Civil rights & activism / City history
William Lambert
1817–1890 · abolitionist, Underground Railroad leader
Free-born tailor and abolitionist who for half a century helped lead Detroit's Underground Railroad and its Black community.
- Born
Trenton, New Jersey- Died
Detroit, Michigan- Detroit years
- c. 1838–1890
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
William Lambert was born free in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1817. As a young man he worked as a cabin boy on Great Lakes steamers, and sometime between 1838 and 1840 he settled for good in Detroit, starting out in a tailor shop. He quickly became a force in the city's small Black community, campaigning for voting rights and schooling and organizing Detroit's links in the Underground Railroad with his close friend George DeBaptiste. Detroit was the last American stop before Canada, and the two men are credited with helping many hundreds of freedom seekers across the river. In 1847 Lambert's influence helped keep a slave owner in jail long enough for the fugitive Robert Cromwell to escape to Windsor, a case cited in the debates that produced the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Lambert later worked with Frederick Douglass and John Brown and stayed active for civil rights until his death in 1890. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery.
Highlights
- Settled in Detroit around 1838–1840 and led its Black community for 50 years
- Co-led Detroit's Underground Railroad network with George DeBaptiste
- Helped fugitive Robert Cromwell escape to Canada in 1847
- Buried in Elmwood Cemetery beside fellow abolitionists
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 · 1890–
Elmwood Cemetery
Buried here on April 30, 1890, among many of Detroit's abolitionists, including George DeBaptiste.