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William L. Chaplin

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William Lawrence Chaplin
William Lawrence Chaplin, c. 1851
Born(1796-10-27)October 27, 1796
Groton, Massachusetts
DiedApril 28, 1871(1871-04-28)(aged 74)
Cortland, New York,U.S.
Occupation(s)Abolitionist, lawyer
Known forUnderground Railroad general agent,Liberty Partycandidate for lieutenant governor and then governor
SpouseTheodosia Gilbert Chaplin
Children2

William Lawrence Chaplin(October 27, 1796 – April 28, 1871) was anabolitionistin the years before theAmerican Civil War.Known by the title of "General," he was an agent for theAmerican Anti-Slavery Societyand a general agent for theUnderground Railroad.He was imprisoned for the attempted escape of two individuals, which required $25,000 to get out of jail and safely out of Maryland. He was an editor at two anti-slavery newspapers and he was a Harvard-educated lawyer for a couple of years. He and his wife operated the Glen Haven Water Cure spa in his later years.

Personal life[edit]

Theodosia Gilbert Chaplin (center, seated at table) is shown in this daguerreotype made at theFugitive Slave Convention,Cazenovia, New York, in 1850, a year before she married William L. Chaplin. To her right isFrederick Douglass.Behind them (standing) isGerrit Smith.[1]On either side of Smith areEmily and Mary Edmonson,young women who had been fugitive slaves on thePearl.[2]

Chaplin was born on October 27, 1796, inGroton, Massachusetts.[3]He was the son of Daniel Chaplin, a Congregationalist minister[4]and Susanna Prescott Chaplin.[5]His maternal grandfather was Col.William Prescott,a commander at theBattle of Bunker Hill.[6]

Beginning in 1804, he was educated atAndover Academy[5]and he attendedHarvard Collegein 1819, under thepreceptorshipof Mr. Butler.[5]He attended Harvard for four years, but did not graduate. During his senior year, a group of 34 students, that did not include Chaplin, initiated a rebellion that caused them to be dismissed. Chaplin withdrew under his own counsel.[5]He studied law underJudge Danaand he was admitted to the bar in June 1829.[5]

He was married to Theodosia Gilbert atGlen Haven, New York,on August 12, 1851. Gilbert was the daughter of Betsey (née Green) and Deacon Elias Gilbert ofRichmond, New York.[7]They had two children: Harriet Lawrence was born on December 5, 1852, and died nine years later on December 21, 1861. Theodosia Gilbert, born on April 11, 1855, married Reverend Frederick John Clegg Walton.[7][8]They attended the First Congregational Church ofPittsfieldled byRev. John Todd.[6]

Career and activism[edit]

Chaplin advocated fortemperancebeginning in 1819.[4]From 1829[7]until 1837, Chaplin was a practicing attorney in Groton[4]andEaston, Massachusetts.[9]He became an abolitionist by 1833 when he joined the newly formedAmerican Anti-Slavery Society.[4]He left his law practice to focus his efforts towards abolition of slavery.[9]In 1837, he moved toUtica, New York,where he became a general agent of the New York Anti-Slavery Society. Among fellow abolitionists, he was known as "General Chaplin".[4]He was the editor of the anti-slavery newspapers theAmerican Citizenand theAlbany Patriot,[10]where he was also the Washington D.C. correspondent.[11]

He joined a group headed byGerrit Smiththat formed theLiberty Partyin 1840. They were radical political abolitionists.[4]He was a Liberty Party candidate for lieutenant governor of New York in 1846 and for governor of New York in 1850.[12]

Underground Railroad and arrest[edit]

See also:Fugitive Slave Convention

In 1846, he moved to Washingtion, D.C., and filled the position left byCharles Turner Torreywhen he died in prison that year;[13]Chaplin became an agent for theUnderground Railroad.[10]TheVigilance Committeeprovided funding for purchasing enslaved blacks and for the rescue of fugitive slaves.[13]WithDaniel Bell,a free black man,[14]he organized and financed the attempted escape of 77 slaves from Washington, D.C. in thePearlincidentin 1848[12]and numerous other rescues of slaves.[10]For instance, in November 1848 he negotiate the payment to free theMary and Elizabeth Edmonson,who were fugitives during thePearlincident.[15]

Chaplin and other abolitionists yearned for more meaningful roles in the fight against slavery. In December 1848, Chaplin made a call for direct action: "to storm the castle of tyranny and rescue from its cruel grasp its bruised and peeled victims".[16]In 1849 or 1850,[17]Chaplin helpedAnna Maria Weems's sister Mary Jane (Stella) Weems and the Young family (Mary Jane's aunt, uncle and cousins) successfully escape slavery.[10]

In August 1850, Chaplin was arrested for aiding in the escape of two slaves, Allen andGarland H. White,[10][13][18][a]who were owned by then-congressmenAlexander Hamilton Stephens[b]andRobert Toombsof Georgia, respectively.[10][13][c]They left Washington D.C. and were held at the home of General Walter Jones for "some time". A $500 reward was set for both slaves and John H. Goddard, the pro-slavery captain of the night guard and police magistrate, was hired to search for them.[6][10]Based upon a tip, Goddard and his posse waited for the escapees, who had been picked up by a carriage and taken to the Maryland-Pennsylvania border.[10]The carriage was ambushed on the Washington-Brookeville Pike (nowGeorgia Avenueat what is now Jesup Blair Park) inSilver Spring, Maryland.[13][21]Chaplin was hit with a club[d]and shots were fired into the carriage, wounding Allen and Garland. Allen was captured and Garland escaped but surrendered after a few days.[10][e]

Chaplin was held in jail starting on April 8, 1850,but his crime was in Augustwith six weeks in District of Columbia[7][20]and then transferred to the jail inRockville, Marylandfor another 13 weeks.[7]Monies to pay for his bail and defense were acquired through donations to the Chaplin Fund Committee.[22][f]Chaplin was bailed out for $19,000[10][6]and for a total of $25,000 to ensure that he was not lynched while leaving the state.[6][7]The bail and defense payments were paid by prominent abolitionistGerrit Smithand others. The money was forfeited as Chaplin skipped bail and returned to New York.[7][20]Some people were left penniless after making the donations. Chaplin performed anti-slavery lectures to attain money to recoup donations to his bail fund.[23][24]The events were recorded in a pamphlet entitledThe Case of William L. Chaplin; being an Appeal to all Respecters of Law and Justice against the cruel and oppressive treatment to which, under color of legal proceedings, he has been subjected, in the District of Columbia and the State of Maryland.[7][25]

Chaplin's minister,Rev. John Todd,defended him in the October 30, 1850, issue ofThe New York Evangelist.[6]Todd said that Chaplin had "one of the noblest, most self-sacrificing, unselfish hearts that ever beat in human bosom."[6]A historical marker at theHoward County CourthouseinEllicott City, Maryland,states that it

was the location for judicial proceedings related to legal cases involving those charged with encouraging enslaved persons to run away... Arguably, the most famous case involved the transfer of known Underground Railroad agent William L. Chaplin of New York from Montgomery County to Howard County in 1850 but there were many cases involving local free Blacks like that of Warner Cook, charged with enticing those enslaved to run away.[26]

Anticipating theFugitive Slave Act of 1850,the Cazenovia convention was held on August 21 and 22 in 1850 inCazenovia, New York.It was organized byCharles Bennett RayandGerrit Smithof theNew York State Vigilance Associationand attended byFrederick DouglassandMary and Elizabeth Edmonson,who were fugitives during thePearlincidentand subsequently ran away.[2]There were some 30 fugitive slaves that attended the convention. Chaplin was held in a jail, so his fiancé, Theodosia Gilbert, attended in his stead.[2]

James C. Jackson,Joseph C. Hathaway, and Chaplin split from other abolitionists and joined the Free Democratic party.[9]

Post-arrest years[edit]

Glen Haven Water Cure onSkaneateles Lake,New York

In 1851, William L. Chaplin joined his wife and James C. Jackson in operating the Glen Haven Water Cure spa,[27]where Chaplin and Theodosia Gilbert were married on August 12, 1851.[7][28][g]Theodosia died on April 11, 1855, after the birth of her second child.[7]He died at his home on April 28, 1871, inCortland County, New York.[7][30]Harriet, Theodosia, and William were buried at theCortland Rural Cemetery.[8]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^After later escaping, Garland was the chaplain of the28th United States Colored Infantry Regimentduring theCivil War.[19]The marker for the incident erroneously states that it was Allen who was the chaplain.[13][19]Prince and others state that the two fugitives were Allen and Garland.[10][13]Scoggins states that the escapees were Louisa and Garland.[20]
  2. ^Stephens was later vice president of theConfederate States of America.[10]
  3. ^The Liberatorstates that the events took place in August 1849, but says Chaplin was under arrest in October 1850.[6]
  4. ^At some point during the incident or his arrest, Chaplin had been treated with "great cruelty and indignity".[10]
  5. ^Scroggins states that both were caught when a posse of six slave catchers chased Chaplin's carriage out of Washington. During the chase, the posse shot into the carriage, wounding the occupants.[20]
  6. ^Chaplin was said to have been charged under theFugitive Slave Act of 1850,but Chaplin was arrested in August 1850 and the Act was created in September 1850.[9]
  7. ^The Douglass book states they were married on April 13,[28]but Gilbert and Chaplin were recorded to have been married on April 12, by Green and a marriage announcement from theSkaneateles Columbiannewspaper.[7][29]

References[edit]

  1. ^Lowry, Bates; Lowry, Isabel (2000).The Silver Canvas: Daguerreotype Masterpieces from the J. Paul Getty Museum.Getty Publications. p. 180.ISBN0892365366.Archivedfrom the original on March 6, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 6,2015.
  2. ^abc"The Cazenovia Convention".Historians Against Slavery.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-05-13.Retrieved2021-03-25.
  3. ^Garrison, Wendell Phillips; Garrison, Francis Jackson (1894).William Lloyd Garrison, 1805–1879: The Story of His Life Told by His Children.Houghton, Mifflin. p. 360.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-04-05.
  4. ^abcdefHarrold, Stanley (2006)."Chaplin, William Lawrence".Oxford African American Studies Center.doi:10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.44616.ISBN9780195301731.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-24.
  5. ^abcdeGreen, Samuel Abbott (1914).Facts Relating to the History of Groton, Massachusetts.J. Wilson and Son. p. 86.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-24.
  6. ^abcdefgh"Slavery Diabolical".The Liberator.April 25, 1851. p. 2.Archivedfrom the original on June 24, 2022.RetrievedJune 10,2019– via Newspapers.
  7. ^abcdefghijklGreen, Samuel Abbott (1914).Facts Relating to the History of Groton, Massachusetts.J. Wilson and Son. pp. 87–88.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-24.
  8. ^ab"Cortland Rural Cemetery Burial Records"(PDF).Cortland Rural Cemetery.July 2017.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2021-05-08.Retrieved2021-03-24.
  9. ^abcdDouglass, Frederick (2009).The Frederick Douglass Papers: 1842–1852: Series Three: Correspondence, Volume 1: 1842–1852.Yale University Press. p. 427.ISBN978-0-300-13560-2.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-25.
  10. ^abcdefghijklmPrince, Bryan (2010). "Chapter 3".A Shadow on the Household: One Enslaved Family's Incredible Struggle for Freedom.McClelland & Stewart.ISBN978-0-7710-7126-3.
  11. ^"Dolley Madison and Her Slaves (March 31, 1848)".Encyclopedia Virginia.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-03-23.Retrieved2021-03-25.
  12. ^abNational Historical Marker Database."William L. Chaplin Arrested!".hmdb.org.Archivedfrom the original on January 3, 2015.RetrievedJanuary 3,2015.
  13. ^abcdefg"William L. Chaplin Arrested! Historical Marker".hmdb.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-18.Retrieved2021-03-25.
  14. ^Wingert, Cooper (3 October 2018)."Stanley Harrold – Border War (2010): Slave Stampedes on the Missouri Borderlands".Archivedfrom the original on 2020-06-26.Retrieved2021-03-25.
  15. ^"W. L. Chaplin managed payment for Edmonson sisters".Green-Mountain Freeman.1848-11-30. p. 2.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-25.
  16. ^Blackett, Richard (October 31, 2009)."John Brown, Slavery, and the Legacies of Revolutionary Violence in Our Own Time at Yale University"(PDF).John Brown and the Tradition of Attacking Slavery at the Source.
  17. ^"Frederick Douglass' paper: The Weems Family".Library of Congress, Washington, DC.February 1, 1856.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-23.
  18. ^Miller, Edward A. Jr. (1997). "Garland H. White, black army chaplain".Civil War History.43(3): 201–218.doi:10.1353/cwh.1997.0092.S2CID145659016.
  19. ^ab"Indiana's 28th Regiment: Black Soldiers for the Union"(PDF).Indiana State Government.p. 6.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2021-07-14.Retrieved2021-03-24.
  20. ^abcdScroggins, Mark (19 Jul 2011),Robert Toombs: The Civil Wars of a United States Senator and Confederate General,McFarland, pp. 66–67
  21. ^"Maryland Network to Freedom Sites, Programs and Tours".VisitMaryland.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-03-22.Retrieved2021-03-24.
  22. ^"The case of William L. Chaplin: being an appeal to all respecters of law and justice, against the cruel and oppressive treatment to which, under color of legal proceedings, he has been subjected, in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland".Library of Congress, Washington, DC.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-04-23.Retrieved2021-03-24.
  23. ^"W. L. Chaplin lectures to recoup payments made for his bail".The Daily Republic.1851-04-14. p. 3.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-25.
  24. ^"W.L. Chaplin holds lectures to repay donations for his bail".The Buffalo Commercial.1851-04-18. p. 2.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-25.
  25. ^Case of William L. Chaplin: being an appeal to all respecters of law and justice against the cruel and oppressive treatment to which, under color of legal proceedings, he has been subjected in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland.Boston: Chaplin Committee. 1851.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-16.Retrieved2020-07-04.
  26. ^"Howard County Courthouse, 1843: Historical Marker".hmdb.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-18.Retrieved2021-03-24.
  27. ^Harrold, Stanley (2003).Subversives:Antislavery Community in Washington, D.C., 1828–1865.Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. p. 161.ISBN0-8071-2805-8.
  28. ^abDouglass, Frederick (2009).The Frederick Douglass Papers: 1842–1852: Series Three: Correspondence, Volume 1: 1842–1852.Yale University Press. p. 582.ISBN978-0-300-13560-2.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-25.
  29. ^"Gen William L Chaplin marries Theodosia Gilbert on August 12, 1851 in Glen Haven, New York".Skaneateles Columbian.April 1851.
  30. ^"General William L. Chaplin obituary".Chicago Tribune.1871-05-19. p. 4.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-06-24.Retrieved2021-03-25.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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