffin, whose families had removed from nantucket to new.
Because of its tremendous detail, this book has been reprinted many times since it was written in 1878. But the house, built in 1839, was one of the stops of more than 2,000 freedomseeking slaves traveling the underground railroad from the south. Several of the exhibits within the station tell the story of young levi coffins advocacy on behalf of a runaway slave, ede. This explains why catharine and levi were passionate about helping slaves to freedom. Visiting the levi and catharine coffin state historic site. Levi coffin, courtesy of the national park service.
Levi coffin, noted as the president of the underground. Eileen bakerwall, greatgreat granddaughter to william bush, volunteers as a docent at the levi and catharine coffin state historic site. When the slave hunters couldnt find the slaves, they blamed levi coffin for it saying, theres an underground railroad around here and levi coffin is its president. Reminiscences of levi coffin, the reputed president of the underground railroad page images at moa help with reading books report a bad link suggest a new listing. A part of the legendary underground railroad for fleeing slaves of precivil war days, this registered national historic landmark is a federal style brick home built in 1839. Levi coffin house fountain city, indiana atlas obscura. A painting of levi coffin hangs above a desk that belonged to the coffins. Levi coffin biography, family life and everything about. Levi and catharine coffin state historic site l fountain city, in.
A genealogical sketch of the coffin family by levi coffin, written in his book reminiscences. Books by levi coffin author of reminiscences of levi coffin. Coffin was born on october 28, 1798, in north carolina. He was known as the president of the underground railroad because he helped seventeen slaves to disappear. The late late show with james corden recommended for you. Being a brief history of the labors of a lifetime in behalf of the. The following brief sketch of the coffin family is gathered from the first number of the american historical record, published at. Tar heel junior historian association, nc museum of history. His family were quakers and farmers in guilford county, north carolina. Coffin himself and were collected in a book titled reminiscences of levi coffin. Before leaving, the old jurist condemned the presidents proclamation. Levi coffin house underground railroads grand central.
What to expect when visiting the levi and catharine coffin state historic site. Learn levi coffin with free interactive flashcards. Samuel barkshire acted as a coordinator and point of contact for rising suns ugrr network. Coffin was deeply involved in the underground railroad in indiana and ohio and his home is often called grand central station of the underground railroad. Husband of prudence williams coffin married on jan 4, 1786 in north carolina brother of deborah coffin, libni coffin, william coffin, samuel coffin, barnabas coffin, mathew coffin, bethuel coffin, abijah coffin.
Inspire a love of reading with prime book box for kids discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1. This edition of levi coffins reminiscences has been edited and abridged to provide hours of entertaining family reading. Nevertheless he was educated sufficiently well at home with his six sisters to be able to take up teaching. A leading american antislavery reformer and a conductor of the underground railroad, levi coffin 17891877 contributed to the good repute in the north of illegal and contested fugitive slave activities. Im sure the levi coffin house was also a house that never slumbers, possibly even more so than my own, with visitors arriving at all hours of the night. Gwenyth swain is the author of more than two dozen books for young readers. Being a brief history of the labors of a lifetime in behalf of the slave, with the stories of numerous fugitives, who gained their freedom through his instrumentality, and many other incidents. Levi coffin house played a significant role in underground railroad. He had little formal schooling because he was needed to work on the farm.
May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain limited notes and highlighting. The book case in the plush room upstairs still opens into a secret passage, but the spot. Dec 01, 2014 guilford college, friends historical collection video information. Son of william coffin and priscilla paddock coffin. His introduction places coffin in the wider abolitionist movement and provides background on the quaker faith thata motivated friends endeavors to find a nonviolent solution to the injustice of slavery. Levi coffin house state historic site in fountain city, indiana. The young levi received the bulk of his education at home, which proved to be good enough for coffin to find work as a teacher for several years. W hen i recently began reading the memoirs of nineteenth. The reputed president of the underground railroad by coffin, levi and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Only son and seventh child of levi and prudence williams coffin, whose families had. Moved from north carolina because he and his wife, catharine, opposed slavery.
Coffin was known as a farmer, merchant and businessman when he was in indiana. Levi coffin october 28, 1798 september 16, 1877 was an american quaker, republican, abolitionist, farmer, businessman and humanitarian. Levi coff in october 28, 1798 september 16, 1877 was an american quaker, republican, abolitionist, farmer, businessman and humanitarian. Levi coffin biography, life, interesting facts early years and education. Watch my other videos on historic sites, museums, national parks, etc. Levi coffin receiving a company of fugitives in the. Hotels like super 8 richmond, richmond inn and suites, motel 6 richmond in and econo lodge richmond will solve your problem of where to stay in fountain city. Levi coffin 17981877, a quaker abolitionist, lived in newport now fountain city with his family 18261847. The one star rating is for amazons publication of the kindle version of this book. His participation is also mentioned in the memoirs of. Hotels like super 8 richmond, richmond inn and suites, motel 6 richmond in and econo lodge richmond will solve your problem of where to stay in fountain. Levi coffin was the only son of levi and prudence nee williams coffin. Levi and catharine coffin house state historic site home.
He was born in guilford county, north carolina, in the united states. Levi coffin, the reputed president of the underground railroad, was born in the quaker community of new garden, near modernday guilford college, and he lived there until he moved to indiana in 1826 when he was 28 years. Included in the book is the story of eliza harris, the slave who was made famous in harriet. Originally from north carolina, they were part of the states large. Levi coffin was a quaker of strong beliefs, even when his own community expelled him. You may put all the pure unionism in kentucky into one scale, and a tenpound nigger baby in the other, and the unionism will kick the beam. In 1821, with his cousin vestal, levi coffin ran a sunday school for blacks. Reminiscences of levi coffin, the reputed president of the under. This source helped me better understand the life of levi coffin by giving me examples and explanations of what life would have been like in a way that was easy to understand. I would give the content of the book and the story of levi coffin a five star rating. Reminiscences of levi coffin, the reputed president of the underground railroad. Known for his leadership in aiding fugitive slaves, coffin opposed slavery and was given the unofficial title of president of the underground railroad.