Edmonson Sisters

Title

Edmonson Sisters

Description

Mary and Emily Edmonson were among the 77 enslaved African Americans who boarded the schooner, Pearl, in 1848 intending to sail down the Potomac, then north to freedom. Captured when the Pearl becalmed, the Edmonson sisters were jailed. They awaited sale as slaves in New Orleans while their father, a freeman, worked to raise money to buy their freedom. Abolitionists, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, heard of their plight and launched a fundraising effort that lead to the sisters' emancipation. The Edmonsons later studied at Oberlin College in Ohio, and became active anti-slavery crusaders.

Creator

Edmonson Sisters

Source

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. View original image.

Coverage

1830-1859

Extent

563 x 800px

birthday

Mary, 1832
Emily, 1835

Theme

civil rights

politics & protest