Thomas James (1804–1891) had been a

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

who became an

African Methodist Episcopal Zion African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

minister,

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 ...

, administrator and author. He was active in New York and Massachusetts with abolitionists, and served with the

American Missionary Association The American Missionary Association (AMA) was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on in Albany, New York. The main purpose of the organization was abolition of slavery, education of African Americans, promotion of racial equality, and ...

and 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 ...

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 ...

to supervise the

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

camp in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. After the war, he held national offices in the AME Church and was a missionary to black churches in Ohio. While in Massachusetts, he challenged the railroad's custom of forcing blacks into second-class carriages and won a reversal of the rule in the State Supreme Court. He wrote a short

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

published in 1886.

Early life

Thomas James was born into slavery in

Canajoharie, New York Canajoharie () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Montgomery County, New York, Montgomery County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,730 in 2010. Canajoharie is located south of the Mohawk River o ...

, in 1804 and named Tom. He was the third child of four of his mother and never knew his father. His family was enslaved by Asa Kimball. A younger sister died when Tom was a child; when he was only eight, he lost his mother, brother and older sister when Kimball sold them away. He never saw his mother or sister again, though his brother, Archibald, would join Thomas in Rochester NY by 1870. When Tom was seventeen, Kimball died, and all his property, including Tom, was sold to a neighbor named Cromwell Bartlett. Bartlett soon traded Tom to George H. Hess, a wealthy farmer. James would write in his 1886 autobiography: "Master Hess ... had worked me hard, and at last undertook to whip me. This led me to seek escape from slavery." Tom ran away in June 1821, becoming a "freedom seeker".

Freedom

He left at night and made his way west along the staked path of the future

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

to Lockport. With help, he crossed the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and freedom. He stayed about three months until he thought return was safe.

Career and activism

Initial work and education

Going to

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, Tom found a community of free blacks and more opportunity for work and education. He started working as a laborer. At nineteen Tom attended a church school to learn how to read and write. Gaining literacy opened the door to religion for him, and in 1823 he joined the

Society (AME Zion). With the opening of the Erie Canal, Tom got a job in the warehouse (where he was called Jim) of the Hudson and Erie line. He boarded with its manager, and also worked around his house. Eventually he was put in charge of the lading of boats and the freight business.Howard W. Coles, ''The Cradle of Freedom: A History of the Negro in Rochester, Western New York and Canada'', New York: Oxford University Press, 1942

Teaching

In 1828 Tom started teaching at a school for black children.

Ministry

The next year started

preaching A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

. By 1830 James bought a site and built a small church in Rochester, called the AME Zion Church. When ordained as an

minister in 1833 by AME Zion Bishop Christopher Rush, he took the name Thomas James, his name as a free man. Assigned to a small black congregation in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, in 1835, James attracted new members and founded the AME Zion Church. He built the congregation from less than 20 to four times that, and helped the congregation purchase a former Methodist church in 1837 for its use. This was the largest African American congregation in the city before the Civil War, and members were active in abolitionism and

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 ...

activities.

Anti-slavery movement

Beginning in 1830, James was influenced by the abolitionism of some members of the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

(ACS) and writings by

Arthur Tappan Arthur Tappan (May 22, 1786 – July 23, 1865) was an American businessman, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was the brother of Ohio Senator Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and nephew of Harvard Divinity School theologian ...

. He vowed to make the cause his life's work. He began to organize with others in Rochester, including leading white citizens, to hold anti-slavery meetings and form an anti-slavery society in the city. Sometimes they were greeted with violence, but they continued. He was one of two founders of the bi-weekly paper, ''The Rights of Man'', to promote the cause. James traveled in the county to raise money by subscriptions for the paper. He gradually started speaking at more venues on the cause of

abolitionism 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 Britis ...

and attended the first Anti-Slavery Society Conference in Utica. Next James was assigned to

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

, where a small black religious society already existed. During his two years, James helped the congregation build a church. Next he was sent to

Sag Harbor, New York Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on eastern Long Island. The village developed as a working port on Gardiner's Bay. The population was 2,772 at the ...

, where many free blacks worked in the

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

industry. Last he went to

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

, also a whaling and fishing town. While James led a church, he ordained the future abolitionist

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 ...

as a preacher in his congregation, before the beginning of Douglass's major public career.James, Thomas. ''Life of Rev. Thomas James, by Himself''
Rochester, N.Y.: Post Express Printing Company, 1886, at ''Documenting the American South'', University of North Carolina, accessed 3 Jun 2010

Freedom Trail

He contributed to the growing anti-slavery movement in Syracuse and efforts to help escaped slaves on the "

Freedom Trail The Freedom Trail is a path through Boston, Massachusetts, that passes by 16 locations significant to the history of the United States. Marked largely with brick, it winds from Boston Common in downtown Boston through the North End to the Bu ...

"."AME Zion Church, Site Only", ''The Freedom Trail in Central New York: The Underground Railroad, Abolitionism, and African American Life, 1820-70''
Preservation Association of Central New York, accessed 4 Jun 2010 James was also active with the anti-slavery movement in Massachusetts when he lived there. James directly helped some slaves gain freedom. For example, while returning to the state by train, he met a young slave girl named Lucy, traveling with her slaveowners from

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. Talking with her in the segregated car, where they were both required to sit, he invited her to attend his church while they were on vacation in the area. A few weeks passed, but she did not come. James went to her master, who said that his slaves could not receive calls and she could not attend his church. James turned to the law for help, and the local sheriff helped free the girl from her slaveowner. Local blacks also helped protect the girl during the events that followed. In the following court case held in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, the judge announced that according to the laws of Massachusetts, which prohibited slavery, Lucy was free and had the choice of whether to claim that freedom. She did so, and became free the following day. James also assisted with the '' Amistad'' case and issues.

Fugitive Slave Act

While in Boston, James was actively involved in cases dealing with escaped slaves, such as Anthony Burns and

Ellen and William Craft Ellen Craft (1826–1891) and William Craft (September 25, 1824 – January 29, 1900) were American fugitives who were born and enslaved in Macon, Georgia. They escaped to the North in December 1848 by traveling by train and steamboat, arriving ...

. Although the federal

Fugitive Slave Act A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kno ...

passed in 1850 required states to return slaves to their owners, many Massachusetts citizens strongly opposed the law and helped slaves achieve freedom, even in the face of US Marshals.

Equality

James also successfully challenged the custom of assigning blacks to second class on

railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

and other transportation. When the railroad case was heard on appeal by the

State Supreme Court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by #Terminology, other names in some states) is the supreme court, highest court in the State court (United States), state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of State law (United States), st ...

in Boston, "the court decided that the word "color," as applied to persons, was unknown to the laws of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and that the youngest colored child had the same rights as the richest white citizen."

Missionary work

In 1856 James returned to Rochester. After the start of the American Civil War, in 1862 he was assigned to the

to minister to slaves in Tennessee and Louisiana, but was reassigned to

. There he served the occupying

under generals Stephen G. Burbridge and Owen M. Palmer. He helped supervise the

camps, liberated slaves who were being held illegally by traders, and monitored d visited the prisons. By orders of Palmer, James performed marriages between 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 ...

(USCT) soldiers and black women who came to the camp, to help the latter achieve their legal freedom as wives of USCT. (At the time the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to Kentucky and slavery was still a legal institution.) After the war in 1868, James was elected general superintendent and missionary agent by the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Congregation. In 1878 Bishop Wayman appointed James as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

preacher for the black churches of Ohio. The continuing unsettled state of southern sympathizers was shown by James' being threatened in Darke County by Regulators, one of the

insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric na ...

groups active after the war.

Topeka Relief Association

In 1880, when the exodus from the South to the West began, James worked with the

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central Un ...

Relief Association to help the thousands of black migrants arriving in Kansas, who were known as the

Exodusters Exodusters was a name given to African Americans who Human migration, migrated from U.S. state, states along the Mississippi River to Kansas in the late nineteenth century, as part of the Exoduster Movement or Exodus of 1879. It was the first Hum ...

. A total of 60,000 passed through Topeka. The following year, James worked with others in southern Kansas to organize the Agricultural and Industrial Institute (later merged with

Pittsburg State University Pittsburg State University (Pitt State or PSU) is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. It enrolls approximately 7,400 students (6,000 undergraduates and 1,400 graduate students) and is a member of the Kansas Board of Regents. History P ...

). Among the other founders was Elizabeth L. Comstock, an English

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

who also had aided in the relief efforts in Topeka. James became general agent of the school, one of many established in Kansas.

Marriages and family

James married his first wife, Mary Ann McEntire, in 1829 in Rochester, New York. In his memoir he wrote: "In 1829 I married in this city a free colored girl, and by her had four children, two of whom are now .e., 1887married and living at the West. My first wife died in 1841. Two of their children) died young and were buried in Rochester. Thomas mentions a daughter Nancy James in his will (written in 1891), She is called Nancy Thompson in his obituary “Rev. Thomas James: Death of the Aged Colored Clergy-Man of This City” in Rochester ''Union and Advertiser'', printed 18 Apr. 1891. Another daughter (mother unknown) was Eliza James (1845-1896), who went with her father in 1862 to Louisville KY and served as a nurse during the Civil War. US Census records show she married Benjamin Thomas in 1867, had nine children, and lived near her father in Rochester. In 1870, James married again, to Esther A. (née Jones) Hazgood. He wrote: "My wife was a slave, freed by

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...

at the capture of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and sent north with other colored refugees. I first met her in the state of Pennsylvania." President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal sta ...

freed all slaves in Confederate territory behind Union lines. US Census records show that Thomas and Esther had two children together: Ida James (1870-1887) and Thomas Edward James (1874-1934), who married Grace Burghardt (a second cousin of W.E.B. DuBois). Esther's daughter Eliza Hazgood James (1866-1886) also lived in their household.

Later life

About 1882 James returned to New York state and a parish in Lockport. About 1884, suffering cataracts, James returned with his wife Eliza to Rochester. To raise money, he dictated a short memoir, published in 1886 and titled: "LIFE OF REV. THOMAS JAMES, BY HIMSELF."

Death

James died at his home 144 Tremont Street in Rochester on 18 April 1891. He is buried in the family plot in Mount Hope Cemetery (PLOT Range 1 Lot 367½ NW Part) in Rochester, New York. Also in the family plot are Esther Jones Hazgood James (his wife), their daughter Ida James, and Eliza Hazgood James (his stepdaughter). His daughter Eliza Jane James Thomas (1845-1896) is buried another part of the cemetery.Find a Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/235690665/eliza-jane-thomas

Legacy and honors

* His work in founding congregations, working on abolition and on behalf of slaves, and for the civil rights of African Americans, constitute his legacy. * In 1989 the city of Rochester named April 18, the anniversary of Thomas James' death, in his honor to be celebrated as an annual memorial. * Sara Rubin sculpted a clay pottery bust of Thomas James, which was placed in the Hall of Justice in downtown Rochester.