Abraham Doras Shadd (March 2, 1801 – February 11, 1882) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "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 ...

and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

activist who emigrated to

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, and became one of Canada's first black elected officials. He was the father of prominent activist and publisher

Mary Ann Shadd Mary Ann Camberton Shadd Cary (October 9, 1823 – June 5, 1893) was an American-Canadian anti-slavery activist, journalist, publisher, teacher, and lawyer. She was the first black woman publisher in North America and the first woman publisher i ...

and her siblings Eunice P. Shadd and Isaac Shadd.

Early life

Abraham Shadd was born on March 2, 1801, to Jeremiah Schad and Amelia Siscoe. Jeremiah Schad was a son of Hans Schad, alias John Shadd, a native of

Hesse-Cassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

who had entered the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

serving as a

Hessian soldier Hessians ( or ) were German soldiers who served as auxiliaries to the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. The term is an American synecdoche for all Germans who fought on the British side, since 65% came from the German states ...

with the British Army during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. Hans Schad was wounded and left in the care of two

women, mother and daughter, both named Elizabeth Jackson. The Hessian soldier and the daughter were married in January 1756 and their first son was born six months later. Sources dispute whether Abraham was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Delaware, or was born in Delaware. Abraham spent most of his early life in Wilmington, Delaware, eventually taking over the shoe-making shop his father Jeremiah had created.

Personal life

Shadd married Harriet Parnell in the early 1820s and together in 1823 had their first of thirteen children,

. She and her siblings would be raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Civil rights and abolitionist movements

By the 1830s, Abraham Shadd started to become more prominent in the abolitionist movement. He used both his homes in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware, to provide lodging for fugitive slaves fleeing southern states. He was a prominent voice in the anti-colonization movement. Shadd was one of five black men at the founding of the Board of Managers of 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 society ...

in 1833, as well as a prominent member of the

Colored Conventions Movement 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 ...

, serving as a leading delegate in both the 1841 and 1848 black national conventions, both held in Philadelphia.

Life in Canada

While being a vocal critic of black colonization for most of his life, Abraham Shadd was prompted to move his family north to Canada West (

) with the passing of the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most co ...

. Less than a decade later he would become one of the first black elected officials in Canada, being elected in 1859 to a seat on the Raleigh Township Council. Shadd became a very prominent member of his new Canadian community, creating a school within the Raleigh Township, as well as creating a loan system with his farm tools and equipment, in order to assist other farmers in the community. He also was a member and early trustee of the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge, which assisted former black slaves and freed men in their immigration to Canada West.

Death

Shadd died on February 11, 1882, a very prominent and well-known man within Canada West and the abolitionist and civil rights movements of the 1800s. His prominence fostered a large funeral ceremony attended at Maple Leaf Cemetery by residents of Kent County, where he would be buried.

Legacy

In February 2009, Shadd was commemorated with a stamp by

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

References

External links

* Chatham-Kent
''Shadd, Abraham D. (1801–1882)''
. Chatham-kent.ca. Retrieved November 28, 2018. * Ito, Gail Arlene
"Shadd, Abraham Doras (1801–1882)"
''Blackpast.org''. Retrieved November 16, 2018. * African American Registry
"Abraham Shadd, Abolitionist Born"
Aaregistry.com. Retrieved November 16, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shadd, Abraham Doras 1801 births 1882 deaths Activists from Wilmington, Delaware African-American abolitionists Canadian abolitionists Black Canadian politicians Canadian people of German descent Canadian people of African-American descent American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario American people of German descent African-American Catholics Roman Catholic activists