GRIFFITH M. COOPERCooper, Griffith M.

Griffith M. Cooper (c. 1791–1864), a Quaker and farmer, was a longtime reader of Douglass’s newspaper. Before becoming a Quaker, he served as an officer in the War of 1812. He resided in Williamson, New York, with his wife Eliza and two children, William and Mary. Cooper served as an Underground Railroad agent and was active in antislavery conventions held in upstate New York. He also chaired the Committee on Indian Concerns for the Society of Friends. North Star, 3 March 1848, 1 June, 14 September 1849; FDP, 18 March 1852; 1850 US. Census, New York, Wayne County, Williamson, 155; Friends Intelligencer, vol. 21, (Philadelphia: Emmor Comly, 1865). TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS

Williamson, [N.Y.] 21 [May 1852].

ESTEEMED FRIEND DOUGLASS:—

All hail!—The three emigrants, from the South, via Rochester, left our port for Queen Victoria’s dominions the 19th inst, at 8 P.M. with three hearty cheers for the land of the free, the home of the exile.¹Slaves who managed to flee to Canada enjoyed freedom and legal rights. During the 1840s several black communities developed surrounding manual labor schools founded in Canada West to aid former slaves. By 1852 an estimated 30,000 fugitive slaves were living in Canada West, where they accounted for just over 3 percent of the total population. Although they were legally free in Canada, the American fugitives faced considerable racial animosity and prejudice. The communities they formed made their numbers seem larger, so that many perceived them as a threat to native labor in the Canadian economy. Canadians, however, did not enact laws to restrict their rights or privileges. Silverman, Unwelcome Guests, 53–62, 72–73. The bloodhounds may cease to bay, and take the back tract.—Old Ontario is the boundary between liberty and despotism.²Lake Ontario separates Canada from Rochester, New York. Cohen, Columbia Gazetteer, 2:2289. The underground railroad is in successful operation. He that would not clear the tract for the car of Emancipation is an ath[ei]st.

Thine for emigration, North,

PLIr: FDP, 27 May 1852.