
Zipporah Potter Atkins (July 4, 1645January 8, 1705 age 60) was a free African American woman who owned land in
colonial Boston, during a time when few women or African Americans owned land in the American Colonies. The purchase of her home, dated 1670, makes her the first African American to own land in the city of Boston, and with
Anthony Johnson one of the earliest African-American landowners in what would become the United States.
["Collections Relevant to African American History at the Massachusetts Historical Society: Slavery, Plantations, and the Slave Trade."]
''Massachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street ...
.'' ''www.masshist.org.'' Retrieved January 22, 2016.
Biography
Zipporah Potter was born to Richard and Grace,
["Registers of probate for the county of Suffolk, Massachusetts, 1639-1799."]
''Archive.org
The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...
.'' Retrieved October 23, 2015. slaves of
Captain Robert Keayne, in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
in the mid-1600s. Children born to slaves in Boston at that time were considered free upon birth, explaining Zipporah's status as a free African American in
Colonial Boston. Taking the surname of Atkins upon marriage, Zipporah is reported to have had six surnames in total. Her marriage was reportedly officiated by the prominent
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
minister
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a Puritan clergyman and author in colonial New England, who wrote extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects. After being educated at Harvard College, he join ...
. After her death, Atkins was laid to rest in
Copp's Hill Burying Ground
Copp's Hill Burying Ground is a historic cemetery in the North End, Boston, North End of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1659, it was originally named "North Burying Ground", and was the city's second cemetery.
History
T ...
at an unknown location.
Pioneering landowner
According to historical records, Zipporah Potter Atkins was able to purchase her property through an inheritance she received from her father.
[Fitzgerald, Danielle Vale]
"Shero of the Week: Zipporah Potter Atkins."
''www.sherooftheweek.com'', May 27, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2016. Her property was situated on the edge of
Boston's North End, near a
mill pond
A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill.
Description
Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway.
In many places, the co ...
which flowed into
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, located adjacent to Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the Northeastern United States.
History 17th century
Since its dis ...
. The lot can be seen on a map of Boston drawn from records from 1676; the name "Potter" at the south eastern edge of the Mill Pond indicates the property. She owned her property while a single woman, managing to maintain control of her land through the course of her marriage. As she owned her property between the years 1670 and 1699, Atkins was the first recorded African American to own land in Boston. A portion of the property which had been purchased originally for 46 pounds, was sold in 1693 for 100 pounds. She also learned to read well enough to at least sign her initials, during a time when many people could not read. When she signed the
deed
A deed is a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially concerning the ownership of property or legal rights. Specifically, in common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right ...
to sell her home in 1699, she became the first African American woman to initial a deed in
Suffolk County, Massachusetts
Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in Massachusetts. The county comprises the cities of Boston ...
.
["Marker notes Boston's first black-owned home site."]
''www.wcvb.com'', May 20, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
Legacy

Dr. Vivian Johnson, a retired professor of education at
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, discovered documentation of Zipporah's property records around 2009.
[Baker, Billy and Crimaldi, Laura]
"Black and free, woman bought Boston parcel in 1670."
''Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'', May 20, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2015. Following years of research on the part of Dr. Johnson, then-Governor
Deval Patrick
Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African Americans, African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Pa ...
unveiled a memorial to Zipporah Potter Atkins on the
Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway
The Rose Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through Chinatown, the ...
.
[ Dr. Johnson held a talk titled "Free, Black and Female: The Zipporah Potter Atkins Story of Homeownership in Colonial Boston" at the Museum of African American History in Boston in May 2014.]["Marker notes Boston's first black-owned home site."]
''www.wcvb.com'', May 20, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
The location of the Zipporah Potter Atkins Memorial stone can be found on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail
The Boston Women's Heritage Trail is a series of walking tours in Boston, Massachusetts, leading past sites important to Boston women's history. The tours wind through several neighborhoods, including the Back Bay and Beacon Hill, commemorating w ...
tour of the North End.
An exhibit about slavery in Boston, installed in Faneuil Hall, also highlights Zipporah's important place in Boston's history.
External links
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Zipporah Potter
1645 births
1705 deaths
People from colonial Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
African-American history in Boston
17th-century American landowners
17th-century American women landowners
17th-century African-American women
17th-century African-American people
History of women in Massachusetts
Free people of color