Amos Fortune (c. 1710 – November 1801) was a prominent

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 ...

citizen of Jaffrey,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in the 18th century. Fortune was born in

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and brought to America as a slave. He purchased his freedom at the age of 60 and moved to Jaffrey to start a leather tannery business. Documents now archived at the Jaffrey Public Library testify to his literacy, community position, and financial success.

Purchase of freedom

The first record of Amos Fortune is an unsigned "freedom paper" dated December 30, 1763. In it Fortune's owner, Ichabod Richardson, a "tanner of Woburn, in the province of Massachusetts-bay in New England" outlines an agreement with Fortune that at the end of four years Amos would be "Discharged, Freed, and Set at Liberty from my service power & Command for ever...." When Richardson died unexpectedly in 1768, his will contained no mention of Fortune's freedom. Fortune then negotiated with Richardson's heirs to "pay off his bond." He made the last payment in 1770 and subsequently purchased his freedom. After purchasing his freedom, Fortune continued to live and work in Woburn. He bought land and built a house with help from his first mistress's family. His wife, Lily Twombly—whom he purchased for twenty pounds from Josiah Bowers of

Billerica Billerica (, ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. History In the early 1630s, a Praying India ...

—died within that year, 1775. On November 9, 1779, Fortune purchased the freedom of a woman named Violet (also spelled Violate, including on her tombstone) from James Baldwin. They were married the next day in Woburn. Violate and Amos adopted a daughter, Celyndia, after they were married.

Life in Jaffrey

In 1781, Fortune moved to Jaffrey to establish himself as a tanner. His first home and tannery were at the foot of a hill west of what is now the Jaffrey Center Common (located in the Jaffrey Center Historic District) on land set aside for a yet-to-be-named minister. A year later,

Laban Ainsworth Laban Ainsworth (July 19, 1757 – March 17, 1858) was an American clergyman and pastor. He holds the record for the longest serving pastorate in American history. He served as pastor in Jaffrey, New Hampshire from 1782 to 1858, a period of 76 y ...

was called to be Jaffrey's first minister. Fortune remained on the property and the two men appear to have become friends. In 1789, Fortune purchased 25 acres (100,000 m2) at another location on Tyler Brook. The house and barn which he built are still standing in their original location. The road the house is on is now called Amos Fortune Road. Fortune's tannery appears to have prospered. He took on at least two apprentices and served clients in Massachusetts in addition to nearby New Hampshire towns. He became a full member of the First Church. Additionally, though a former slave, Fortune was a literate man. In 1797, he was a leading founder in the establishment of the Social Library, the town's first library. Years later, he was commissioned by this library to rebind a collection of books.

Death

Fortune died in January 1801, at the age of 91. He is buried behind the Jaffrey Meetinghouse in the Old Burying Ground. The inventory of his estate testifies to his prosperity. Among the items listed are silver shoe buckles, a silver watch, and a fur coat. Many of the items were sold and, due to the precise details documented, we known it amounted to the quantity of $770.20. Fortune instructed his executor, Eleazer, to have "hand stones" erected to his wife and himself and to make a "handsome present" to the church. The remaining money was given to the town to support Schoolhouse Number 7. This last bequest has evolved into the Amos Fortune Fund and has supported diverse projects including public speaking contests and special publications. The Jaffrey Public Library now administers the Fund, using the income to develop and distribute educational materials on Amos Fortune. Violate Fortune died in 1802, one year after her husband, and was buried next to him. Their epitaphs were written by the Reverend

Legacy

Elizabeth Yates wrote a

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

winning

biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fiction ...

entitled ''

Amos Fortune, Free Man ''Amos Fortune, Free Man'' is a biographical novel by Elizabeth Yates that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1951. It is about a young African prince who is captured and taken to America as a slave. He m ...

'' in 1950. Fortune is featured on a

New Hampshire historical marker The U.S. state of New Hampshire has, since 1958, placed historical markers at locations that are deemed significant to New Hampshire history. The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources (DHR) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are j ...

( number 13) along

New Hampshire Route 124 New Hampshire Route 124 (abbreviated NH 124) is a east–west highway in southern New Hampshire, United States. It runs from Marlborough to the Massachusetts border. The western terminus of NH 124 is in Marlborough at New Hampshire Route 101. T ...

in Jaffrey. A 1997

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

Matthew Buckingham Matthew Buckingham (born 1963) is an American filmmaker and multimedia artist. He is a full-time faculty member at Columbia University and is the chair of the visual arts department. Life and work Buckingham studied at the Art Institute of Chica ...

, ''Amos Fortune Road'', meditates on the scantness and fragility of the surviving historical record regarding Amos Fortune. F. Alexander Magoun's 1964 novel ''Amos Fortune's Choice'' gives a fictional biography of Fortune's life. Amos Fortune Day was celebrated, and created for, February 20, 1955. Governor Lane Dwinnel of New Hampshire created this holiday."'Amos Fortune Day' is Set by State Head." ''New Journal and Guide (1916-2003)'', Feb 19, 1955, pp. 3''.''

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