John P. Coburn

John P. Coburn (1811–1873) was a 19th-century African-American abolitionist, civil rights activist, tailor and clothier from Boston, Massachusetts.

[1] This business brought Coburn even more wealth and allowed him to finance many rescue operations for fugitive slaves like that of Shadrach Minkins.

[2] He patronized The Liberator, a local abolitionist newspaper, by publishing advertisements for his stores and acknowledgments to the people who had donated to the New England Freedom Association.

In 1854, Coburn founded the Massasoit Guards, a black military company, to police Beacon Hill and protect residents from slave catchers.

[6] The Massasoit Guards were never officially recognized by the state, despite repeated petitions by attorney Robert Morris.

Between 1843 and 1844, he commissioned architect Asher Benjamin to design a house for him at the corner of Phillips and Irving Streets.

Letter to coloured people of Massachusetts, encouraging them to donate money to assist William Lloyd Garrison, editor of The Liberator , financially so he can retire.