History Packet No. 10

Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation - 1763 to 1820

Amos Fortune, Exemplary Citizen

One of Jaffrey's well known citizens was a former slave who purchased his own freedom to become a colonial citizen and then an American. He lived his life demonstrating the "obligations of citizenship," which likely was something he greatly cherished.

Amos Fortune was born in Africa about 1710. Nothing is known about his family or his life before being kidnapped into slavery. He most likely was "a part of the spoils brought back from the Guinea Coast by certain merchant adventurers of Salem and Boston." Before the American Revolution, slavery extended throughout the United States, though it was less prevalent in New England. It is believed that Amos was brought over when he was about 15 years old, when he was young and strong and, therefore, a good purchase as a laborer.

There are two theories as to how Amos was named once he reached America. The first is that he may have been purchased by a Boston bookbinder and church deacon named Mr. Fortune, as many slaves were given their master's family name. Working for a bookbinder, Amos would have learned how to bind books, which he later did while working as a tanner. The second theory is that Amos was named by his first master after an Italian poet, Venantius Fortunatus, who went to Germany and on to Gaul in the mid 560s. Amos "is called Mr. Fortunatus in one instance in business papers that have been preserved." All over New England and elsewhere, slaves were often given the names of people of ancient times and from the bible.

Amos probably worked for several masters between his entry into slavery around 1725 to 1752, when we first learn about him. Over the years he received religious lessons, learned to read, write, and do basic math without attending school. Some have theorized that Amos may have been bought by a Quaker, as Quaker women set up classes to educate the slaves. Not only did this training facilitate the masters and slaves communicating with each other, but it also helped to "mitigate the evils of the slave trade" by educating and Christianizing them.

By 1752, Amos was owned by Ichabod Richardson, a tanner (one who converts cowhides into leather) from Woburn, Massachusetts. Amos became a tanner and currier (dying and decorating leather). In Richardson's household, Amos rested on Sunday and "went to meeting with the good folks on the Sabbath."

Richardson's first will, dated 11 May 1752, would have granted Amos his freedom six years after his death. Over the years, Richardson had formal manumission papers drafted that would have freed Amos from bondage. The following version, dated 30 December 1763, promised Amos would be freed four years from the execution of the document or at Richardson's death.

None of the different draft documents ever was signed, however, and Amos continued to serve Richardson. Five days before his sudden and unexpected death in 1768, Richardson signed a new will that didn't mention freeing Amos, so Amos remained legal property and was inherited through Richardson's will.

One of Richardson's heirs, Simon Carter of Woburn, made an agreement with Amos for "the full and free Liberty of his person and services from and after the ninth day of May 1769." They negotiated that Amos pay Simon £6 a year for several years to "pay off his bond." The payments were set aside as a trust fund in case Amos ever became disabled and unable to support himself. The trust fund would "Endemnify the heirs of the Estate of the desseased Master Ichabod Richardson" if Amos were still a slave or if the town of Woburn needed to support him financially if he were free. A neighbor was used as banker to hold the money. At approximately age 60, Amos became a free man and citizen.

After becoming a citizen of the colonies, Amos remained in Woburn. Four years later, on 20 July 1774, he bought half an acre of land and built a small house in the north part of town. His property was located on Wilmington Road in Woburn and cost him 16 pounds, 13 shillings. In 2006, this amount from 1774 had escalated in value to £1,544.84 using the retail price index, which converts to $3,026.54.

Amos considered Pompey Blackman of Lexington, Massachusetts, a "trusty friend." Pompey returned the regard, trusting Amos with power of attorney to act as his representative in business matters in 1777.

A few years after he achieved freedom, Amos married for the first time. On 23 June 1778, Amos purchased Lydia Somerset from her master, and they filed their intent to marry with the Town Clerk of Woburn the next day. Amos purchased his wife for £50 from Josiah Bowers of Billerica. They were acquainted because Josiah's son had married a girl from the Richardson family. Amos was very thrifty or ran a very successful business, or perhaps both, as the purchase price of £50 was equivalent to $9,243.84 in 2006. The couple married 8 July 1778 in Lexington. A widow with three daughters, Lydia died three months later on 3 October 1778.

After a year of mourning, Amos bought a second wife who was about 19 years younger than he. He paid his neighbor, James Baldwin, £50 on 9 November 1779 for Violate Baldwin's freedom, obtaining a receipt that read:

It was believed that Mr. Baldwin was Violate's first owner, as they shared the same surname. His wife, Ruth Baldwin, was Ichabod Richardson's first cousin, with both families attending Woburn Congregational Church. The couple was united in marriage in Woburn the next day.

It is known that in June 1779, Amos visited Keene, New Hampshire. Two years later, in the summer of 1781, Amos moved north with his family to nearby Jaffrey. Arriving in Jaffrey, the family received the standard procedure by the town constable of warning the family to depart. He was warned that the community would not support the family financially if they later could not support themselves. Warning out also prevented new families from finding a place to live if they weren't self-sufficient or if they were perceived as a threat to someone's job. Amos was able to settle in Jaffrey because the town had no tanner.

The selectmen allowed him to settle temporarily on property that had been set aside for the town's first minister, who had not yet been hired. The land he cleared was located at the foot of the hill west of the Common. A small brook ran along it, necessary for the tanning process. At the approximate age of 71, Amos started his new business. A year after establishing his new home and tannery, he became neighbor to Laban Ainsworth, the new Reverend. They became good friends over time.

By 1785, Mr. and Mrs. Fortune had adopted a daughter, Celyndia, who may have been purchased at the slave market.

Within another four years, in 1789, Amos purchased 25 acres on the banks of Tyler Brook, along the road to the Town of Sharon, from William Turner for £45. Here, he "built a substantial house, a barn, and a currier's shop for the dressing of leather; cleared and equipped a tanyard; and excavated two sizable basins in the brook for the soaking and washing of hides." The house was one story and had a large central chimney with fireplaces on both sides. Amos' house and barn are still standing in their original location, another testament to the quality of what appears to be everything he undertook.

Amos's tannery was successful. He was the only tanner in Jaffrey for a few years after his arrival and was said to be the "most skillful for miles around." Hides were brought to him for tanning "from as far away as Reading and Sterling in Massachusetts and from Amherst and New Ipswich in New Hampshire." Business receipts show that he trusted his customers with goods and services without immediate payment, and he received credit in return from fellow residents of Jaffrey.

He was able to furnish his home with some items that were considered a luxury in those days, such as feather beds, a looking glass, and a warming pan to heat cold bed sheets. Among his personal items were velvet breeches, silver shoe buckles, a silver watch, and a fur coat.

Amos took on at least three apprentices at his Jaffrey business. Pompey Blackman, his friend from Woburn, was the first. Pompey had earned his freedom fighting in the Revolutionary War, becoming Pompey Freeman. He worked for Amos until he died on 20 May 1790. Another was Simon Peter, a Black man who served as an apprentice until 1793. In March 1793, Amos took on Charles Toothaker of Lunenburg, Massachusetts, becoming an apprentice while still a minor.

Amos "lived frugally, temperately, and uprightly. Tradition has only good to say of him." He was considered a prominent citizen of the community. He joined the First Church in Jaffrey, where he regularly attended Reverend Ainsworth's services. He left a "handsome present" of £100 to the church in his will. With this money the church purchased a silver communion service.

Amos subscribed to a newspaper and was a charter member of the town's first library, helping to found the Jaffrey Social Library. Members met Saturday evenings to collect and to discuss books dealing with history and travel. Amos bound several of the library's books, which have evolved in ownership to the Jaffrey Public Library, whose quality binding show no deterioration.

Another gift to his community was a donation of money to the town to support Schoolhouse #8, which was where Celyndia would have attended school. The gift was used to set up the Amos Fortune Fund, which has been used to support projects such as prizes for public speaking contests and special publications. The Jaffrey Public Library now administers the Fund and uses the income to develop and distribute educational materials on Amos Fortune.

In October 1801, Amos made his will and he passed away the next month on 17 November. He was believed to be aged 91 and was laid to rest in the Old Burying Ground behind the Meetinghouse in Jaffrey Center. He left his household goods and the profits of his real estate to Violet during her natural life. To Celyndia, he left his loom and small foot wheel so she would have a way to make a living.

Fortune instructed his executor Eleazer Spofford, after other bequests were paid, to have "handsome gravestones" erected to his wife and himself Violate died in 1802, one year after her husband, and was buried next to him. Their epitaphs were written by Reverend Ainsworth. Amos' reads:

Amos Fortune has been honored as "an exemplary citizen of colonial New England" by the New Hampshire Historical Markers Program. The road to Sharon, where his home was built, has been renamed Amos Fortune Road. In 1946, Jaffrey residents started the Amos Fortune Forum, a summer lecture series in his memory. The State of New Hampshire proclaimed 20 February 1955 as Amos Fortune Day. The City of Woburn, Massachusetts, dedicated Amos Fortune Square in 1989. Several books have been written to profile his life. As "one of the most successful African American businessmen of the 1700s," he deserves this recognition for making the best of a life not of his choosing for his first 59 years.

Bibliography

Annett, Albert; and Lehtinen, Alice E. E. History of Jaffrey (Middle Monadnock), New Hampshire, Volume I. Jaffrey, New Hampshire: Published by the Town, 1937, pg 748-756.

Benton, Josiah Henry. Warning Out in New England, 1656-1817. Boston, Massachusetts: W. B. Clarke Co., 1911.

Cutter, Daniel B. History of the Town of Jaffrey, From the Date of the Masonian Charter to the Present Time, 1749-1880. Concord, New Hampshire: Republic Press Association, 1881.

Garraty, John A., and Carnes, Mark C.; Editors. "Amos Fortune." American National Biography. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Hopkins, Heather M. "The List Continues." Footsteps, Jan/Feb 2006, Volume 8, Issue 1, pg. 47-49.

Lambert, Peter. Amos Fortune, The Man and His Legacy. Jaffrey, New Hampshire: Amos Fortune Forum, 2000.

Magoun, F. Alexander. Amos Fortune's Choice: The Story of a Negro Slave's Struggle for Self- Fulfillment. Freeport, Maine: Bond Wheelwright Co., 1964.

New Hampshire, State of. Historical Markers, Number 13. Concord, New Hampshire: New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources and the Department of Transportation.

Norton, A.M., Rev John F. The History of Fitzwilliam, N.H., from 1752-1887. New York: Burr Printing House, pg. 7418-756.

Officer, Lawrence H. "Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to 20 06." Measuring- Worth.com, 2007.

U.S. Census for 1790; Jaffrey, Cheshire County, New Hampshire.

Yates, Elizabeth. Amos Fortune, Free Man. New York, New York: E. P. Dutton, 1950.

Compiled by HSCC volunteer Vicki E. D. Flanders of Keene, 2008.