WILLIAM B. POWELL JR. (1834-1915) POSTED ONDECEMBER 1, 2011BY CONTRIBUTED BY: MACKENZIE LANUM Image courtesy National Archives William B. Powell Jr., one of the first African American physicians to receive a contract as a surgeon with the Union Army, was free born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1834. His father, William Powell Sr., also in the medical […]
16 December 1814 – 5 February 1888 The Underground Railroad (UGRR) had a strong foundation in New Bedford. We may never know how many freedom seekers were secretly sheltered at the Jackson home, but we do know that Jane and her husband, the Reverend William Jackson, made freedom possible for many who had escaped. Jane […]
Reading Douglass Together
NBHS Juneteenth Jazz Wall
CLARISSA DAVIS. ARRIVED DRESSED IN MALE ATTIRE. Clarissa fled from Portsmouth, Va., in May, 1854, with two of her brothers. Two months and a half before she succeeded in getting off, Clarissa had made a desperate effort, but failed. The brothers succeeded, but she was left. She had not given up all hope of escape, […]
William Jackson July 2021 MV Magazine – PDF
Amelia Piper, Abolitionist (1796-1856) Amelia Piper fled Alexandria VA with her husband and four children between 1826 – 1830 and came to New Bedford by sea. Family lore has it that they came to New Bedford on a schooner owned by the Rotch family. Once safely housed in New Bedford, the Piper family members did […]
Thomas-Nixon – PDF
