William Henry Brisbane (October 12, 1806
Beaufort County, South Carolina
Beaufort County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 187,117. Its county seat is Beaufort.
Beaufort County is part of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statist ...
– April 5, 1878
Arena, Wisconsin) was a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
minister of the southern United States who, having convinced himself of the immorality of
slavery
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 ...
, freed and settled a group of slaves he had inherited, and became an active
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 ...
.
Biography
His father, Adam Fowler Brisbane (1783–1830) appears, from Brisbane's own writings, to have suffered from alcoholism. He was adopted by his rich childless uncle William Brisbane (1759–1821) (whom Brisbane later described as "tho' not remarkably pious, yet one of the most excellent men I ever knew, in whom was combined almost every quality worthy of admiration") and aunt Mary Ash Deveaux (?–1845).
He married 28 May 1825 at Lawtonville Glorianna Lawton (15 July 1805 – 17 February 1878), who bore him eight recorded children, of whom three survived to adulthood.
[
Brisbane inherited a large number of slaves, but became convinced that slavery was wrong, and in 1835 brought 33 of them to the north, manumitting them and aiding them to settle in life. Since much of Brisbane's wealth was in slaves this act resulted in a considerable loss of income and equity. At this time many family and friends in his social circle, including rice planters, led lives that were economically dependent on slavery. Freeing his slaves and becoming an outspoken abolitionist resulted in his making enemies with many of those closest to him.
Brisbane came to his abolitionist views because of his inability to refute the claims made by an abolitionist pamphlet he received in the mail.] He was especially disturbed by his inability to reconcile the values in the Constitution with those of the slavery institution.
Because of his radical views on slavery for Antebellum South Carolina
Antebellum South Carolina is typically defined by historians as South Carolina during the period between the War of 1812, which ended in 1815, and the American Civil War, which began in 1861.
After the invention of the cotton gin in 1793, the ec ...
, he had to move north to Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. There he became the associate of prominent abolitionists, and a constant worker in their cause. In the decades of anti-slavery agitation before 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 ...
he was an active campaigner for abolition.
In 1855 he moved to Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
,[ ] was chief clerk of the state senate in 1857, and became pastor of the Baptist church in Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
. He was able to return to South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
(temporarily) as an officer of the victorious Yankee
The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United St ...
s in 1864 as a tax commissioner. In June 1874, he took an active part in the reunion of the old abolition guards in Chicago.
He died at his home in Arena, Wisconsin.
Notes
References
*
Brisbane Family genealogy
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brisbane, William Henry
1806 births
1878 deaths
19th-century Baptists
American abolitionists
Baptist abolitionists
Baptists from South Carolina
Baptists from Wisconsin
Employees of the Wisconsin Legislature
People from Arena, Wisconsin
People from Beaufort County, South Carolina
People from Madison, Wisconsin
People of South Carolina in the American Civil War
People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War