Anti-Slavery Opinions before the Year 1800: Read before the Cincinnati Literary Club, November 16, 1872Poole, William Frederick
History
Anti-Slavery Opinions before the Year 1800: Read before the Cincinnati Literary Club, November 16, 1872
Poole, William Frederick
Antislavery movements -- United States; Slavery -- United States
That Dr. Buchanan did not mention his name is explained by the fact
that he died only six months before; and the audience, who had
doubtless read the obituary notice just recited, or a similar one,
knew who was meant. Besides, he was a native African, and had no name
worth having. He was only Negro Tom. In Bishop Gregoire's work,
however, he is ennobled by the by the name of Thomas Fuller, and in
Mr. Needles' Memoir the name of Thomas Tuller.[5]
Why Dr. Buchanan should have omitted to mention the name of "the New
Orleans physician" does not appear, unless it be that he was equally
well known. His name, I have found recently, was James Derham. Dr.
Rush, in the American Museum for January, 1789, gave an account of Dr.
Derham, who was then a practitioner of medicine at New Orleans, and,
at the time the notice was written, was visiting in Philadelphia. He
was twenty-six years of age, married, member of the Episcopal Church,
and having a professional income of three thousand dollars a year. He
was born in Philadelphia a slave, and was taught to read and write,
and occasionally to compound medicines for his master, who was a
physician. On the death of his master he was sold to the surgeon of
the Sixteenth British regiment, and at the close of the war was sold
to Dr. Robert Dove, of New Orleans, who employed him as an assistant
in his business. He manifested such capacity, and so won the
confidence and friendship of his master, that he was liberated on easy
terms after two or three years' service, and entered into practice for
himself. "I have conversed with him," says Dr. Rush, "upon most of the
acute and epidemic diseases of the country where he lives. I expected
to have suggested some new medicines to him, but he suggested many
more to me. He is very modest and engaging in his manners. He speaks
French fluently, and has some knowledge of the Spanish."[6]
It was unfortunate that these incidents had not occurred early enough
to have come to the knowledge of Mr. Jefferson before he wrote his
"Notes on Virginia." These were precisely the kind of facts he was in
quest of. He probably would have used them, and have strengthened the
opinions he there expressed as to the intellectual capacity of the
negro race.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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