Lawyers give boost to endangered book

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on October 29, 2014

A year after gaining distinction as the People’s Choice Award winner in a state endangered artifacts competition, a rare prison visitors’ book at the Chester County Historical Society (CCHS) has moved closer to ending its imperiled status.

Passmore Williamson kept a log of the signatures of the people who visited him while he was imprisoned for refusing — Passmore Williamson kept a log of the signatures of the supporters who visited him while he was imprisoned for abolitionist activities in 1855.

CCHS said it has received a grant of $5,000 from the Chester County Bar Foundation for the restoration of Passmore Williamson’s 1855 prison visitors’ book. The book is one of the most unusual and important items in the CCHS collection, documenting a pivotal time in Passmore Williamson’s life as well as U.S. history, said Rob Lukens, CCHS president.

In 1855, Passmore Williamson, a Philadelphia businessman who was born in Westtown Township, chose to go to prison rather than violate his principles. He was imprisoned for failing to cooperate in recovering two sons and their mother, Jane Johnson, an enslaved woman who sought and gained freedom in Pennsylvania with Williamson’s assistance. Williamson spent 100 days in Philadelphia’s Moyamensing Prison before he was released, according to CCHS records.

While imprisoned, Williamson, whose case had generated considerable publicity, took the unusual step of keeping a visitors’ book. It named the more than 500 men, women and children who showed their support by visiting Williamson in jail – some from as far away as Canada and Ireland.

The book contains the signatures of Frederick Douglass and hundreds of other notable supporters, including Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman; William Still, who later published a history of the Underground Railroad; and Mary Ann Shadd, the first African American woman to publish a newspaper in North America. Tucked in the back of the book is a letter conveying gratitude from Jane Johnson, who was then living safely in Massachusetts.

Passmore Williamson's prison visitors' book needs an estimated $25,000 worth of restoration work. — Passmore Williamson's prison visitors' book needs an estimated $25,500 worth of restoration work.

"CCHS is very grateful for this significant grant from the Chester County Bar Foundation,” said Lukens. “It speaks volumes about the Foundation's mission that they are willing to support the preservation of this national treasure, which will inspire innumerable visitors and researchers for decades to come."

Don Kohler, president of the Chester County Bar Foundation, said the group was proud to contribute. “Preserving this book will insure that future generations are aware of how important Chester County was to the Abolitionist Movement,” he said.

Because the book’s binding must be restored and each page needs to be cleaned and treated, the conservation work is estimated to cost approximately $25,500. More than half of that amount has been raised from individual supporters and grants, a CCHS press release said.

Anyone who is interested in helping to preserve Williamson’s book is asked to contact David B. Reinfeld at 610-692-4800, ext. 267, dreinfeld@chestercohistorical.org, or make a donation online at http://chestercohistorical.org/support-cchs.