LOCKPORT, June 13th, 1853.

MR. EDITOR: SIR:—In pursuance of previ
ous notice, a meeting of the colored citizens
of this place convened at the First African
Methodist Episcopal Church, to respond to a
Call for a National Convention to be held in
the city of Rochester, on the 6th of July
next, and to appoint delegates to the same.—The house was opened with prayer, by Rev.
R. T. Eastep. Mr. W. Mills was called to
the Chair. James Smith, assistent Chair
man, and Solomon Gilbert, Secretary. After
which, the Chairman arose and addressed
the meeting, stating the purposes for which
they had met. The Call was read, and after
many preliminary remarks, we then proceed
ed with the business which resulted in the
electing of Messrs. Henry D. Brooks, and
George Miller as delegates to the aforesaid
Convention. After which, the Chair pro
nounced them duly elected delegates to the
National Convention. On motion, by H.D.
Brooks, and amended by S. Whitbee,

Resolved, That the Secretary, with two
others, be a Committee to draft the proceed
ings of this meeting to be sent to Frederick
Douglass' Paper for publication.

There was a resolution offered by Wm.
Matts, viz:

Inasmuch as we consider the Fugitive
Slave Act unconstitutional, and an open vio
lation of the Declaration of Independence;
and inasmuch as it is repugnant to the laws
of God, and all civilized men; therefore,

Resolved, That all Christians do resist its
injunctions and trample it under their feet.

WOODFORD MILLSMills, Woodford

Woodford Mills (c. 1795-1870) was born into slavery in Woodford County, Kentucky. He escaped to Canada as a young man, joining the British Navy as a Captain’s Servant. By 1840, he was living in Lockport with his Canadian born wife, Amelia Carr. In Lockport, he supported his family working as a laborer. Mills was an active member of the community, participating in social clubs and the local Zion AME Church, being one of the original trustees of the church in 1844. “Niagara Discoveries: Black Lockportians of the 19th Century,” Lockport (N.Y.) Union-Sun & Journal, 13 February 2021; 1855 New York Census, Lockport, Niagara; Sharon R. Amos and Sharon A. Savannah, eds., Open Doors: Western New York African American Houses of Worship (Buffalo, N.Y.: The Writer’s Den, 2011), 88. , President.

SOLOMON S. GILBERT, Secretary.