son of Anthony "Tony" Vassall (enslaved coachman to John Vassall) and Cuba
m Lucy Holland 4 Apr 1802
He was among the colored citizens of Boston who, in 1796, instituted the "African Society." Its objects were benevolent, and the preamble to its Constitution expressed its loyalty by the following emphatic clause: "Behaving ourselves, at the same, as true and faithful citizens of the Common wealth in which we live, and that we take no one into the society who shall commit any injustice or outrage against the laws of their country."
Mr Vassall was favored with a wonderful memory, and it was deemed a privilege with many persons from different walks in life, to avail themselves of his conversational reminiscences of Boston and vicinity, in the olden time.
He had an intelligent appreciation of the Anti-Slavery movement, and loved to speak with and of William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips. He was probably the oldest colored man in Massachusetts, and in his death has been severed the last link which associated many of his race with the wealthy and dominant class in Boston, and which (at lest in his case) was kept bright by continued sympathy, friendship and recognition of his Christian manhood.
died aged 92 years. Buried in the Vassall tomb by provision of Catharine Graves Russell
The Vassall Tomb is the only one beneath the church and is marked by a long, low mound in the gravel floor. This mound is the arched top of the vault, which is sunk below the level of the cellar floor. It is constructed of brick, with the entrance, by a flight of stone steps, at the western end marked by a flat stone bearing the name of "Henry Vassall." It was built shortly after the completion of the church, by Henry Vassall, one of the proprietors. When finally sealed in 1865, the tomb contained ten coffins.
Source:
- The Cambridge Historical Society, Publications X Proceedings (Jan 26, 1915-Oct 26, 1915)
- Christ Church, Cambridge: Some Account of Its History and Present Condition (1893)
- William Cooper Nell, Nineteenth-century African American Abolitionist, Historian, Integrationist: Selected Writings from 1832-1874 Edited by Dorothy Porter Wesley, Constance Porter Uzelac (2002)
- The New England Historical and Genealogical Register for 1863, Vol XVII by New England Historic-Genealogical Society, p 117 (1863)
m Lucy Holland 4 Apr 1802
He was among the colored citizens of Boston who, in 1796, instituted the "African Society." Its objects were benevolent, and the preamble to its Constitution expressed its loyalty by the following emphatic clause: "Behaving ourselves, at the same, as true and faithful citizens of the Common wealth in which we live, and that we take no one into the society who shall commit any injustice or outrage against the laws of their country."
Mr Vassall was favored with a wonderful memory, and it was deemed a privilege with many persons from different walks in life, to avail themselves of his conversational reminiscences of Boston and vicinity, in the olden time.
He had an intelligent appreciation of the Anti-Slavery movement, and loved to speak with and of William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips. He was probably the oldest colored man in Massachusetts, and in his death has been severed the last link which associated many of his race with the wealthy and dominant class in Boston, and which (at lest in his case) was kept bright by continued sympathy, friendship and recognition of his Christian manhood.
died aged 92 years. Buried in the Vassall tomb by provision of Catharine Graves Russell
The Vassall Tomb is the only one beneath the church and is marked by a long, low mound in the gravel floor. This mound is the arched top of the vault, which is sunk below the level of the cellar floor. It is constructed of brick, with the entrance, by a flight of stone steps, at the western end marked by a flat stone bearing the name of "Henry Vassall." It was built shortly after the completion of the church, by Henry Vassall, one of the proprietors. When finally sealed in 1865, the tomb contained ten coffins.
Source:
- The Cambridge Historical Society, Publications X Proceedings (Jan 26, 1915-Oct 26, 1915)
- Christ Church, Cambridge: Some Account of Its History and Present Condition (1893)
- William Cooper Nell, Nineteenth-century African American Abolitionist, Historian, Integrationist: Selected Writings from 1832-1874 Edited by Dorothy Porter Wesley, Constance Porter Uzelac (2002)
- The New England Historical and Genealogical Register for 1863, Vol XVII by New England Historic-Genealogical Society, p 117 (1863)
son of Anthony "Tony" Vassall (enslaved coachman to John Vassall) and Cuba
m Lucy Holland 4 Apr 1802
He was among the colored citizens of Boston who, in 1796, instituted the "African Society." Its objects were benevolent, and the preamble to its Constitution expressed its loyalty by the following emphatic clause: "Behaving ourselves, at the same, as true and faithful citizens of the Common wealth in which we live, and that we take no one into the society who shall commit any injustice or outrage against the laws of their country."
Mr Vassall was favored with a wonderful memory, and it was deemed a privilege with many persons from different walks in life, to avail themselves of his conversational reminiscences of Boston and vicinity, in the olden time.
He had an intelligent appreciation of the Anti-Slavery movement, and loved to speak with and of William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips. He was probably the oldest colored man in Massachusetts, and in his death has been severed the last link which associated many of his race with the wealthy and dominant class in Boston, and which (at lest in his case) was kept bright by continued sympathy, friendship and recognition of his Christian manhood.
died aged 92 years. Buried in the Vassall tomb by provision of Catharine Graves Russell
The Vassall Tomb is the only one beneath the church and is marked by a long, low mound in the gravel floor. This mound is the arched top of the vault, which is sunk below the level of the cellar floor. It is constructed of brick, with the entrance, by a flight of stone steps, at the western end marked by a flat stone bearing the name of "Henry Vassall." It was built shortly after the completion of the church, by Henry Vassall, one of the proprietors. When finally sealed in 1865, the tomb contained ten coffins.
Source:
- The Cambridge Historical Society, Publications X Proceedings (Jan 26, 1915-Oct 26, 1915)
- Christ Church, Cambridge: Some Account of Its History and Present Condition (1893)
- William Cooper Nell, Nineteenth-century African American Abolitionist, Historian, Integrationist: Selected Writings from 1832-1874 Edited by Dorothy Porter Wesley, Constance Porter Uzelac (2002)
- The New England Historical and Genealogical Register for 1863, Vol XVII by New England Historic-Genealogical Society, p 117 (1863)
m Lucy Holland 4 Apr 1802
He was among the colored citizens of Boston who, in 1796, instituted the "African Society." Its objects were benevolent, and the preamble to its Constitution expressed its loyalty by the following emphatic clause: "Behaving ourselves, at the same, as true and faithful citizens of the Common wealth in which we live, and that we take no one into the society who shall commit any injustice or outrage against the laws of their country."
Mr Vassall was favored with a wonderful memory, and it was deemed a privilege with many persons from different walks in life, to avail themselves of his conversational reminiscences of Boston and vicinity, in the olden time.
He had an intelligent appreciation of the Anti-Slavery movement, and loved to speak with and of William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips. He was probably the oldest colored man in Massachusetts, and in his death has been severed the last link which associated many of his race with the wealthy and dominant class in Boston, and which (at lest in his case) was kept bright by continued sympathy, friendship and recognition of his Christian manhood.
died aged 92 years. Buried in the Vassall tomb by provision of Catharine Graves Russell
The Vassall Tomb is the only one beneath the church and is marked by a long, low mound in the gravel floor. This mound is the arched top of the vault, which is sunk below the level of the cellar floor. It is constructed of brick, with the entrance, by a flight of stone steps, at the western end marked by a flat stone bearing the name of "Henry Vassall." It was built shortly after the completion of the church, by Henry Vassall, one of the proprietors. When finally sealed in 1865, the tomb contained ten coffins.
Source:
- The Cambridge Historical Society, Publications X Proceedings (Jan 26, 1915-Oct 26, 1915)
- Christ Church, Cambridge: Some Account of Its History and Present Condition (1893)
- William Cooper Nell, Nineteenth-century African American Abolitionist, Historian, Integrationist: Selected Writings from 1832-1874 Edited by Dorothy Porter Wesley, Constance Porter Uzelac (2002)
- The New England Historical and Genealogical Register for 1863, Vol XVII by New England Historic-Genealogical Society, p 117 (1863)
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