Passmore Williamson (February 23, 1822 – February 1, 1895)[1] was an American abolitionist and businessman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a free state in the antebellum years. As secretary of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and a member of its Vigilance Committee, Williamson is best known for helping Jane Johnson and her two sons gain freedom from slavery on July 18, 1855.[2]
In a case that established legal precedent, he was served with a writ of habeas corpus by federal US District Court John K. Kane under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 to produce Johnson and her two sons in court. He did not know where they were held, so could not respond; Judge Kane charged him with contempt of court and sentenced him to 90 days.
The jailing of Williamson dramatically expanded news coverage of the case and generated debate about the extension of "Slave Power" over state law, as Pennsylvania did not recognize slavery. It held that slaveowners gave up their property rights in slaves if they brought them into the state; if the slave chose freedom, the state would support that decision and not compensate the owner. Thus, Johnson was not literally a fugitive, as she had gained freedom in the state according to state law, after John Hill Wheeler voluntarily took her there in the course of his travel.
^Dickinson College. "House Divided". Retrieved 11 March 2010.
^Phil Lapsansky, "The Liberation of Jane Johnson," The Library Company of Philadelphia, 2003.
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PassmoreWilliamson (February 23, 1822 – February 1, 1895) was an American abolitionist and businessman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a free state in...
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enslaved woman, to Boston after Johnson, with the aid of William Still, PassmoreWilliamson and others, had emancipated herself, while passing through Philadelphia...
with her owner and his family. She was aided by William Still and PassmoreWilliamson, abolitionists of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and its Vigilance...
John Hill Wheeler, is rescued by abolitionists William Still and PassmoreWilliamson. Wheeler later brings an unsuccessful prosecution against Still for...
Philadelphia, after which the Motts concealed Brown for his safety. PassmoreWilliamson, an attorney, helped Jane Johnson attain her freedom from her slaveholder...
Union League and other prominent citizens," including Lucretia Mott, PassmoreWilliamson and Judge Paxson; the Rev. James A. Jones, who "opened the proceedings...
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