Peter Lester (abolitionist)
Peter Lester | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1814 South Carolina, U.S. |
Died | c. 1897 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Resting place | Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
Occupation(s) | Businessman, abolitionist |
Spouse | Nancy |
Children | 5 |
Peter Lester (c. 1814–c. 1897), was an American-born 19th-century businessman and abolitionist.[1][2] He was an early Black settler in San Francisco. In February 1860, he was the first Black person to sit as a juror in British Columbia.[3]
Early life
Peter Lester was born c. 1814 in South Carolina, U.S.[4] Although some sources state he was born in Virginia, U.S.. His childhood was spent in Philadelphia.[4] He had been a leader in the abolitionist movement in Philadelphia.
San Francisco, California
In 1850, he moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco, to work as a
In the late 1850s, Lester, along with his partner Gibbs and George W. Dennis, worked to secure the services of a White legal team to fight for the freedom of Archy Lee in a widely publicized fugitive slave case in California.[4]
In 1858, Lester's teenaged daughter Sarah was attending an otherwise all-white school; a local newspaper, the San Francisco Herald printed an anonymous letter demanding her removal.[1] She was removed for the school by her father after a few weeks of debate.[1]
Canada and late life
The Lesters participated in the 1858 mass exodus of African Americans to the city of
He died sometime around c. 1897 in San Francisco. The Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria erected an honorary gravestone for Lester in 2002.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lohse, Bill (2007-01-22). "Peter Lester (1814- ? )". BlackPast.org. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ a b "Peter Lester: partner in the firm Lester&Gibbs". British Columbia’s Black Pioneers. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ a b "Earliest Pioneers (1858–1899) stories, Peter Lester". BC Black History Awareness Society. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ a b c Hemmendinger, Sydney; Fett, Sharla (Spring 2016). "Peter Lester". Equality Before the Law: California Black Convention Activism, 1855-65. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7385-7619-0.
Emporium for Boot and Shoes
- ^ a b c Jefferson, Alison Rose (2019-02-05). "Pioneering Black Urbanites in San Francisco and Los Angeles". California Historical Society.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.