African American activist, businessman (1813?1882)
Zedekiah Johnson Purnell
(c. 1813?1882) was an African-American activist, businessman, and editor. He served as the editor of the literary journal
The Demosthenian Shield
.
[1]
[2]
In the 1840s, Purnell emerged on the national stage as an outspoken proponent of an African-American press, supporting such authors as
Charles Bennett Ray
and
Samuel Cornish
.
[1]
Early life
[
edit
]
Zedekiah Johnson Purnell was born in about 1813 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
[1]
His family was active Philadelphia's black community.
[1]
He began early work in 1833 as a sailor, but eventually changed careers in hopes for finding more stability.
[1]
Career
[
edit
]
Purnell became a hairdresser and successful business-owner, his salon was located on the corner of Carpenter and Decatur Streets.
[1]
[3]
Purnell began his work as a "champion of the black press" in 1839 when he helped to found an organization that would become known as the Demosthenian Institute, "a literary society of colored young men". He was an avid supporter of
Samuel Cornish
and
Charles B. Ray
's
Colored American
and
Martin R. Delany
's
Mystery
.
On August 23, 1841, Purnell attended the Pennsylvania State Convention of Colored Freemen in
Pittsburgh
.
[4]
[5]
As of the 1860 Philadelphia Census, his real estate property was valued at approximately US$1100 and his personal estate was valued at US$400.
[
citation needed
]
The family eventually moved to the
San Francisco Bay Area
continuing their civil rights activism, and first settling in
San Jose
, later moving to
Oakland
, California. In 1877, he ran for
city council
of Oakland (serving the 6th ward).
[6]
Purnell died on November 12, 1882, in California, and is buried in
Mountain View Cemetery
in Oakland.
[7]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Purnell married Ann Sammons. They had one daughter.
Purnell and both were listed as members of the
African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas
, a church of the black elite in Philadelphia.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Winch, Julie (2000).
The Elite of Our People: Joseph Willson's Sketches of Black Upper-Class Life in Antebellum Philadelphia
. State College: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 159.
ISBN
978-0-271-04302-9
.
- ^
Willson, Joseph (1811).
Sketches of the Higher Classes of Colored Society in Philadelphia
. Rhistoric Publications. p. 104.
- ^
"New Hair Cutting Room"
.
Public Ledger (Philadelphia)
. 1836-06-01. p. 3
. Retrieved
2023-01-16
.
- ^
"National Convention"
.
The Liberator
. 1841-11-05. p. 2
. Retrieved
2023-01-16
.
- ^
Proceedings of the State Convention of the Colored Freemen of Pennsylvania : held in Pittsburgh, on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of August, 1841, for the purpose of considering their condition, and the means of its improvement
. Convention of the Colored Freemen of Pennsylvania (1841: Pittsburgh, PA). 1841.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: others (
link
)
- ^
"News and Other Items"
.
Petaluma Weekly Argus
. 1877-03-02. p. 6
. Retrieved
2023-01-16
.
- ^
"California, Oakland, Mountain View Cemetery Records, 1857?1973, Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland; FHL microfilm 008266227"
.
FamilySearch
.
External links
[
edit
]
- ColoredConventions.org
is a website about the Colored Conventions Movement, that collected biographical information about Zedekiah Johnson Purnell