John P. Coburn (1811–1873) was a 19th-century African-American

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, civil rights activist, tailor and clothier from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. For most of his life, he resided at 2 Phillips Street in Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood. Coburn was one of the wealthiest African Americans in Boston of his time. His property on the North Slope of Beacon Hill had the third highest real property value in an 1850 census. Coburn was heavily involved in abolition-related work within his community, specifically work related to the

New England Freedom Association The New England Freedom Association (c.1842 – c.1848) was an organization founded by African Americans in Boston for the purpose of assisting fugitive slaves. History The New England Freedom Association was founded in 1842Quarles (1969), p. 15 ...

and the

Massasoit Guards The Massasoit Guards were an African-American militia company active in 1850s Boston. Clothing retailer John P. Coburn founded the group to police Beacon Hill and protect residents from slave catchers. Attorney Robert Morris repeatedly petitione ...

Entrepreneurial career

Coburn worked as a building contractor, tailor, and clothier. He managed two clothing stores, one at 20 Brattle Street and another at 59 Cornhill Street. His business focused on tailoring clothes and selling clothes which were advertised to be the current trend. Coburn sold cashmere clothing, doeskins, tweeds and vestings. He also sold men's garments, and cleaned and repaired clothes. In the mid 1860s, Coburn changed the name of his clothing store to W.T. Coburn Clothing Store, after his son Wendell T. Coburn. Coburn also co-owned a profitable gaming house, named the Coburn Gaming House, with his brother-in-law Ira Gray. The Coburn Gaming House doubled as a safe house on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. The main clientele of the gaming house was aristocratic African-Americans. This business brought Coburn even more wealth and allowed him to finance many rescue operations for fugitive slaves like that of

Shadrach Minkins Shadrach Minkins (c. 1814 – December 13, 1875) was an African-American fugitive slave from Virginia who escaped in 1850 and reached Boston. He also used the pseudonyms Frederick Wilkins and Frederick Jenkins.Collison (1998), p. 1. He is known fo ...

Contributions to abolitionism

Coburn was the treasurer of the

, an association that focused on helping fugitive slaves. He patronized ''The Liberator'', a local abolitionist newspaper, by publishing advertisements for his stores and acknowledgments to the people who had donated to the New England Freedom Association. In addition, he would also put out announcements offering lodging to those in need. In 1854, Coburn founded the

, a black military company, to police Beacon Hill and protect residents from

slave catchers In the United States a slave catcher was a person employed to track down and return escaped slaves to their enslavers. The first slave catchers in the Americas were active in European colonies in the West Indies during the sixteenth century. I ...

. He served as the company's captain. The Massasoit Guards were never officially recognized by the state, despite repeated petitions by attorney Robert Morris. The group was named after a

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 1 ...

chief who had been friendly to Massachusetts colonists. Coburn also recruited volunteers for the militant abolitionist John Brown.

Family and legacy

Coburn was married to Emeline Coburn and had one adopted son named Wendell Coburn. Between 1843 and 1844, he commissioned architect

Asher Benjamin Asher Benjamin (June 15, 1773July 26, 1845) was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between Federal architecture and the later Greek Revival architecture. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities an ...

to design a house for him at the corner of Phillips and Irving Streets. Coburn died in 1873 and left most of his belongings to his son Wendell Coburn. His house, located on Beacon Hill, is now a site on Boston's

Black Heritage Trail The Boston African American National Historic Site, in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts's Beacon Hill neighborhood, interprets 15 pre-Civil War structures relating to the history of Boston's 19th-century African-American community, connected ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coburn, John P. 1811 births 1873 deaths People from Beacon Hill, Boston African-American abolitionists Abolitionists from Boston