Abel Brown: Pastor, Abolitionist, Radical – A Conversa¬tion

Elder Abel Brown has been called “the forgotten abolitionist” and “John Brown before John Brown was John Brown.” He was a newspaper publisher, a widely traveled and well-known temperance preacher and anti-slavery speaker, a leader in the radical Liberty Party, principal agent of the Eastern New York Anti-Slavery Society, and a key figure in the Under¬ground Railroad. He has been credited with leading or assisting “over 100” (reportedly “up to 1,000”) escaped former slaves to freedom. And, for a time in the early 1840s, he was pastor of the Sand Lake Baptist Church. Come find out about more this remarkable man and his time here in Rensselaer County.

Presenter Peter Finn is a Trustee of the Sand Lake Historical Society. His article from the Fall 2021 issue of Historical Highlights, “Rensselaer County Industrialist Albert Fox: A Short Bio,” was published November 10, 2021, in the New York Almanack.

COVID precautions will be followed, and masks WILL be required.