Andrew Marschalk

Andrew Marschalk (February 4, 1767 to August 8, 1838) was a New York-born printer, best known for championing the case of Ab-dul Rahman Ibrahima Ibn Sori, popularly known as the "Prince of Slaves".

Marschalk learned the printing trade while living in London in the 1780s. He brought a small mahogany press to the America in 1790. Marschalk sold this printing press when he joined the United States Army. During his period in the Army he fought Indians in the Northwest Territory, and after the fighting was over he became a lieutenant in the reserves.

In 1797 Marschalk regained possession of his press. With the printing press and thirty pounds of type he moved to the Mississippi Territory. [Rand.] His first ballad, deemed "The Gallery Slave," energized the small town of Natchez, Mississippi. Unfortunately, Marschalk’s superior felt the printing business was beneath an Army soldier, so Marschalk was ordered to leave Natchez. It was not until 1802 when he was discharged from the army that he returned to Natchez. Marschalk then established “The Mississippi Gazette’, which was published for six years. Marschalk eventually moved to the nearby town of Washington, Miss., where he published "The Washington Republican."

For the remaining thirty-six years of his life, he lived in Natchez and Washington, publishing various works. In 1828 Andrew Marschalk found an interest in the case of Ab-dul Rahman Ibrahima Ibn Sori, known popularly as the "Prince of Slaves". He began gathering donations and successfully petitioned the Secretary of State, Henry Clay, to help return the Ab-dul Rahman to Africa. [Seybert.] Marschalk then supported Ab-dul Rahman Ibrahima Ibn Sori’s tour through the north as a free man raising funds to liberate his children.

He died on Aug. 8, 1838, and is buried in Natchez, Missisippi.

References

*Rand, Clayton. Men of Spine: Marschalk Blazed Trail As First Printer In Our State. November-December 1951.
*Seybert, Tony. “The Natchez Slavery Press and the Road to Disunion, 1800-1865”. I Power Blogger. http://natchezpress.blogspot.com/2006/04/chapter-one-conflict-and-honor-and.html. April 1, 2006.

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