Reminiscences of Levi Coffin

1820–1880

This extended primary source is published to accompany our digital textbook, North Carolina Digital History.

Reminiscences of Levi Coffin: The story of Jack Barnes

Read this work

Overview

Levi Coffin (1798-1877) was a Quaker abolitionist who was heavily involved in the Underground Railroad. He spent the first 28 years of his life in Guilford County, North Carolina, before moving to Indiana and later to Ohio. By age 15, Coffin was already assisting runaway slaves in their efforts to become free.

Toward the end of his life, he wrote a memoir entitled Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, the Reputed President of the Underground Railroad: Being a Brief History of the Labors of a Lifetime in Behalf of the Slave, with the Stories of Numerous Fugitives, who Gained Their Freedom Through His Instrumentality, and Many Other Incidents. This excerpt, the second chapter of that book, tells the tale of Coffin’s efforts to secure the freedom of two slaves.

Learn more

This extended primary source is published to accompany our digital textbook, North Carolina Digital History.

Levi Coffin and the Underground Railroad A brief history of the Underground Railroad, an informal connection of people and homes across the United States that helped fugitive slaves reach safety in the North and elsewhere. Includes a discussion of the role of North Carolina native Levi Coffin.
The Quakers and anti-slavery In this excerpt from his memoirs, Levi Coffin describes the early abolition movement in North Carolina and the tensions among abolitionists over the best way to free slaves. Includes historical commentary.

LEARN NC