Every autumn, American archivists throughout the nation celebrate the heritage and use of original source material with “Archives Week.” In the State of Ohio, the event is sponsored by the Society of Ohio Archivists, and each year a different theme is selected to highlight the rich collections in the state’s museums, historical societies, and archival repositories. These documents can be photographs, letters and diaries, government publications, newspapers, business records, or anything that can tell the stories of American history, life, and culture. The intent is to call attention to the importance of preserving these historical materials and to promote their use not only by the public, but also by teachers, scholars, and students from elementary schools through post-graduate programs.
In 2006, the Ohio theme is African Americans in Ohio, and the Archives & Rare Books Library here presents two important local examples of this heritage: the 1877 will of Cincinnati abolitionist Levi Coffin and the first issue of Cincinnati’s The Colored Citizennewspaper, dated November 7, 1863.
Born in 1798 in Greensboro, North Carolina, Coffin became a vital member of the Underground Railroad after he moved to Indiana in 1826. Both he and his wife Catherine were Quakers and ardently believed in the abolitionist movement. It is said that they helped more than 2000 slaves escape from the South. In 1847, the Coffins moved to Cincinnati where Levi raised tens of thousands of dollars for the anti-slavery movement, and operated a store that sold merchandise manufactured by freed slaves. In 1876, Coffin published his autobiography, Reminiscenses of Levi Coffin, The Reputed President of the Underground Railroad (Call no. SpecCol ARB E450.C68 1876). He died on September 16, 1877 and is buried in Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery. His will was filed the following month; it is available for research in the Archives & Rare Books Library (ON-85-26, Box 37, Case no. 21521).
Very few issues of The Colored Citizen exist today, with known copies in the Ohio Historical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, and, the Archives & Rare Books Library here at the University of Cincinnati where the first issue is held (Call no. SpecCol ARB AP2.C6). Published in Cincinnati sporadically from the height of the Civil War in 1863 until approximately 1869, The Colored Citizen was edited by a group of African American citizens from Midwestern cities, including St. Louis, Chicago, Louisville, Indianapolis, Columbus, and of course, Cincinnati. It was a paper with general news, but with a focus on the political, economic, and cultural affairs that had an impact on African Americans of the age. On the masthead, the noted quote of Terence is paraphrased as “Nothing that Concerns Mankind is Foreign to Me.”
