Levi Coffin

Levi Coffin (October 28, 1798–September 16, 1877) was an American Quaker, educator, and abolitionist.

Levi Coffin was born on a factory near New Garden in Guilford County, North Carolina. [ Marie A. Kasten in Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone (eds.), "Dictionary of American Biography", New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958, v. 2, part 2, p. 268. "See also" Levi Coffin biography in [http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/419/Levi_Coffin_Underground_Railroad_President The African-American Registry] ] In 1821, he wanted to start a school for slaves, but slaveowners refused to allow them to attend. In 1826, he moved to Fountain City, Indiana (then called Newport) with his wife Catherine. In 1847, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he opened a store which sold goods made by freed slaves. These goods were marketed especially for anti-slavery consumers, as they were made and produced by freedmen. Coffin also visited Britain to raise funds and in 1867 he was a delegate to the International Anti-Slavery Conference in Paris.

Coffin helped slaves escape to freedom in the Underground Railroad, and hid slaves in his house during the 21 years that he and his wife Catharine (also a Quaker and an abolitionist) lived in Newport. After the end of the American Civil War, Coffin raised over $100,000 dollars for the Western Freedman's Aid Society, a group that he helped to lead.

He is interred at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. Coffin's home in Fountain City, Indiana is a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public for tours. [ [http://www.waynet.org/nonprofit/coffin.htm Levi Coffin House - the "Grand Central Station" of the Underground Railroad ] ] Visitors can see the "hidey hole" [ [http://www.waynet.org/nonprofit/images/levicoffin/garrett640.jpgImage of the "hidey hole"] ] that he had built into an upstairs wall and a wagon with a false bottom that demonstrates how runaway slaves were sometimes moved. His home was also named one of the United States' "Top 25 Historic Sites" [ [http://www.aetntravel.com/soh/attractions.htm Save Our History : Heritage Travel : Top Attractions ] ] by the History Channel.

Coffin has been referred to as the "President of the Underground Railroad," allegedly from a slavecatcher who said, "There's an underground railroad going on here, and Levi's the president of it." Coffin claimed to have been involved in the escape of about 3000 slaves. Questioned about why he aided slaves, Coffin said "The Bible, in bidding us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, said nothing about color, and I should try to follow out the teachings of that good book." Another time he simply said, "I thought it was always safe to do right."

References

ee also

*Underground Railroad
*Levi Coffin House
*Fountain City, Indiana
*Snow Camp Outdoor Theater (where the play "Pathway to Freedom" by Mark Sumner is performed annually through the summer) which in part tells his story.

External links

* [http://www.waynet.org/nonprofit/coffin.htm The Coffin House in Fountain City (Newport), Indiana.]
* [http://www.libraries.uc.edu/libraries/arb/exhibits/soaweek2006/TheWillofLeviCoffin.html Levi Coffin's handwritten will] hosted at the University of Cincinnati
* [http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/coffin/coffin.html Reminiscences of Levi Coffin]
*findagrave|212

Persondata
NAME=Coffin, Levi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American educator and abolitionist
DATE OF BIRTH=October 28, 1798
PLACE OF BIRTH=Greensboro, North Carolina, United States
DATE OF DEATH=September 16, 1877
PLACE OF DEATH=Cincinnati, United States