Anthony E. Roberts
Anthony Ellmaker Roberts (October 29, 1803 – January 23, 1885), was an American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives from 1855 to 1859, an abolitionist and close associate of Thaddeus Stevens.
On May 16, 1850, Roberts was appointed by US President Zachary Taylor as the United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a position he held until May 29, 1853.
Just a few months after Roberts was appointed Marshal, the United States Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law as part of the Compromise of 1850.
The fugitive slaves, led by William Parker, sounded an alarm, which summoned other blacks as well as some local white abolitionists.
As Edward Gorsuch advanced to reclaim his "property", William Parker led an active resistance, and a small battle ensued.
These men discovered Edward Gorsuch's plot to reclaim his slaves the day before the resistance took place and warned William Parker.
The prosecution was planning to use their testimony to prove that the Christiana incident was an organized effort to resist the laws of the United States.
A certain black named George Washington Scott was going to offer testimony to the fact that he was at the scene of the battle on September 11, that he saw the men who shot Gorsuch, and that the group was organized to "resist all slave holders".
When called upon to testify in court, however, he changed his story and claimed that he was not present that day (an admission that came as quite a surprise to the prosecuting attorneys).
Maryland's Attorney General cried foul, and indirectly accused Marshal Roberts of witness tampering, citing the interesting fact that all of the black men in custody had a neat appearance except for Scott who was "ragged, dirty, and filthy".
The Whigs were appalled by Roberts' candidacy; an article in the Lancaster Examiner reflects this attitude: Inconsistent in everything else, he is consistent only in his blind obedience to Thaddeus Stevens.
On April 5, 1841, Roberts was chosen as a secretary of a meeting in which citizens of Lancaster adopted resolutions to express their sorrow and grief over the unexpected death of President William Henry Harrison.
On June 13, 1848, Roberts was appointed to a committee to solicit contributions to mitigate the losses suffered two weeks earlier in a devastating fire in Allentown.
The construction's purpose was mysterious until its completion, when Roberts announced that a select school would be opened in part of his home.
He also assisted in freeing many pieces of property from rent structures that harmed the common people dwelling in New Holland.
One biographer summarized his life as characterized by firmly-established principles of justice and right to his fellowmen, independent thought and action, and a wellbalanced, reading, and reasoning mind.
