The Vigilant Association of Philadelphia was an

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 ...

organization founded in August 1837 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to "create a fund to aid colored persons in distress". The initial impetus came from

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 ...

, who had served on a previous ''Committee of Twelve'' in 1834, and his father-in-law, businessman

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 ...

. Its executive was the Vigilant Committee of Philadelphia and its first president was a black dentist,

James McCrummell James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

. Other abolitionists who helped included

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

, who helped form the committee and promoted the association in his newspaper ''

Pennsylvania Freeman The ''National Enquirer'' was an abolitionist newspaper founded by Quaker Benjamin Lundy in 1836,Wicks, Suzanne RBenjamin Lundy. Friends Journal

''. In June 1842, future writer

Harriet Jacobs Harriet Jacobs (1813 or 1815 – March 7, 1897) was an African-American writer whose autobiography, ''Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl'', published in 1861 under the pseudonym Linda Brent, is now considered an "American classic". Born into ...

was among the fugitive slaves who were aided by the Association.Jean Fagan Yellin: ''Harriet Jacobs. A Life.'' New York 2004, p. 66.

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External links

Historical records of Philadelphia Vigilant Association
held at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

African-American history in Philadelphia American abolitionist organizations Organizations based in Philadelphia Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania 19th century in Philadelphia {{Philadelphia-stub