The New England Freedom Association (c.1842 – c.1848) was an organization founded by African Americans in Boston for the purpose of assisting

fugitive slaves In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called freed ...

History

The New England Freedom Association was founded in 1842Quarles (1969), p. 153. or 1843,Nell (2002), p. 18. and existed for about five years. Its founding members included

William Cooper Nell William Cooper Nell (December 16, 1816 – May 25, 1874) was an African-American abolitionist, journalist, publisher, author, and civil servant of Boston, Massachusetts, who worked for the integration of schools and public facilities in the s ...

, Henry Weeden, Judith Smith, Mary L. Armstead, Thomas Cummings, and Robert Wood. They raised "funds to aid those of our friends who flee to the land of the Pilgrims for their liberty." Meetings were held in the

African Meeting House The African Meeting House, also known variously as First African Baptist Church, First Independent Baptist Church and the Belknap Street Church, was built in 1806 and is now the oldest black church edifice still standing in the United States. It ...

on Beacon Hill. In December 1845, the association announced in the '' Liberator'' that it had reorganized. Its officers were: * President: Henry Weeden * Vice-President: Joshua V. Smith (possibly a misprint for Joshua B. Smith) * Corresponding Secretary: John S. Jacobs * Recording Secretary: Thomas Cummings * Treasurer: John P. Coburn * Directors: James Johnson, Peter Avery, John St. Pierre, James L. Giles, James Scott, Mary L. Armstead, Judith Smith Two of its twelve officers were women. The

Boston Vigilance Committee The Boston Vigilance Committee (1841–1861) was an abolitionist organization formed in Boston, Massachusetts, to protect escaped slaves from being kidnapped and returned to slavery in the South. The Committee aided hundreds of escapees, most ...

, by contrast, had no female members. In the ''Liberator'' article, the association described its purpose:

The object of our Association is to extend a helping hand to all who may bid adieu to whips and chains, and by the welcome light of the North Star, reach a haven where they can be protected from the grasp of the man-stealer. An article of the constitution enjoins upon us not to pay one farthing to any slaveholder for the property they may claim in a human being. ... Our mission is to succor those who claim property in themselves, and thereby acknowledge an independence of slavery.

At least three of its members—John Coburn, James Scott, and

John J. Smith John James Smith (1820 – 1906) was a barber shop owner, abolitionist, a three-term Massachusetts state representative, and one of the first African-American members of the Boston Common Council. A Republican, he served three terms in the Mas ...

Snodgrass (2015), p. 498.—took part in the rescue of

Shadrach Minkins Shadrach Minkins (c. 1814 – December 13, 1875) was an African-American fugitive slave from Virginia who escaped in 1850 and reached Boston. He also used the pseudonyms Frederick Wilkins and Frederick Jenkins.Collison (1998), p. 1. He is known fo ...

in 1850. The Association eventually merged with the interracial Boston Vigilance Committee.

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