Osborne Perry Anderson (1830 - 1872)

Born 27 Jul 1830 in West Fallowfield Township, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Died 11 Dec 1872 at age 42 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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Biography

Osborne Anderson is Notable.

Osborne Perry Anderson American abolitionist and was the only surviving African-American participant in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. ^[1]

Osborne Perry Anderson was born in 1830 in West Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. He attended Oberlin College. In the 1850 census Osborne (age 20), Laborer, was with his father in West Goshen, Chester, Pennsylvania, United States.^[2] In the 1850s he left for Chatham, Kent County, Canada West, possibly influenced by Mary Ann Shadd Cary, who had previously opened a school for African-American children in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Once in Chatham, Osborne worked for Mrs. Shadd Cary as a printer of The Provincial Freeman newspaper.

At John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry in October 1859, Anderson was one of the party that took Colonel Lewis Washington prisoner. Anderson took possession of a sword that was allegedly presented by Frederick the Great of Prussia to General George Washington (Lewis' great-grand-uncle). Captain John Brown had then used the captured sword in commanding his men at Harper's Ferry. He fought on the second day of the raid until 5:00 p.m. before escaping the arsenal.

Anderson was assisted in escaping capture by William C. Goodridge. Goodridge hid Anderson in a third-story closet of his building at 121 East Philadelphia Street in Centre Square, York, Pennsylvania, for several weeks after the Harper's Ferry raid.^[3] Goodridge was then able to send Anderson to William Still in Philadelphia.^[4] On 3 April 1860, Anderson entered Rochester, New York, intending to tour US cities and publish an accurate history of the raid at Harper's Ferry. He instead had to escape to Canada to avoid arrest by the US Deputy Marshal. On Monday evening, 9 April 1860, Anderson addressed a Black audience at the Terauly Street Baptist Church in Toronto, Canada West. He disputed the claim of former Virginia governor Henry A. Wise that the enslaved people of the United States were happy and did not want freedom. A collection was taken up to aid Anderson, and he planned to leave Toronto on Thursday, 12 April 1860.^[5] He was in Cleveland, Ohio, in June 1860, and secretly addressed a meeting of the Fugitive Aid Society on Sunday afternoon, 24 June 1860, provoking an enthusiastic and emotional response. An appeal for donations was made published in The Weekly Anglo-African on 7 July 1860, as Anderson was in hiding and therefore unable to work. Contributions were directed to Joshua C. Hammond in Chatham, Kent County, Canada West.^[6] In the 1861 census O P Anderson (age 27), Book Agt, was the single head of household in a frame house in Chatham, Kent, Canada West.^[7] That year he wrote A Voice from Harper's Ferry.

Anderson died from consumption (tuberculosis) on Wednesday, 11 December 1872, at the home of a friend A. M. Green. He had been living in a rowhouse on 14th Street NE between B and C Streets in Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Hill neighborhood.^[8] Funeral services were in Washington, D.C., on Friday, 13 December 1872. The sermon was preached by Bishop Green. Pallbearers were Professor Langston, Robert Purvis, of Pennsylvania, John P. Sampson, and P. H. Murray.^[9] He was buried at Columbian Harmony Cemetery. All the burials there were moved in 1959 to National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery, Hyattsville, Prince George's County, Maryland.^[10]

Research Notes

Another source is needed for the attached father, Vincent Anderson. On the 1850 census, Osborne is listed at the bottom of the household, denoting that he may not be the child of Vincent. McBeth-165

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Osborne Perry Anderson," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_Perry_Anderson (accessed March 9, 2023).
2. ↑ 1850 Census: "1850 United States Federal Census"
   The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: West Goshen, Chester, Pennsylvania; Roll: 764; Page: 276a; Line Number: 29
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 8054 #460072 (accessed 14 March 2023)
   Osborne Anderson (20), Laborer, in West Goshen, Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. Born in Pennsylvania.
3. ↑ Betz, I. H. "Some Historic Houses of York County. No. 17–The Betz-Garrison House in Redland Valley." The Gazette (York, Pennsylvania), Saturday, May 11, 1912, page 15. Newspapers.com.
4. ↑ Betz, I. H. "Old Abolition And Underground Railroad." The Gazette (York, Pennsylvania), Saturday, March 29, 1913, page 6. Newspapers.com.
5. ↑ "U.S., African American Newspapers, 1829-1947"
   Negro Newspapers for the American Council of Learned Studies. Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2346 #138125 (accessed 14 March 2023)
   Name: Mr Osborne P Anderson; Other Event Location: Toronto; Article Title: "Letter from Toronto;" Publication Title: The Weekly Anglo-African; Publication Date: 28 Apr 1860; Publication Location: New York, New York; Column Number: 1.
6. ↑ "U.S., African American Newspapers, 1829-1947"
   Negro Newspapers for the American Council of Learned Studies. Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2346 #140466 (accessed 14 March 2023)
   Name: Mr O P Anderson; Other Event Date: 16 Oct 1859; Event Type: Other; Article Title: "Letter from Cleveland;" Publication Title: The Weekly Anglo-African; Publication Date: 7 Jul 1860; Publication Location: New York,New York; Column Number: 1.
7. ↑ 1861 Census: "1861 Census of Canada"
   Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Census Returns For 1861; Roll: C-1038-1039; Page number: 9
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1570 #797465554 (accessed 14 March 2023)
   O P Anderson (27), single, Book Agt, head of household in Chatham, Kent, Canada West. Born in USA.
8. ↑ 1873 Directory: "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995"
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2469 #1037024539 (accessed 14 March 2023)
   Name: Osborne P Anderson; Residence Year: 1873; Residence Place: Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Occupation: Mess; Publication Title: Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, 1873.
9. ↑ Obituary: "U.S., Newspapers.com™ Obituary Index, 1800s-current"
   "The Last of the Mohicans." Fort Scott Daily Monitor; Publication Date: 27 Dec 1872; Publication Place: Fort Scott, Kansas, USA; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/58529345/?article=850ddc6f-3215-4f37-a03d-267ac4b18251&focus=0.09407797,0.6754285,0.20711683,0.764135&xid=3355
   Ancestry Record 61843 #591805566 (accessed 14 March 2023)
   Name: Osborne P. Anderson; Gender: Male; Death Date: Abt 1872; Obituary Date: 27 Dec 1872.
10. ↑ Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46533175/osborne-perry-anderson: accessed 28 November 2022), memorial page for Osborne Perry Anderson (17 Jul 1830–11 Dec 1872), Find a Grave Memorial ID 46533175, citing National Harmony Memorial Park Cemetery, Hyattsville, Prince George's County, Maryland, USA; Maintained by Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society (contributor 49923176).
    Ancestry Record 60525 #8493806 (accessed 14 March 2023)

• "Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI)"
  Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 108226
  Ancestry Record 4394 #8779871 (accessed 14 March 2023)
  Name: Osborne Perry Anderson; Birth Year: 1830; Death Year: 1871; Has Photo: No; Source: Dictionary of American Negro Biography. Edited by Rayford W. Logan and Michael R. Winston. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1982. (DcAmNB) Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage. By Susan Altman. New York: Facts on File, 2000. (EncAAHer).
• Wikidata: Item Q7105804