Written by Whitney Reynolds, Digital Services Assistant, Downtown Main Library
Manumission papers were used during the time of slavery as legal documentation to free enslaved peoples. These emancipation documents were rare. In fact, in 1850, only one-twentieth of one percent of America’s enslaved were manumitted, and some states banned the practice altogether. One of these rare cases of manumission was Peter Fossett.
Starting May 20 you can visit the Walnut Hills Branch to see these rare documents in a new exhibit, "Cincinnati’s Lost Founders: The Clark and Fossett Families." To see more of the Fossett Family Collection as well as transcription of these documents, check out the Digital Library, opens a new window!
The Fossett Family
Born in 1815, Fossett’s childhood was spent at President Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia plantation, Monticello. By 1850, Peter was freed and given his official manumission papers before moving to Cincinnati to be near relatives.
Sarah Mayrant-Walker was born enslaved in Charleston in 1826. After being sold and moved to New Orleans, Sarah learned to style hair. By 1844, she too received her documentation of freedom and quickly moved north to Cincinnati where she became one of the city’s most prominent and sought-after hair stylists.
Peter and Sarah met and were wed in 1854. Both were highly regarded in their careers, supporters and founding members of Union Baptist Church as well as active abolitionists on the Underground Railroad. The courage required of the Fossetts cannot be overstated. It was extremely dangerous for two formerly enslaved individuals to be harboring runaways. While white abolitionists faced jail time or fines, Peter and Sarah’s punishment could have been far worse.
The Fossetts fought in other ways as well. Peter was in the Black Brigade, where he defended Cincinnati along the Ohio River during the Civil War, while Sarah fought for civil rights.
In 1859, after being forcibly removed from a Cincinnati streetcar, Sarah sued the streetcar company and won. This precipitated a new law stating Black women and children had a right to ride the public streetcar. It is important to note that this law did not apply to Black men who were only permitted to ride on the platform. Two years later all Cincinnati streetcars were desegregated.
Preserving the Fossett Legacy
Both of these extraordinary Cincinnatians’ legacy continues in our city. When their descendants reached out to Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library with their ancestors' important historical documents, there was no question of their significance. The Library’s Genealogy and Local History department quickly took on the digitization of the Fossett Family Collection and was honored to be a part of the family’s story.
Digitization makes rare materials like these more accessible and is also important to the preservation of books, paper and photographs that are aging and fragile. By digitizing the collection, we are allowing information to be shared without the need for physical handling, thus decreasing the likelihood of damage.
To see more of the Fossett Family Collection as well as transcription of these documents, check out the Digital Library, opens a new window! Starting May 20 you can visit the Walnut Hills Branch to see the Fossetts documents in their exhibit, "Cincinnati’s Lost Founders: The Clark and Fossett Families." Also be sure to check out the other great programs being offered by the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, opens a new window this month!
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