Rev. Stephen Smith (1797–1873) was an African American businessman, philanthropist, preacher, real estate developer, and abolitionist. He had lived in Pennsylvania in the 19th-century and contributed large amounts of his wealth in the effort to abolish slavery. Smith had been an agent of the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

in Philadelphia. He co-founded and owned "Smith, Whipper & Co." a lumber business in Columbia, Pennsylvania; and later helped found the "Stephen Smith Home for the Aged".

Early life

Stephen Smith was born in 1797 in

Dauphin County Dauphin County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Daffin Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth ...

, Pennsylvania to an enslaved black woman named Nancy Smith. At the age of 5, he became the indentured servant to the Pennsylvanian politician,

Thomas Boude Thomas Boude (May 17, 1752October 24, 1822) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Thomas Boude was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Lancaster in the Province of Pennsylvania. During the American Revoluti ...

. At the age of 21, Smith had gathered enough money to purchase his freedom. In 1818, Smith purchased his freedom for US $50 (~$ in ).

Business career

Men of Color Civil War Recruitment Broadside 1863

After purchasing his freedom Smith had big plans ahead of him and in the same year of 1816 Smith opened up his own lumber business in Columbia, Pennsylvania. Smith would be very successful in the lumber business and looked for partners to grow his business even bigger. In the early 1830s Smith formed a partnership with

William Whipper William Whipper (February 22, 1804 – March 9, 1876) was a businessman and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist in the United States. Whipper, an African American, advocated nonviolence and co-founded the American Moral Reform Socie ...

. Smith and Whipper would go and have huge success in the Lumber, coal, Philadelphia real estate, railroad cars, and investments in the stock market. Smith would make a big fortune with all that money Smith put it to good use and became a true leader of the black community in their efforts to fight slavery. Smith was one of the wealthiest 19th-century black Philadelphians, holding this title alongside

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 ...

James Forten James Forten (September 2, 1766March 4, 1842) was an African-American abolitionist and wealthy businessman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born free in the city, he became a sailmaker after the American Revolutionary War. Following an apprenticesh ...

Robert Purvis Robert Purvis (August 4, 1810 – April 15, 1898) was an American abolitionist in the United States. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and was likely educated at Amherst Academy, a secondary school in Amherst, Massachusetts. He sp ...

, Rev. Richard Allen, Rev.

Peter Williams Jr. Peter Williams Jr. (1786–1840) was an African-American Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal priest, the second ordained in the United States and the first to serve in New York City. He was an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist ...

Absalom Jones Absalom Jones (November 7, 1746February 13, 1818) was an African-American abolitionist and clergyman who became prominent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Disappointed at the racial discrimination he experienced in a local Methodist church, he found ...

, and Joseph Cassey.

Abolitionist and philanthropist

In 1830 Smith was a chairman of the African American Abolitionist Organization in the town of Colombia, Pennsylvania. Smith attended national

colored conventions 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 ...

of the free black people held in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

in 1834 and in Philadelphia in 1835. Word go out of Smith's success and many people grew jealous and felt the need to send Smith a message. In 1835 a group of unknown people vandalized the office of Smith and destroyed all his papers and records. This incident motivated Smith to abolish slavery more and more in the area. Smith would acquire a small hall in the area where African Americans would hold meetings. Smith would also help the local

underground railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

that would run through Maryland and provide help all the way to Canada. After 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 ...

Whipper and Smith persuaded 15,000 African Americans to make their way to a new start in Canada. In 1864, Smith worked with the white

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

in establishing the House for Aged and Infirm Colored Persons, which was later renamed the Stephen Smith Home for the Aged. Smith eventually died in 1873 of unknown reason.

References

External links

Colored Conventions
{{Authority control 1797 births 1873 deaths African-American abolitionists African-American businesspeople Colored Conventions people Underground Railroad people African-American Methodist clergy African-American upper class

Early life

Business career

Abolitionist and philanthropist

See also

References

External links