Charles Lenox Remond (February 1, 1810 – December 22, 1873) was an American

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

, activist and

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 ...

based in Massachusetts. He lectured against slavery across the Northeast, and in 1840 traveled to the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

on a tour with

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper ''The Liberator'', which he foun ...

. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, he recruited blacks for the

United States Colored Troops The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments in the United States Army composed primarily of African-American (colored) soldiers, although members of other minority groups also served within the units. They were first recruited during ...

, helping staff the first two units sent from Massachusetts. From a large family of African-American entrepreneurs, he was the brother of Sarah Parker Remond, also a lecturer against slavery.

Biography

Early years

Remond was born in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

to John Remond, a free man of color from the island of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coas ...

, who was a hairdresser, and Nancy Lenox, daughter of a prominent Bostonian, a hairdresser and caterer. Massachusetts had effectively abolished slavery after the Revolution with its new constitution. The eldest son of eight children, Charles Remond began his activism in opposition to southern slavery early. His siblings included sisters Nancy, Cecilia, Maritchie Juan,

Caroline Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

, and Sarah Parker, and a younger brother John Remond. While in his twenties, Remond started speaking for abolition at public gatherings and conferences in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

, New York and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

Activism

In 1838, the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society chose him as one of its agents. As a delegate from the

American Anti-Slavery Society The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS; 1833–1870) was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave, had become a prominent abolitionist and was a key leader of this soc ...

, in 1840 he traveled with

, a leading American abolitionist, to the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London. The young Remond gained a reputation as an eloquent lecturer and is reported to have been the first black public speaker on abolition.Merrill, Walter M., ed. ''The Letters of William Lloyd Garrison. vol. III'': ''No Union with Slave-Holders, 1841-1849.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1973, p. 273.Charles W. Townsend III and Peggy Jean Townsend, Chap: "Charles Lenox Remond," ''Milo Adams Townsend and Social Movements of the Nineteenth Century''
, 1994, hosted at Beaver County, PA website, accessed November 12, 2013. He was described as expressing himself with "militancy" and wit. Remond proposed resolution at the first national

Colored Convention The Colored Conventions Movement, or Black Conventions Movement, was a series of national, regional, and state conventions held irregularly during the decades preceding and following the American Civil War. The delegates who attended these convent ...

in Philadelphia, PA (1830) calling for blacks to leave "''en masse''" any church "that discriminated against them in seating or at the communion table." Their resolution was adopted. In 1840, when female delegates were denied seats at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, Lenox and Garrison protested and walked out with the women. In 1857 at a meeting held in

New Brighton New Brighton is the name of several places, sports teams etc.: Australia * New Brighton, New South Wales, a town near Ocean Shores Canada * New Brighton, Calgary, Alberta, a neighborhood * New Brighton (Gambier Island), a settlement in British ...

by Remond and his sister

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...

, also an abolitionist lecturer, Remond said, "When the world shall learn that 'mind makes the man'-- that goodness; moral worth, and integrity of soul, are the true tests of Character, then prejudice against caste and color, will cease to be." During the Civil War, Remond recruited black soldiers in Massachusetts for the

of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

, helping man the early, famed units of the

54th Massachusetts Infantry The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry R ...

Work

Remond's family owned and operated a successful hairdressing business, and catering service in which several members participated. His three sisters, Cecilia, Maritchie, and Caroline, owned a women's hair salon and the largest wig factory in the state. Remond eventually struck out on his own. After the Civil War ended, he moved to Boston, where he worked as a clerk in the United States Customs House. He also worked as a street lamp inspector. He later purchased a farm in South Reading (now

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population ...

), Massachusetts.

Marriage and family

Remond was married in September 1850 to Amy Matilda (Williams) Cassey (1809–56),Mary Maillard, "'Faithfully Drawn from Real Life:' Autobiographical Elements in Frank J. Webb's ''The Garies and Their Friends''," ''Pennsylvania Magazine of Biography and History'' 137.3 (2013): 285. the daughter of

Rev. Peter Williams, Jr. Peter Williams Jr. (1786–1840) was an African-American Episcopal priest, the second ordained in the United States and the first to serve in New York City. He was an abolitionist who also supported free black emigration to Haiti, the black repub ...

She was the widow of wealthy Philadelphia barber Joseph Cassey,Black, Janine
"Cassey, Joseph (1789-1848)"
BlackPast.org. with whom she had eight children and an adopted daughter, Annie E. Wood, the maternal aunt of

Charlotte Forten Grimke Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populous ...

. After her marriage to Remond, she moved to Salem, where she lived until her death on August 15, 1856. Two years later, Remond married again, to Elizabeth Magee, a native of Virginia, in Newton on July 5, 1858. The abolitionist preacher, Rev. Theodore Parker, officiated. Before her death in 1871, Elizabeth and Remond had four children: Amy Matilda (1859–72), Charles Lenox, Jr. (1860–82), Wendell Phillips (1863–66), and Albert Ernest Remond (1866–1903). Remond died in Boston in December 1873. He is buried in Harmony Grove Cemetery, in Salem.

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 ...

named one of his sons for him: Charles Remond Douglass.

References

External links

* *
Charles Remond, abolitionist and orator
at the African American Registry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Remond, Charles Lenox 1810 births 1873 deaths African Americans in the American Civil War African-American abolitionists Abolitionists from Boston Activists for African-American civil rights Lecturers People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Colored Conventions people Burials at Harmony Grove Cemetery