Francis Jackson Meriam (sometimes misspelled Merriam) was an 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 ...

, born on November 17, 1837, in

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

, Massachusetts, and died on November 28, 1865, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was named for his grandfather, Francis Jackson, who had been president 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 ...

. Hinton describes him as "handsome, well-to-do, cultivated, and traveled". Instead of college, he lived in Paris for some time. In contrast, Sanborn described him as "enthusiastic and resolute, but with little judgment, and in feeble health; altogether, one would say, a very unfit person to take part actively in Brown’s enterprise." He was blind in one eye. He was the only one of John Brown's raiders who helped him financially.

Participation in John Brown's raid

Meriam is unique among Brown's raiders, as so far as is known, he is the only one to have sent Brown an application letter, asking to participate. He had previously gone to Kansas with a letter of introduction from

Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a Black attorney, Phillips was seen by many Blacks as "the one whi ...

, hoping to meet Brown, but did not find him. He wrote to John Brown on December 23, 1858, that he was going to

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

for a few months. He continued: "I already consider this rown's projectthe whole present business of my life. I am entirely free from any family ties which would impede my action. I was much disappointed in not meeting you in Kansas last winter, with a letter of recommendation from Wendell Phillips. Immediately upon my return in the spring, I should wish to be employed in any manner to be of service to you; and, if convenient, to go through your system of training which I propose studying." In October 1859 he indirectly witnessed the raid on Harpers Ferry led by

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

. He remained at the

Kennedy Farm The Kennedy Farm is a National Historic Landmark property on Chestnut Grove Road in rural southern Washington County, Maryland. It is notable as the place where the radical abolitionist John Brown planned and began his raid on Harpers Ferry, Vi ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, "to guard the arms and ammunition stored on the premises, until it should be time to move them." Once he learned the raid turned badly, he managed to escape.

After Harpers Ferry

Captain in 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 ...

in the Third South Carolina Colored Infantry during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

(at the time, all colored units had white officers), Meriam was wounded in the leg during an engagement under Grant. After the war, he "went to Mexico to join enitoJuárez in 1865. He has not since been heard from."

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meriam, Francis Jackson 1837 births 1865 deaths American abolitionists American rebels American revolutionaries Participants in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry People from Framingham, Massachusetts