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The Town & the City: Lowell before and after The Civil War

Originally created to be a digital archive for Lowell documents from 1826 to 1861, this website has grown to cover many periods and events in Lowell's history.

Frederick Douglass - First visit to Lowell, April 24 & 25, 1843

When Frederick Douglass first visited Lowell in 1843 to attend an Anti-Slavery Convention, he was 24 or 25 years of age and had escaped from slavery four years earlier. He visited Lowell again in 1844 and two more times after the end of the Civil War.

From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Written by Himself.
Boston: At The Anti-Slavery Office, No. 25 Cornhill, 1845.

From the Lowell Courier, April 25, 1843. "Monday and Tuesday of next week" places the meetings on May 1 and 2, 1843.
Some references place the meetings on other dates, but May 1 and 2 are correct.

 

From the Lowell Courier, April 29, 1843. "Monday and Tuesday next" here, like the notice above, places the series of meetings on May 1 and 2, 1843.

 

This article from The Liberator, May 12, 1843 was reprinted from the Lowell Journal. The same article was also reprinted in the Lowell Courier, May 4, 1843.

 

Churches where the meetings were held

Detail from the 1841 map of Lowell. The John Street Church is number 15.

 

 

Detail from the 1841 map of Lowell. The Appleton Street Church is number 7.

 

Detail from the 1841 map of Lowell. The First Freewill Baptist Church is number 12.

Letter to The Liberator from H. W. Foster of Lowell

Horatio W. Foster lived and owned a busuness in Lowell. He contributed to “The Liberator” and to “The North Star” in addition to many other abolitionist activities.
Horatio W. Foster (1816 - 1860)
Visualize Lowell’s Black History Trail
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