Civil rights & activism / Business & brands / City history
George DeBaptiste
1815–1875 · Underground Railroad conductor, entrepreneur
Barber, caterer and steamboat owner who led Detroit's Underground Railroad from 1846, ferrying freedom seekers across the river to Canada.
- Born
Fredericksburg, Virginia- Died
Detroit, Michigan- Detroit years
- 1846–1875
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
George DeBaptiste, born free in Fredericksburg, Virginia, around 1815, had already guided enslaved people across the Ohio River from Madison, Indiana, and served briefly as White House steward for President William Henry Harrison before harassment drove him north. He arrived in Detroit in 1846 and worked as a barber, clerk and baker. Among abolitionists he was known as the president of the city's Underground Railroad, with William Lambert as his closest partner. He bought a steamboat, the T. Whitney, and since Black men could not captain ships he hired a white pilot, carrying cargo and hidden freedom seekers across the Detroit River to Amherstburg, Ontario. He attended the March 12, 1859 meeting of Frederick Douglass and John Brown in Detroit. During the Civil War he recruited for the regiment that became the 102nd US Colored Troops and served as its sutler. Back in Detroit he opened a catering business and fought for school access for Black children until his death in 1875.
Highlights
- Called the president of Detroit's Underground Railroad
- Used his steamboat T. Whitney to ferry freedom seekers to Canada
- Attended the 1859 Detroit meeting of Frederick Douglass and John Brown
- Recruited Black soldiers for the 102nd US Colored Troops in the Civil War
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Buried here · 1875–
Elmwood Cemetery
Detroit's historic cemetery, resting place of many of the city's abolitionists, including DeBaptiste.