Austin Woolfolk (1796–1847) was an American slave trader. Among the busiest slave traders in Maryland, he trafficked more than 2,000 enslaved people through the

port of Baltimore Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore is a shipping port along the tidal basins of the three branches of the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland on the upper northwest shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the nation's largest port facilities fo ...

to the

port of New Orleans The Port of New Orleans is an embarkation port for cruise passengers. It is also Louisiana’s only international container port. The port generates $100 million in revenue annually through its four lines of business – cargo (46%), rail (31%) ...

, and became notorious in time for selling

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he becam ...

's aunt, and for assaulting

Benjamin Lundy Benjamin Lundy (January 4, 1789August 22, 1839) was an American Quaker abolitionist from New Jersey of the United States who established several anti-slavery newspapers and traveled widely. He lectured and published seeking to limit slavery's ex ...

after the latter had criticized him.

Biography

Austin Woolfolk was born in 1796 in the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

. He served as lieutenant in Andrew Jackson's army during the War of 1812, serving under his father Colonel William Woolfolk. He moved to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in 1815 or 1819, where he married Emily Sparks in 1839 with whom he had four children, two of which were adopted. Woolfolk became a slave trader in Baltimore, where he had an office on

Pratt Street Pratt Street is a major street in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It forms a one-way pair of streets with Lombard Street that run west–east through downtown Baltimore. For most of their route, Pratt Street is one-way in an eastbound direc ...

, with a

pen A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity w ...

where he kept his slaves. Even though he advertised in newspapers, he moved his slaves at night to avoid attracting attention. He became notorious for selling

's aunt, and for assaulting

after the latter had criticized him. For this attack, Woolfolk pleaded guilty to assault, and received a one dollar fine and was ordered to pay court costs. Woolfolk was driven "out of business" by slave traders

Isaac Franklin Isaac Franklin (May 26, 1789 – April 27, 1846) was an American slave trader and plantation owner. He was the co-founder of Franklin & Armfield, which became the largest slave trading firm in the United States. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, ...

and

John Armfield John Armfield (1797–1871) was an American slave trader. He was the co-founder of Franklin & Armfield, "the largest slave trading firm" in the United States. He was also the developer of Beersheba Springs, and a co-founder of Sewanee: The Uni ...

when they moved to Baltimore. Woolfolk died 10 February 1847 in

Auburn, Alabama Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population o ...

. Austin Woolfolk's brothers, Samuel Martin Woolfolk, Joseph Biggers Woolfolk, and Richard Woolfolk, and two of his uncles, John Woolfolk of Augusta, Georgia, and Austin Woolfolk, also worked in the slave trade. One Augustin Woolfolk may also have been a relation and slave trader. According to a Woolfolk family history published in 2004, "Some say he was engaged in slave trading...but more likely he was buying large numbers of slaves to use on his extensive sugar plantations in Iberville Parish, Louisiana". However according to professional historians, along with figures like Joseph S. Donovan,

Bernard M. Campbell Bernard Moore Campbell ( – May 30, 1890) and Walter L. Campbell (b. ) operated an extensive slave-trading business in the antebellum U.S. South. B. M. Campbell, in company with Austin Woolfolk, Joseph S. Donovan, and Hope H. Slatter, has been ...

, and Hope H. Slatter, Woolfolk was a pioneer magnate of Baltimore-based slave trading.

Slave jail

More than 30 years after his death, a newspaper described Woolfolk's former premises: The site of Woolfolk's slave jail is now a Baltimore city park.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woolfolk, Austin 1796 births 1847 deaths People from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Baltimore 19th-century American slave traders 19th-century American businesspeople American people convicted of assault History of slavery in Maryland Tuberculosis deaths in Alabama American military personnel of the War of 1812 Sugar plantation owners

Biography

Slave jail

See also

References

Sources