Old City in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Pennsylvania Abolition Society

Photographed By J. J. Prats, May 14, 2010

1. Pennsylvania Abolition Society Marker

Inscription. Founded here, 1775, as the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage. In 1787 it became the Pennsylvania Abolition Society which sought social, educational, and employment opportunities for Blacks.

Erected 1991 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans. In addition, it is included in the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1775.

Location. 39° 56.848′ N, 75° 8.551′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in Old City. Marker is on South Front Street north of Walnut Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 114 S Front St, Philadelphia PA 19106, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Anthony Morris (a few steps from this marker); Tun Tavern (a few steps from this marker); St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia (within shouting distance of this marker); History of Scotland (within shouting distance of this marker); Monument to Scottish Immigrants (within shouting distance of this marker);

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a different marker also named Monument to Scottish Immigrants (within shouting distance of this marker); Courage of the Scottish Immigrants (within shouting distance of this marker); An Gorta Mór - Ireland's Great Hunger (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Philadelphia.

Also see . . . Founding of Pennsylvania Abolition Society. “As early as 1688, four German Quakers in Germantown near Philadelphia protested slavery in a resolution that condemned the ‘traffic of Men-body.’ By the 1770s, abolitionism was a full-scale movement in Pennsylvania. Led by such Quaker activists as Anthony Benezet and John Woolman, many Philadelphia slaveholders of all denominations had begun bowing to pressure to emancipate their slaves on religious, moral, and economic grounds.

“In April 1775, Benezet called the first meeting of the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully held in Bondage at the Rising Sun Tavern. Thomas Paine was among the ten white Philadelphians who attended; seven of the group were Quakers. Often referred to as the Abolition Society, the group focused on intervention in the cases of blacks and Indians who claimed to have been illegally

Photographed By J. J. Prats, May 14, 2010

2. Pennsylvania Abolition Society Marker

enslaved. Of the twenty-four men who attended the four meetings held before the Society disbanded, seventeen were Quakers.” (Submitted on December 29, 2011.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 29, 2011, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,420 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 29, 2011, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.