Sandy Cornish (1793–1869) was an

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

farmer, businessperson, and civic leader in

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

. As a formerly enslaved man who purchased his freedom, he publicly maimed himself to prevent being returned to slavery.

Slavery and freedom

Cornish was born into

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

in 1793. In 1839, his enslaver hired him out to a railroad-building project in

Port Leon, Florida Port Leon, Florida, was a river port town located in what is now Wakulla County, Florida (at the time, it was part of Leon County, Florida). The town existed for only about six years in the first half of the 19th century. Port Leon is classifi ...

. The position allowed Cornish to earn money for himself, and after nine years of work at $600 a year, he was able to purchase his freedom and that of his wife Lillah. However, the papers showing him to be free were destroyed in a fire. Lacking proof of his emancipation, he was seized by slave traders but managed to break free. The next day, he gathered a crowd of onlookers in Port Leon. He loudly proclaimed that having purchased his freedom once, he would not return to slavery under any circumstances. He then deliberately maimed himself, stabbing himself in the leg, slashing the muscles of one ankle, and cutting off a finger of his left hand, which he proceeded to sew back on with a needle and thread. These injuries made him worthless to enslave and thus immune to recapture. Friends took him home in a wheelbarrow, and he eventually recovered his health.

Key West

Around 1850, Cornish and Lillah bought a Key West farm in the now Truman Avenue area near Simonton Street. Selling vegetables and fruits to residents, he became one of the wealthiest people in Key West. He was a leader of the local black community and the founder of the Cornish Chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, now the Cornish Memorial

AME Zion The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or the AME Zion Church (AMEZ) is a historically African-American Christian denomination based in the United States. It was officially formed in 1821 in New York City, but operated for a number of y ...

church and chapel, which still stands at 702 Whitehead Street. He died in 1869 at the age of 76. He was buried in

Key West Cemetery The Key West Cemetery (officially, ''Historic Key West City Cemetery'') is a cemetery at the foot of Solares Hill on the island of Key West, Florida, United States. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 people are buried there, many more than ...

, but the location of his grave was lost to history. In 2014, the cemetery and the Historic Florida Keys Foundation installed a plaque to his memory. Speakers described his life as an inspiring testament to human freedom. City Commissioner Clayton Lopez, presiding over the ceremony, said, "His actions in life show that he was not going to accept the fate developed for him by lesser men. He is a legend that continues to point the way to human dignity to this day."

Recognition

A memorial bust of Cornish is included in the

Mallory Square Mallory Square is a plaza located in the city of Key West, Florida. It is located on the waterfront in Key West's historic Old Town, adjacent to the cruise ship port. It is located just west of the northern end of Duval Street, facing the Gulf o ...

Sculpture Garden, which honors people who had a significant impact on Key West.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish, Sandy 1793 births 1869 deaths People from Key West, Florida Farmers from Florida 19th-century American slaves 19th-century American farmers African-American farmers Self-harm American freedmen People enslaved in Florida People enslaved in Maryland