James Joshua Gould Bias

Name: James Joshua Gould Bias

Birthplace: MD

Status: Slave

Occupation/Training: Physician, Clergyman, Writer

Residence: Philadelphia, PA

Abolitionist Involvement: The Bias home was often used for fugitive slaves passing through Philadelphia. Because he was a physician, Bias also gave the fugitives medical examinations, and tended their medical needs when necessary. He often wrote petitions to the State Legislature condemning the disfranchisement of Blacks, and spoke at annual meetings of the Pennsylvania Antislavery Society. He was a member of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee, which was founded in 1838 and existed for about six years. As a group, the Committee assisted an average of three hundred fugitives per year, forwarding them on to New York and Canada. Although the Committee disbanded in 1844, Bias and several other members continued with the work of assisting fugitives in an individual capacity.

Family:

Year and Place of Death: 1860 in PA

References: Black Abolitionists, by Benjamin Quarles

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