The Smithsonian names the Levi Coffin House Interpretive Center as one of twelve new museums around the world to visit in 2016!. The north room on the main floor served as the home's parlor and leads to a dining room in the rear wing. He was born in Guilford County, North Carolina, in the United States. He was born on the island of Nantucket, 10th month, 10th, 1763, and was about ten years old when the family moved to North Carolina. Watch the orientation video and browse the exhibits that tell the story of the Underground Railroad, both from the community perspective and the national perspective. Levi Coffin (1789–1877), a Quaker, was from 1826 to 1846 the unofficial leader of the Underground Railroad, an extensive route of abolitionist safe houses harboring escaped slaves and transporting them to freedom.In this account of the escape of twenty-eight slaves from the South to Canada, Coffin describes the myriad dangers facing fugitive slaves and those who helped them. [3][4], Levi Coffin (1798–1877) was a Quaker abolitionist, businessman, and humanitarian who became an active leader in the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio. By the time the slave-catchers returned from the county seat of Centerville (a round trip of 26 miles (42 km) to acquire the documents), the fugitive slaves would have been transported to other locations. Levi Coffin, President of the Underground Railroad The best-known Underground Railroad “station master” in Indiana was Levi Coffin of Newport (now called Fountain City). [18], The eight-room interior includes furnishings in the style of a Quaker family living in Indiana during the 1840s. After the crossing many of the escaping slaves were led to the Coffin House. Due to his religious beliefs, he became a strong opponent of African American slavery. Its original owners, Catharine and Levi Coffin, were Quaker abolitionists who provided fugitive slaves with supplies and a safe place to stay. Their home essentially became the grand central station of the Underground Railroad, and every runaway slave who stayed at the house successfully reached freedom. "[5][6][7] Catharine (White) Coffin (1803–81) also took an active role in assisting fugitive slaves, which included providing food, clothing, and a safe haven in the Coffin home. In 1821, with his cousin Vestal, Levi Coffin ran a Sunday school for Blacks. A few years after Margaret was returned to her owner, she jumped off a ferry with one of her children in her arms. They were the parents of six children: Jesse S., Addison, Thomas F., Henry Way, Anna Unthank, and … My visit to this house was a highlight of my trip to Wayne … One North Carolinian, Levi Coffin, dedicated his life to helping enslaved men and women escape slavery. His autobiography, Reminiscences of Levi Coffin (1876), contains much valuable information about American abolitionism. The young Levi received the bulk of his education at home, which proved to be good enough for Coffin to find work as a teacher for several years. Wife of Levi Coffin. He had little formal education, being largely taught by his father at home. They were members of the Quaker religion. September 16, 1877 When was Catherine Coffin born? He was a member of the Society of Friends. During the 20 years they lived in Newport, the Coffins helped more than 2,000 slaves reach safety. He and his wife Catherine claimed to have helped some 3,000 men and women flee slavery. Their home essentially became the grand central station of the Underground Railroad, and every runaway slave who stayed at the house successfully reached freedom. Stowe was living in Cincinnati at the time she wrote the novel and became acquainted with the Coffins, who may have been the inspiration for the fictional Quaker couple named Simeon and Rachael Halliday in her story. His funeral ceremony was held in the Friends Meeting House of Cincinnati. The two-story, modified Federal-style brick home is painted red and had a two-story rear wing on the northwest corner of the main structure. Catharine was the daughter of Stanton and Mary White. He had little formal schooling because he was needed to work on the farm. [18][19] Because Coffin would demand to see a search warrant and slave-ownership papers for suspected runaway slaves before allowing entry, the house was never searched. Moreover, Catharine organized a sewing circle that met in the Coffins’ home and made clothing for the fugitive slaves. [6][27] The main entrance opens into a central hallway that includes a room on each side and a staircase leading to the second floor. Coffin was born near New Garden in Guilford County, North Carolina on October 28, 1798, the son of Mary and Levi Coffin Sr. Levi Coffin grew, married Catharine Coffin, and moved to Indiana from North Carolina in 1926. [21], In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the home was used as a hotel. He continued his affiliation with the Underground Railroad until the outbreak of the American Civil War, then worked to aid the liberated slaves. The Levi Coffin House was built in 1839 by Levi and Catharine Coffin, Quakers who opposed slavery and were committed to helping runaway slaves escape to freedom. As a young man, Coffin had the opportunity to assist fugitive slaves. Coffin was born to a Quaker farming family in New Garden, North Carolina. The family had to help the slaves in secret a… Coffin was raised on a farm, an upbringing that provided little opportunity for formal education. In his autobiography, “Reminiscences of Levi Coffin,” Coffin describes his life’s work aiding fugitive slaves in their search for freedom. [8][9], The Coffins began sheltering fugitive slaves in Indiana during the winter of 1826–27, not long after their arrival at Newport. As a child, Coffin was taught that slavery was wrong, and because he lived in North Carolina, he had many opportunities to see the brutalities of slavery at work. Coffin later estimated that, on average, they helped one hundred slaves escape each year. The historic site is open to the public for tours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. [13][14], Harriet Beecher Stowe's fictional work, Uncle Tom's Cabin, told stories of slaves who escaped on the Underground Railroad. It was after building their home in the little town of Fountain City, Indiana that their story really began – and where it is now told at the Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site. Stowe's book relates the tale of Eliza Harris, a slave girl from the South who escaped by crossing the frozen Ohio River with her baby on a winter night. [10] Underground Railroad conductors guided escaping slaves through Kentucky, where they typically crossed the Ohio River at one of three points: Madison, Indiana; Jeffersonville, Indiana; or Cincinnati, Ohio. A devout Quaker, Coffin opposed slavery despite his Southern birth and upbringing. Escaping slaves were well hidden for their travels in this wagon when grain bags were piled around the hiding area. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The site is open to the public for tours, Tuesday through Saturday, from June through October. A secret door installed in the maids' quarters in the rear addition on the second floor provided access for as many as fourteen fugitive slaves to hide in a narrow crawlspace between the walls. Illustration. They were the parents of six children: Jesse S., Addison, Thomas F., Henry Way, Anna Unthank, and … Levi and Catharine Coffin were devout Quakers who believed slavery was antithetical to their faith. Many of the Coffins’ neighbours opted not to provide shelter for the runaways, but they contributed supplies to the more than 3,000 fugitive slaves who passed through the Coffin home. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Levi Coffin House has been included on the list of the top 25 history sites in the nation by The History Channel!. It shows that what Levi Coffin and the rest of the Underground Railroad members were doing was illegal but they did it anyway. The home also contains a large attic and storage garrets. Catharine was the daughter of Stanton and Mary White. His family were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers), who opposed slavery. It helped me to better understand the life of Levi Coffin by showing the risks he took and the consequences the law had for his actions. The Coffin House is a National Historic Landmark located in the present-day town of Fountain City in Wayne County, Indiana. Their home became one of several Underground Railroad stops in a larger network of sites that provided aid to runaway slaves as they traveled north to freedom in Canada. Known for his leadership in aiding fugitive slaves, Coffin opposed slavery and was given the unofficial title of "President of the Underground Railroad. Levi Coffin was born in Guilford County, North Carolina in 1798, and married Catharine White in 1824. Coffin and his wife, Catharine, then made their home into a depot, and they funneled much of the wealth that he was acquiring as a prosperous merchant into hiding and then conveying “passengers” on their northern journey. The home has been restored to appear as it did in the 1840s when the Coffins lived there. His parents were Quakers, and the family was anti-slavery in their thinking. A spring-fed well in the basement provided the home with access to fresh water. Slave catchers and U.S. [22][23][24] The restoration was done by Himelick Construction of Fountain City. The Coffin House was ranked by The History Channel as “one of the nation’s Top 25 Historical Sites.” In 2016, the Smithsonian named the Levi Coffin House Interpretive Center as “one of 12 new museums around the world to visit,” while the Indiana Office of Tourism Development voted it as one of the top museums in the State of Indiana. [11][12][13] Although the Coffins did not keep records of their activities because it was illegal to assist runaway slaves, it is believed that they helped as many as 2,000 of them to freedom in the North and in Canada during the twenty years (1826 to 1847) that they lived in Indiana. During the twenty years (1826 to 1847) that The Coffins lived in Indiana it is believed that they helped as many as 2,000 slaves escape to freedom in the Northern United States and in Canada. He and his wife Catherine claimed to have helped some 3,000 men and women flee slavery. Coffin later became an agent for the Western Freedman's Aid Society, petitioned the U.S. government to create the Freedmen's Bureau, and in 1867 served as a delegate to the International Anti-Slavery Conference in Paris before retiring from public life. The first source of information is Levi Coffin's autobiography. In 1847 Coffin moved to Cincinnati, where he opened a store selling goods made exclusively by free labour. After 1911 it was converted to apartments and passed through several owners before it was restored in the 1960s. Catharine and Levi Coffin, the home's original owners, along with the first of their six children migrated from Guilford County, North Carolina, to Wayne County, Indiana, to join other members of the Coffin family. Fortunately, the property was kept it in good condition, including preservation of some of its original windowpanes and woodwork. The site is now the Levi Coffin House State Historic Site. Coffin agreed to help them escape the city, and told Kite to take the Garner group further west of the city, where many free black people lived, and to wait until night. Like many other Quakers, the Coffins found it more and more uncomfortable to live in a slave state like North Carolina. The upstairs rooms could accommodate extra visitors. The Levi Coffin House Association operates the property under an agreement with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the historic home's present-day owner. Both died in the year 1803, at the place where they first settled in North Carolina. They came north to make their new homes in … In 1864 he went to England to raise funds for the freedmen, and in 1867 he was a delegate to the International Anti-Slavery Conference in Paris. Levi Coffin House, Main Cross and Mill Streets, Fountain City, Wayne County, IN. He passed several laws outlawing the use of enslaved laborers. How many slaves did Levi Coffin save? HABS IND,89-FOUCI,1-. Admission is charged for visitors over the age of six. In 1966 the Coffin's Indiana home became the first property in the state to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. 1972-04-04 00:00:00 A GERMAN VIEW OF LEVI COFFIN AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD By Opal Thornburg* Levi Coffin1, often called the President of the Underground Railroad,2 later General Agent of the Western Freedmen's Aid Commission, was a … By law, the reform that the abolitionists worked for was finish. I visited the Levi Coffin House with his descendant Laurie I have a museum and the original I had seen was to fragile to handle consistently. Cincinnati as the place of publication has an obvious bearing on Beloved, with its Ohio setting. The Coffins settled at Newport (the present-day town of Fountain City) in Wayne County in 1826 and established a home. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Levi Coffin, (born October 28, 1798, New Garden [now in Greensboro], North Carolina, U.S.—died September 16, 1877, Cincinnati, Ohio), American abolitionist, called the “President of the Underground Railroad,” who assisted thousands of runaway slaves on their flight to freedom. Stairs lead down to a kitchen and spring room in the basement. Levi Coffin House. The latter part of the same is recorded in the Cincinnati Chronicle for March, 1870. Indiana's state government acquired the house in 1967 and leased it to the Wayne County Historical Society. Kite went to abolitionist Levi Coffin for advice on how to get the group to safety. Click to see full answer. Levi Coffin was an American Quaker, abolitionist, farmer, businessman and humanitarian. As a young boy of 7, Levi witnessed slaves being separated from their families and was terrified of the thought of his own father being separated from him. My father, Levi Coffin, was the youngest of eight sons and next to the youngest child. [citation needed] After its restoration the home opened to the public as a historic site in 1970. Catharine and Levi Coffin, the home's original owners, along with the first of their six children migrated from Guilford County, North Carolina, to Wayne County, Indiana, to join other members of the Coffin family. 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