Английская Википедия:Gilbert Horton
Gilbert Horton was a free-born African American who was captured with the intent of being sold into slavery.[1] Horton had worked on a ship known as The Macedonian after his father had worked for years to purchase his freedom.[2] When The Macedonian docked in Norfolk, Virginia, Horton traveled to Georgetown in Washington D.C., where he was arrested on the assumption that he was a runaway slave.[2]
Background
In August 1826, a local business owner in Croton Falls, New York, named John Owen noticed an advertisement in The National Intelligencer[3] describing Horton. Owen brought this to the attention of William Jay, who was the son of John Jay, in order to express concern over the capture of a free citizen.[4]
Relief from capture
Through the efforts of Jay and Owen, Governor DeWitt Clinton wrote[5] a letter on behalf of Horton's freedom, to then President John Quincy Adams.
The work of Governor Clinton and Senator Henry Clay[6] ultimately secured Horton's release.
References
