Person    | Female  Born 1826  Died 1891

Ellen Craft

Categories: Race Issues

Countries: USA

Slavery abolitionist. Born in Clinton, Georgia. She and her husband William were enslaved and escaped to the north of America. Although born of mixed-race parents she was very light skinned and, dressing appropriately, was able to pass as a white man with William posing as her servant. Their escape was widely publicised and they were threatened by slave catchers. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, they emigrated to England. Here they lectured publicly about their escape, and published Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom; or, the Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery, 1860, which tells their story.

They returned to the USA in 1868 and opened an agricultural school for freedmen's children in Georgia.

The English Heritage page is very informative.

Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Ellen Craft

Commemorated ati

Ellen and William Craft - blue plaque

Ellen Craft, c.1826 - c.891, and William Craft, c.1824 - 1900, refugees from ...

Read More

Ellen and William Craft - Craft Court

William and Ellen Craft, black American former slaves and campaigners against...

Read More

Other Subjects

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria

Reigned: 1837-1901, 64 years. Born Kensington Palace. Daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. Niece of her predecessor, King William IV. Her first name was Alexandrin...

Person, Race Issues, Royalty, Seriously Famous

76 memorials
Society of Black Lawyers

Society of Black Lawyers

Legal group established with the objectives of working towards the elimination of racial discrimination within the legal profession and the achievement of true equality of opportunity and equal acc...

Group, Law, Race Issues

1 memorial
William Wilberforce (abolitionist)

William Wilberforce (abolitionist)

Politician, philanthropist and slavery abolitionist. Born in High Street, Hull. Entered parliament in 1780 and became a close ally of William Pitt the Younger. He converted to evangelical Christian...

Person, Philanthropy, Politics & Administration, Race Issues, Seriously Famous

8 memorials
Sir John Cass

Sir John Cass

Tory politician, slave trader and philanthropist. Date of birth unknown so we use his date of baptism, which took place at St Botolph, Aldgate. 1705 became a director of the Royal African Company w...

Person, Philanthropy, Politics & Administration, Race Issues

2 memorials
Sarah Parker Remond

Sarah Parker Remond

African American abolitionist, lecturer, suffragist, polyglot, UCL & Bedford College graduate.  Sarah Parker Remond was an American lecturer, activist and abolitionist campaigner. Born a free ...

Person, Education, Gender Issues, Race Issues, Italy, USA

1 memorial