Mobility, Migration, and the 1855 Philadelphia National Convention

Charles Lenox Remond

Charles Lenox Remond (1810-1873) was one of the first African American lecturers to address audiences on the subject of abolition.¹ He was born in Salem, Massachusetts to free persons of color, John Remond, a Caribbean immigrant, and Nancy Lenox, a well-established Bostonian, whose father fought in the Continental War.² While still in his early twenties, Remond joined the abolitionist movement, working as an agent for Garrison’s The Liberator in 1832 and later as a lecturer for the American Anti-Slavery Society.³These experiences helped earn him a prestigious nomination as the only African American delegate to the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London.⁴ During this conference and his subsequent United Kingdom lecture circuit, he developed a reputation as an eloquent orator, additionally demonstrating his commitment to women’s rights by protesting the conventions rejection of female delegates.⁵ Upon his return to the United States, Remond labored not only to end slavery, but to improve the lives of free-Blacks in the north, lobbying the Massachusetts House of Representatives to end segregation on trains.⁶

At the Colored Convention of 1855, Remond supported the educational advancement of African Americans and promoted women’s rights by advocating for the recognition of Mary Ann Shadd as a delegate. He also served as a member of the finance counsel, a position for which he was well-qualified given his upbringing within an entrepreneurial family.⁷By the date of the Philadelphia convention he had developed into seasoned speaker, having toured throughout New England, lecturing at state conventions and anti-slavery societies with Frederick Douglass and Wendell Phillips.⁸

Towards the end of his life, Remond used increasingly militant oratorical rhetoric, rejecting Garrison’s pacifist approach and calling for abolition by violence if necessary.⁹ He recruited African Americans for military service during the Civil War and remained a devoted advocate of women’s rights.¹⁰ Though increasingly hindered from traveling by ill-health, Remond still managed to attend suffrage meetings in New York as well as the first Equal Rights Convention in 1867.¹¹ He died in December 1873 at the age of sixty-three.¹² Since his death, he has remained a key figure in histories of abolition, and his speeches are often anthologized. His sister, Sarah Parker Remond, was also active in lecture circuits.

Credits

Amelia Chaney, English 634, Spring 2013. Taught by Professor P. Gabrielle Foreman, University of Delaware.

Edited by Jake Alspaugh, ENGL 641, Spring 2016. Taught by P. Gabrielle Foreman, University of Delaware.

Edited by Samantha de Vera

Notes

[1] Though he was a prominent speaker throughout his life time, Remond enjoyed particular social celebrity in the early portion of his career. When he began speaking in the mid1830s, there were few African-American anti-slavery lecturers. As one of the first to become a regular speaker on the topic, he remained the preeminent representative of black abolitionistm until Frederick Douglass appeared on the scene as a public lecturer in 1842. Douglass’ personal experience as a former slave made him a sought after orator, and partially diminished Remond’s popularity. However Charles Remond remained a respected lecturer, especially on the issues of rights for free blacks and women until his death. Wheaton, Patrick G. and Celeste M. Condit. “Charles Lenox Remond (1810-1873), abolitionist, reform activist” African-American Orators: a bio-critical sourcebook. Richard W. Leeman. Ed. Wesport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996: 302. Print.

Although, the death records suggest that Remond was born in 1812 most secondary sources cite 1810 as the year of his birth. “Charles Lennox Remond” Massachusetts, Find a Grave Index, 1620-2013. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Web. 15 March, 2013.

[2] John Remond came to the United States from Curaçao in the Caribbean at the age of 10 and worked in several trades, including as a barber. He was extremely successful in business as the census record of 1850 lists the value of his real estate as $2,600. Charles Remond was the first son born to the couple and was one of eight children. His siblings included Susan, Martha, and Sarah Parker, noted abolitionist. Many of his siblings including his brother also continued in the family trade of barber, while several of his sisters became hairdressers. Wheaton, Patrick G. and Celeste M. Condit. “Charles Lenox Remond (1810-1873), abolitionist, reform activist” African-American Orators: a bio-critical sourcebook. Richard W. Leeman. African-American Orators: Ed. Wesport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996: 302. Print. “Charles Remond”Ancestry.com. 1850 United Stated Federal Census Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2009. Web. 13 March, 2013.

[3] Wheaton, Patrick G. and Celeste M. Condit. “Charles Lenox Remond (1810-1873), Abolitionist, Reform Activist,” in African-American Orators: a Bio-critical Sourcebook, ed Richard W. Leeman. (Wesport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996), 302.

[4] Charles Remond was one of eleven delegates to the Convention, which included William Lloyd Garrison, editor of The Liberator, Nathaniel Peabody Rodgers, editor of the Herald of Freedom, and Lucretia Mott, a Quaker abolitionist and women’s rights activist. “Office of the Hibernian Anti-Slavery Society, 9, Anglesea-street, Dublin, 24^th of April, 1843.” The Liberator 26 May 1843. Accessible Archives. Web. 13 March, 2013. “Charles Lenox Remond, Slavery as it Concerns the British (1841).” Liberator 9 July 1841. Blackpast. Web. 17 March, 2013.

[5] “The Edinburgh Witness, in its report of the speeches made” The Liberator. 21 August 1840. Accessible Archives. Web. 13 March, 2013. For Remond’s comments on his British and Irish Social Networking as well as women’s rights see his letter to the Liberator. “Letter from Charles L. Remond. Manchester, England, Aug. 31” The Liberator 25 Sept. 1840. Accessible Archives. 13 March 2013.

[6] Remond, Charles Lenox. “The Rights of Colored Citizens in Traveling.” Lift Every Voice: African-American Oratory, 1787-1900. Eds. Philip Sheldon Foner and Robert J. Branham. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998: 189-194. Print.

[7] Charles Remond’s father worked as barber and later with the help of his wife also worked as a caterer.Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, Philadelphia, 1855. Salem, New Jersey: National Standard Office, 1856. Print. “Charles Lenox Remond, Slavery as it Concerns the British (1841).” Liberator 9 July 1841. Blackpast. Web. 17 March, 2013.

[8] For records of his speaking tour see the following. “Anti-Slavery Conventions in Ohio.” The Liberator 16 Sept. 1842. Accessible Archives Web. 13 March, 2013. “Constitution of Equal School Rights Meetings.” The Liberator 14 Dec. 1849. Accessible Archives. Web. 13 March, 2013. “Great Mass Anti-Slavery Convention, In Cincinnati, Ohio.” Frederick Douglass Paper 15 April 1852. Accessible Archives. Web. 13 March, 2013. “Special Notices” The Liberator 20 Feb. 1857 Accessible Archives. Web. 13 March, 2013. “Tour of William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass.” The Liberator 6 Aug. 1847. Accessible Archives. Web. 13 March, 2013. Charles Remond also spoke at Female Anti-Slavery societies including the Salem organization, which his own family helped to found. “Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society.” The Liberator. 29 March 1844.Accessible Archives. Web. 13 March, 2013.