Capt. Drayton Monument Restoration
Donation protected
Help the New Bedford Preservation Society restore this Abolitionist hero's grave at Rural Cemetery in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Captain Daniel Drayton is a relatively unknown figure in American history, who lived the life of an Atlantic coastal trader and abolitionist. He is most memorable for his bravery in his failed attempt, in 1848, at transporting 77 fugitive slaves to the North onboard the ship “Pearl,” the largest attempt of its kind in American history.
Having made a previous success of aiding a woman and 6 children to freedom, Drayton set out for Washington, D.C., to attempt to do the same for a family of 12 who were about to be sold and potentially separated from each other. But as the Pearl, the ship Drayton had hired for the mission, was docked in Washington, word of his arrival spread among the local abolitionists, and soon, under the cover of night and amidst the commotion of citywide celebrations sparked by the onset of the French Revolution, 77 slaves found their way aboard the Pearl with hopes of escape. Lucinda Clarke Bush, a free, light-skinned black woman, is reported to have gone around the city ”borrowing" slaves under some false pretense or another and then shepherded them away to the Pearl . This unexpected increase in passengers did not deter Drayton, and the ship set sail for the North as planned. Unfortunately, the winds along the way were not in favor of the Pearl, and it was soon forced to anchor and seek shelter in a harbor, allowing the sailing vessel to be overtaken by a steamer which had been hired by the enraged slave-owners as soon as Drayton’s mission had been found out.
For this attempt Drayton spent four years and four months in prison, under deplorable conditions, before being pardoned by President Fillmore. In the summer of 1857, Drayton, no stranger to New Bedford, came to the city a broken, destitute man looking for sponsors to help him rescue slaves. Finding no one willing to do so, he then took his own life at the Mansion House, a hotel in New Bedford. The City of New Bedford gave Drayton a hero’s funeral and a charitable donor, Photius Fisk, donated the initial sum to erect the monument in his honor. The society welcomes donations to this monument restoration project and has set a goal of $4,000.
All donations to fund this campaign will be made to the New Bedford Preservation Society, a Massachusetts Non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. Thank you!
Catherine Potter, NBPS Administrator
Read more about the Drayton story:
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20150823/NEWS/150829745
Captain Daniel Drayton is a relatively unknown figure in American history, who lived the life of an Atlantic coastal trader and abolitionist. He is most memorable for his bravery in his failed attempt, in 1848, at transporting 77 fugitive slaves to the North onboard the ship “Pearl,” the largest attempt of its kind in American history.
Having made a previous success of aiding a woman and 6 children to freedom, Drayton set out for Washington, D.C., to attempt to do the same for a family of 12 who were about to be sold and potentially separated from each other. But as the Pearl, the ship Drayton had hired for the mission, was docked in Washington, word of his arrival spread among the local abolitionists, and soon, under the cover of night and amidst the commotion of citywide celebrations sparked by the onset of the French Revolution, 77 slaves found their way aboard the Pearl with hopes of escape. Lucinda Clarke Bush, a free, light-skinned black woman, is reported to have gone around the city ”borrowing" slaves under some false pretense or another and then shepherded them away to the Pearl . This unexpected increase in passengers did not deter Drayton, and the ship set sail for the North as planned. Unfortunately, the winds along the way were not in favor of the Pearl, and it was soon forced to anchor and seek shelter in a harbor, allowing the sailing vessel to be overtaken by a steamer which had been hired by the enraged slave-owners as soon as Drayton’s mission had been found out.
For this attempt Drayton spent four years and four months in prison, under deplorable conditions, before being pardoned by President Fillmore. In the summer of 1857, Drayton, no stranger to New Bedford, came to the city a broken, destitute man looking for sponsors to help him rescue slaves. Finding no one willing to do so, he then took his own life at the Mansion House, a hotel in New Bedford. The City of New Bedford gave Drayton a hero’s funeral and a charitable donor, Photius Fisk, donated the initial sum to erect the monument in his honor. The society welcomes donations to this monument restoration project and has set a goal of $4,000.
All donations to fund this campaign will be made to the New Bedford Preservation Society, a Massachusetts Non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. Thank you!
Catherine Potter, NBPS Administrator
Read more about the Drayton story:
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20150823/NEWS/150829745
Organizer and beneficiary
Catherine Giusti Potter
Organizer
New Bedford, MA
Mark Fuller
Beneficiary