Shadrach Minkins

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Shadrach Minkins (1814? - December 13, 1875) was an African American fugitive slave. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, he escaped from slavery in 1850 to settle in Boston, Massachusetts, where he became a waiter. Later that year, Congress enacted the Fugitive Slave Law, which allowed federal agents to seize escaped slaves living in free states such as Massachusetts and return them to their owners. United States marshals arrested Minkins on February 15, 1851; but he was rescued by members of the anti-slavery Boston Vigilance Committee, who used force to take him from the marshals. From Boston, Minkins was spirited to Canada, where he settled in Montreal, in the section of the city known as Old Montreal. There he made a living first as a waiter, then operating restaurants of his own and, finally, as a barber. He married in 1853 or 1854. The rescue of Minkins brought calls for President Millard Fillmore to use federal troops to help marshals enforce the Fugitive Slave Law. Fillmore's response, however, was a cautious proclamation calling on the citizens of Boston to respect the law and aid in recapturing Minkins. Fillmore also ordered Minkins' liberators to be prosecuted. This incident in his home state deeply embarrassed Secretary of State Daniel Webster, who hoped to be elected President in 1852 with Southern support.

Minkins died in Montreal, He is buried in an unmarked grave near two of his children in Mount Royal Cemetery.

[edit] Reference

Gary Collison, Shadrach Minkins: From Fugitive Slave to Citizen, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (1998 paperback reprint). ISBN 0-674-80299-3