The institution of race-based slavery in what is now New York dates to 1627 when 22 enslaved Africans were brought to New Amsterdam (now New York City) by the Dutch West Indies Company. From that day forward some Americans opposed slavery and sought its abolition.
The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in Madison County, NY, has announced four abolitionists will be inducted this fall: Black Americans William Wells Brown and Samuel Ringgold Ward, and also William and John Jay II – descendants of American Patriot John Jay.
William Wells Brown (1814-1884) was born enslaved by Dr. John Young near Mount Sterling, Kentucky. He escaped to Ohio in 1834 at the age of 19, making his way to Boston, where he worked for abolitionist causes and became a prolific writer…