Zipporah Potter Atkins (July 4, 1645January 8, 1705) was a free African American woman who owned land in colonial Boston, during a time when few women or African Americans owned land in the American Colonies. The purchase of her home, dated 1670, makes her the first African American to own land in the city of Boston, and with Anthony Johnson one of the earliest African-American landowners in what would become the United States."Collections Relevant to African American History at the Massachusetts Historical Society: Slavery, Plantations, and the Slave Trade."
'' Massachusetts Historical Society.'' ''www.masshist.org.'' Retrieved January 22, 2016.

Biography

Zipporah Potter was born to Richard and Grace,"Registers of probate for the county of Suffolk, Massachusetts, 1639-1799."
''

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

.'' Retrieved October 23, 2015. slaves of Captain Robert Keayne, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the mid-1600s. Children born to slaves in Boston at that time were considered free upon birth, explaining Zipporah's status as a free African American in Colonial Boston.Linn, Sir Mark
"Zipporah Potter Atkins."
''www.findagrave.com'', May 22, 2014. Taking the surname of Atkins upon marriage, Zipporah is reported to have had six surnames in total. Her marriage was reportedly officiated by the prominent

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

minister Cotton Mather. After her death, Atkins was laid to rest in

Copp's Hill Burying Ground Copp's Hill Burying Ground is a historic cemetery in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1659, it was originally named "North Burying Ground", and was the city's second cemetery. History The cemetery was founded on Februa ...

at an unknown location.

Pioneering landowner

According to historical records, Zipporah Potter Atkins was able to purchase her property through an inheritance she received from her father.Fitzgerald, Danielle Vale
"Shero of the Week: Zipporah Potter Atkins."
''www.sherooftheweek.com'', May 27, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2016. Her property was situated on the edge of Boston's North End, near a

mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the c ...

which flowed into

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History ...

. She owned her property while a single woman, managing to maintain control of her land through the course of her marriage. As she owned her property between the years 1670 and 1699, Atkins was the first recorded African American to own land in Boston. She also learned to read well enough to at least sign her initials, during a time when many people could not read. When she signed the deed to sell her home in 1699, she became the first African American woman to initial a deed in Suffolk County, Massachusetts."Marker notes Boston's first black-owned home site."
''www.wcvb.com'', May 20, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2015.

Legacy

Dr. Vivian Johnson, a retired professor of education at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, discovered documentation of Zipporah's property records around 2009.Baker, Billy and Crimaldi, Laura
"Black and free, woman bought Boston parcel in 1670."
''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', May 20, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2015. Following years of research on the part of Dr. Johnson, then-Governor Deval Patrick unveiled a memorial to Zipporah Potter Atkins on the

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is a linear park located in several Downtown Boston neighborhoods. It consists of landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems that stretch over one mile through Chin ...

. Dr. Johnson held a talk titled "Free, Black and Female: The Zipporah Potter Atkins Story of Homeownership in Colonial Boston" at the Museum of African American History in Boston in May 2014."Dr. Vivian R. Johnson on 'Free, Black and Female: The Zipporah Potter Atkins Story of Homeownership in Colonial Boston.'"
''www.bostoncalendar.com.'' Retrieved October 23, 2015."Marker notes Boston's first black-owned home site."
''www.wcvb.com'', May 20, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Zipporah Potter 1645 births 1705 deaths People from colonial Boston

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 ...

African-American history in Boston Burials in Boston 17th-century American slaves 18th-century American slaves 17th-century landowners 17th-century African-American women 17th-century African-American people