{"id":1757,"date":"2018-04-27T14:05:20","date_gmt":"2018-04-27T14:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/mobilitymigration1855\/?page_id=1757"},"modified":"2025-04-13T14:32:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T18:32:31","slug":"william-j-wilson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/black-mobility\/delegates\/william-j-wilson\/","title":{"rendered":"William J. Wilson"},"content":{"rendered":"

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THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID-CENTURY CONVENTIONS<\/h3>\n

WILLIAM J. WILSON<\/h1>\n

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A prolific writer and caustic social commentator, William J. Wilson (b.1818) lived most of his adult life in Brooklyn, NY. Census records indicate Wilson was born in New Jersey and emigrated to Brooklyn sometime before 1850, where he worked as a school teacher.[note]”United States Census, 1850,” Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 15 Mar 2013.[\/note] By the end of the Civil War Wilson had moved again, this time to Washington D.C., where he held several positions over the years in the financial sector.[note]”Washington City Directory, 1867,” Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 15 Mar 2013.[\/note] Unsurprisingly, not much is known about Wilson\u2019s private life except that his wife, Mary, was likely born around 1820 and his daughter, Ann, around 1845.[note]United States Census, 1850,” Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 15 Mar 2013.[\/note] The Wilsons all worked as teachers and were among the few Black residents of Brooklyn to teach in the South. William J. Wilson taught freed individuals there for three years, while Mary Wilson and Anna Wilson taught for four and five years respectively.[note]Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, (Salem, NJ: National Standard Office, 1856):3-5, Link<\/a>.[\/note]<\/p>\n

In Brooklyn, Wilson worked closely with J. W. C. Pennington and Junius C. Morel to oppose the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and colonizationists. They formed a committee called the Committee of Thirteen, which believed that \u201cthe actual goal of colonization was to remove the only consistently antislavery population from the nation.\u201d[note]Ethiop, \u201cFrom Our Brooklyn Correspondent,\u201d Frederick Douglass Paper, 25 Dec. 1851, accessed 15 Mar 2013.[\/note] A seat on this committee, as well as his published works, ensured Wilson a spot in the 1855 Convention. Although Wilson did not have a grand role in the Convention, he was on the committee that chose the delegate that would be invited to the Convention. Wilson was also acquainted with Henry Highland Garnet; both men gave speeches at the celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation at Cooper Union in New York. Wilson firmly believed that emancipation was the inevitable outcome of the Civil War.<\/p>\n

Wilson was also a key writer of the opening speech of the 1855 National Colored Convention, held in Philadelphia. The speech urged the African American community to pursue education in trade in order to better the condition of both free and enslaved African Americans.[note]Proceedings of the Colored National Convention, (Salem, NJ: National Standard Office, 1856):3-5, Link<\/a>.[\/note] This was not the only document Wilson crafted that supported the pursuit of education and trade. Examining Wilson\u2019s contributions to print culture reveals that he often crafted similar documents, using an energetic writing style, which paired unflinching social and economic commentary with tongue-in-cheek sarcasm. From about 1851-1855, Wilson was a regular correspondent for the Frederick Douglass Paper<\/em> under the pseudonym \u201cEthiop.” In his communications he spoke out against colonization, calling it a \u201cdistemper long prevalent among the whites.”[note]Ethiop, \u201cFrom Our Brooklyn Correspondent,\u201d Frederick Douglass Paper, 25 Dec. 1851, accessed 15 Mar 2013.[\/note]<\/p>\n

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\"an

William J. Wilson, “A Leaf from my Scrapbook,” Autographs for Freedom<\/em>, ed. Julia Griffith, 1854. Image courtesy HathiTrust.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"newspaper

Frederick Douglass Paper<\/em>, “Newspaper reference to ‘Ethiop’ and ‘Communipaw’ in the Frederick Douglass Papers<\/em>.” Accessible Archives. African American Newspapers. Reproduced by permission. www.accessible-archives.com\/<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Wilson

Autograph of William J. Wilson, published in Autographs for Freedom<\/em> edited by Julia Griffith, Auburn: Alden, Beardsley, and Co.,1854.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"newspaper

“From our Brooklyn Correspondence.” Frederick Douglass’ Paper<\/em>, 18 Feb. 1853. From Accessible Archives \u00a9 2016 Accessible Archives Inc.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"newspaper\"

“From our Brooklyn Correspondence.” Frederick Douglass’ Paper<\/em>, 18 Feb. 1853. From Accessible Archives \u00a9 2016 Accessible Archives Inc.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"In

“Dear Douglass.” Frederick Douglass’ Paper<\/em>, 18 Feb. 1853. From Accessible Archives \u00a9 2016 Accessible Archives Inc.<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u201cEthiop\u201d also encouraged his readers to seize economic opportunities and expressed frustration with the economic stagnation of the African American community in New York. He criticized those who invested more in appearances than in real estate or business ventures. He bantered, though seriously, with another correspondent, Communipaw, who was actually James McCune Smith.[note]See for instance, Communipaw, \u201cLetter from Communipaw,” Frederick Douglass Paper, 12 Feb. 1852, accessed 15 Mar 2013.[\/note] Their identities were an open secret among Douglass\u2019 readership.[note]Peterson, Carla, Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in the Nineteenth Century, (New Haven: Yale UP, 2011): 217-218.[\/note] Julia Griffith published Wilson’s “A Leaf from my Scrapbook” in Autographs for Freedom<\/em> in 1854. In 1859 he published “Afric-American Portrait Gallery,” a prose tour of a fictionalized gallery that depicts the history of Blacks in America.<\/p>\n

Between 1860 and 1865, the Wilsons moved to Washington D.C. There, Wilson worked as a cashier at the Freedman\u2019s Savings Bank and National Savings Bank.[note]”Washington, District of Columbia, City Directory, 1867,” Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 30 June 2017.[\/note] It is no surprise then that Wilson was part of the Committee on Publication at the 1869 National Colored Convention in Washington D.C. His daughter, Anna Wilson, also lived in the same city and married Thomas Smith Boston. Boston worked as assistant cashier at the Freedman\u2019s Savings Bank.[note]\u201cWashington, District of Columbia, City Directory, 1874,\u201d Ancestry Library Edition, accessed 30 June 2017.[\/note] It is highly likely that William J. Wilson helped his son-in-law get this position. Anna Wilson, like her father, worked as a teacher.<\/p>\n

What little scholarship there is on William J. Wilson mostly focuses on his “Afric-American Portrait Gallery,” his critique of colonization, and the sarcastic tone he employs to make those and other critiques.[note]Ibid.[\/note] As the critical appreciation for Wilson\u2019s work has only begun to blossom in the twenty-first century, there is ample room for further study. Ivy G. Wilson has written exclusively on William J. Wilson in her chapter \u201cThe Colored Museum\u201d in Specters of Democracy<\/em>. Other scholars, including Craig Steven Wilder and Mia Bay, examine certain articles or essays by Wilson in order to study the larger African American print culture and debates therein.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.106″ custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” inner_width=”auto” inner_max_width=”1080px” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”||0px|” custom_margin=”||0px|” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ width=”80%” max_width=”1080px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding__hover=”|||” custom_padding=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Credits Header” _builder_version=”3.21.1″ custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n

Credits<\/h3>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Credits Content” _builder_version=”3.0.106″ text_font=”||on||||||” text_font_size=”14px” text_line_height=”1.8em” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n

Jessica D. Conrad, English 634, Spring 2013. Taught by Professor P. Gabrielle Foreman, University of Delaware.<\/p>\n

With Research Contributions from Cristina Garbalosa, Taught by Professor P. Gabrielle Foreman, University of Delaware.<\/p>\n

Edited by Carolyne King, English 641, Spring 2016. Taught by Professor P. Gabrielle Foreman, University of Delaware.<\/p>\n

Edited and Revised by Samantha de Vera<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”References Header” _builder_version=”3.21.1″ custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” text_orientation=”left”]<\/p>\n

References<\/h3>\n

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THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID-CENTURY CONVENTIONS WILLIAM J. WILSON A prolific writer and caustic social commentator, William J. Wilson (b.1818) lived most of his adult life in Brooklyn, NY. Census records indicate Wilson was born in New Jersey and emigrated to Brooklyn sometime before 1850, where he worked as a school teacher.[note]”United […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":4638,"parent":1982,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1757","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nWilliam J. Wilson - The Fight for Black Mobility: Traveling to Mid-Century Conventions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/black-mobility\/delegates\/william-j-wilson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"William J. Wilson - The Fight for Black Mobility: Traveling to Mid-Century Conventions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE FIGHT FOR BLACK MOBILITY: TRAVELING TO MID-CENTURY CONVENTIONS WILLIAM J. WILSON A prolific writer and caustic social commentator, William J. Wilson (b.1818) lived most of his adult life in Brooklyn, NY. 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