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John Brown Russwurm Collection,
1819-2000, n.d.
0.25
linear feet.
Catalog Number:
M158
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Agency History / Biographical Note:
John Brown Russwurm (1799-1851), Bowdoin's first African-American
graduate (Class of 1826), is thought to be the third African-American
graduated from an American college. He was born in Port Antonio,
Jamaica, the illegitimate son of a white planter and a black slave. His
father, John Russwurm, of a wealthy Virginia family, went to Jamaica
after completing his education in England. He sent his son, John Brown
Russwurm, to Quebec at age eight so that he might receive a good
education. Soon after moving to Maine, his father married Susan
Blanchard. Russwurm then came to live with his father's family, where
he was accepted by his step-mother as one of her own. Russwurm stayed
with the family even after his father died, continuing his education at
Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine. His step-mother and her new husband
helped him to enroll at Bowdoin in 1824. After graduation, Russwurm
taught at Primus Hall, a school for black children in Boston. In 1827,
he became junior editor of The Freedom's Journal, the first
newspaper in the United States owned, operated, published and edited by
African-Americans. The journal opposed the idea of African-American
colonization of Africa until Russwurm became senior editor. He was
forced to resign his position (1829) for expressing strong views on
colonization that antagonized many. The same year Russwurm emigrated to
Liberia where he worked for the American Colonization Society, serving
as colonial secretary (1830-34) and as editor of The Liberia
Herald. He then joined the Maryland Society, which recognized the
importance of black leadership in their colony, and made him governor in
1836, a post he held until his death. In 1833, Russwurm married Sarah
McGill, daughter of Lieutenant-Governor McGill of Monrovia. They had
three sons and a daughter.
Scope and Content:
This collection of material about Russwurm was assembled by the
College. It includes late-19th- and 20th-century biographical sketches
and articles, Bowdoin College news releases, clippings, and other
material, as well as copies of letters from the John Sumner Russwurm
Papers at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. The collection
also includes photocopies of Russwurm items from other locations
in the Bowdoin College Special Collections & Archives: an 1819
Russwurm letter in the Rowland Bailey Howard
Collection; several archival items, including his 1826
Commencement Part speech, "The Condition and Prospects of Hayti"
and his note accepting membership in the Athenaean
Society.
Cite as:
John Brown Russwurm Collection, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library.
Access Restrictions:
None.
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