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Frederick Douglass with the Edmonson Sisters at Fugitive Slave Law Convention, Cazenovia, New York

Artist: Ezra Greenleaf Weld, 26 Oct 1801 - 14 Oct 1874
Sitter: Frederick Douglass, Feb 1818 - 20 Feb 1895; Gerrit Smith, 6 Mar 1797 - 28 Dec 1874; Emily Catherine Edmonson, 1835 - 1895; Mary Edmonson, 1832 - 1853; Theodosia Gilbert Chaplin, 1819 - 1855

Medium: Half-plate copy daguerreotype
Dimensions: Image: 11.2 x 9.8 cm (4 7/16 x 3 7/8"); Case Open: 15.2 x 24.4 x 1.3 cm (6 x 9 5/8 x 1/2")

Topic: Exterior; Cased object; Gerrit Smith: Male; Gerrit Smith: Literature\Writer; Gerrit Smith: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Social reformer; Gerrit Smith: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist; Gerrit Smith: Politics and Government\US Congressman\New York; Gerrit Smith: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist; Gerrit Smith: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Temperance; Frederick Douglass: Male; Frederick Douglass: Literature\Writer; Frederick Douglass: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer; Frederick Douglass: Journalism and Media\Newspaper publisher; Frederick Douglass: Politics and Government\Diplomat\Minister; Frederick Douglass: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist; Frederick Douglass: Society and Social Change\Enslaved person; Emily Catherine Edmonson: Female; Emily Catherine Edmonson: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist; Mary Edmonson: Female; Mary Edmonson: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist; Theodosia Gilbert Chaplin: Female; Theodosia Gilbert Chaplin: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist; Portrait

Credit Line: Owner: Mr. & Mrs. Set Charles Momjian; This record is part of the Catalog of American Portraits, a research archive of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Permission to reproduce images (if available) must be obtained from the portrait owner. Please note that if an owner is listed above, this information may not be current.

Exhibition Label: In 1850, as Congress debated the harsh new Fugitive Slave Law, more than two thousand people heeded the call of abolitionist Gerrit Smith (standing, center) to meet in Cazenovia, New York, and protest the impending legislation. Among the participants were Emily and Mary Edmondson (in plaid shawls), whose freedom had been purchased by abolitionists in 1848, and Frederick Douglass (seated, center right), who served as the convention’s presiding officer. On the gathering’s second day, the overflowing crowd moved from its initial meeting place in a church to a nearby orchard. There, a local daguerreotypist, Ezra Greenleaf Weld, made this image.; En 1850, mientras el Congreso debatía la nueva y severa Ley de Esclavos Fugitivos, más de 2,000 personas respondieron a la convocatoria de Gerri Smith (centro, de pie) para reunirse en Cazenovia, Nueva York, a protestar por la aprobación inminente de la ley. Entre los participantes estaban Emily y Mary Edmondson (con chales a cuadros), cuya libertad había sido comprada por abolicionistas en 1848, y Frederick Douglass (sentado, centro derecha), quien presidió la convención. En el segundo día, el numeroso público se mudó del sitio de reunión original, en una iglesia, a un huerto cercano. Allí, Ezra Greenleaf Weld, daguerrotipista local, captó esta imagen.