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, ...

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 found ...

. 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 states th ...

, 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 Sarah Parker Remond (June 6, 1826 – December 13, 1894) was an American lecturer, activist and abolitionist campaigner. Born a free woman in the state of Massachusetts, she became an international activist for human rights and women's su ...

, 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 coast ...

, 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, and

Sarah Parker Sarah Parker (born August 23, 1942) is an American judge who served as the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from February 2006 until August 2014. Education and career Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Parker attended Meredith ...

, 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 U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, 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, ...

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 society ...

, in 1840 he traveled with

, a leading American abolitionist, to the

World's Anti-Slavery Convention The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The excl ...

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 The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The exclu ...

in London, Lenox and Garrison protested and walked out with the women. In 1857 at a meeting held in New Brighton 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 piou ...

, 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 (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

, helping man the early, famed units of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.

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. 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. 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 Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

on July 5, 1858. The abolitionist preacher, Rev.

Theodore Parker Theodore Parker (August 24, 1810 – May 10, 1860) was an American transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his words and popular quotations would later inspire speeches by Abraham Lincol ...

, 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 Harmony Grove Cemetery is a rural cemetery in Salem, Massachusetts. It was established in 1840 and is located at 30 Grove Street. The cemetery is approximately 35 acres in size and was designed by Francis Peabody and Alexander Wadsworth. ...

, 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 became ...

named one of his sons for him:

Charles Remond Douglass Charles Remond Douglass (October 21, 1844 – November 23, 1920) was the third and youngest son of Frederick Douglass and his first wife Anna Murray Douglass. He was the first African-American man to enlist in the military in New York during the ...

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