“…a most respectable colored citizen, a man of more than ordinary intelligence, a property holder, one highly respected by white and colored acquaintances and who, besides has served in his native, at Richmond, Virginia, as a soldier in the War of 1812 and 1814.” (Buffalo Courier, May 22, 1867, p. 8)
In another newspaper account of the incident that prompted this salute to the character of Peyton Harris, he was labeled, colloquially, as “Uncle Peyton”, an “old and respectable resident…..”. Ostensively the title was meant to demonstrate a further sign of the esteem (per the custom of the era) accorded Harris. (the Buffalo Commercial, May 21, 1867, p. 3)
From the earliest years of its formation, Buffalo, New York was home to a small, yet dynamic African American community. The men and women, who comprised this community, embodied a pioneer spirit as they carved out a place for themselves and their descendants. At the time this exemplary description was written, its subject, Peyton Harris, was 76 years old. He had lived in Buffalo for over 30 years, was one of its earliest residents, and a foundational member of its Black community.
The newspaper article lamented Harris’ dismissal from jury duty in 1867. It attributed the action to discrimination by both the prosecutor and the defense counsel. The journalist called the attorneys “radical Republicans”. He surmised that the injustice that prompted this slight resulted from these men’s “horror that one of African descent serving as a peer” alongside white men evoked. In spite of the reputation he’d earned during his long residency in Buffalo, this episode was a pointed reminder of the status of Black people among a segment of this northern city’s population. Ironically, Harris was no stranger to racism or the criminal justice system. That same year, he was one of the lead plaintiffs in an extraordinary lawsuit against Buffalo’s School Committee seeking the admission of African American children to the schools.
The lawsuit was not the first complaint lodged by Harris, Henry Moxley, Dr. Benjamin Taylor and others in their fight to desegregate the city’s school district. As early as 1847, Harris decried the educational plight of Black students in Buffalo. He wrote: “…. the education of colored youth, up to this time, has been shamefully limited. In very deed it has not reached the dignity and elevation of education. It has been rudimental noting and superficial glancings. To comprehensiveness it has never yet made any pretension; to profundity not the most distant approach.” (White, Arthur O., “The Black Movement Against Jim Crow Education in Buffalo, New York, 1800 – 1900” in the Phylon, p. 378.) The lawsuit failed, however, Harris remained undaunted. In 1870, he wrote the following letter:
To Honorable Body of the Common Council:We, the colored people, labor under great disadvantage in sending our children to the Vine Street school, out of their district. Some are so small that they cannot go without their parents take them, so there cannot half of our people be educated in that way, out of our own districts. Some of us have been paying taxes for more than thirty years. I took my grandchildren to No. 12, but they would not take them. The Principal sent me to the Superintendent, saying if he had no objections, he had none. I saw the Superintendent and he said he had no power, but that the Common Council could remove the disabilities so that the children could go to school. We thought it best to go before the Common Council and ask them to remove the disabilities, so that the children may go to school in their own districts. We pray the Common Council will take it into consideration.PEYTON HARRIS, ROBT. TALBERT', JOHN CARY. (The Question of Color, Courier and Republic, May 14, 1870)
It took another few years before the Common Council finally voted to desegregate the schools in 1872. The Vine Street African School formally closed several years later leading to a fully integrated school system.
Peyton Harris was one of the most influential figures in Buffalo’s fledging Black community. Throughout his ninety years, he evidenced a life-long commitment to the struggle for equality and the tasks of community building. Settling in Buffalo in 1834 or 35, Harris established his family, engaged in the development of religious and communal institutions and organizations, created businesses, actively supported the civil rights movement (of his time), amassed wealth and established a solid reputation as a leading citizen in the region. In sum, he contributed significantly to the growth of a vibrant community. His place in the history of early Buffalo is duly documented.
Yet Harris appears generally as a footnote in the historical record, mostly associated with his role as a founding member of the historic Michigan Street Baptist Church. The intention of this author is to acknowledge Peyton Harris’ larger footprint in the early history of Western New York and the legacy he endowed regional African American history.
A native of Powhatten, Virginia, Peyton Harris was born on Christmas Day, 1791. At the age of 21, he joined the Virginia Militia, Captain Heath’s Company during the War of 1812. (Christopher Brown) It is also reported that he served in the 4th
Regiment of Booth’s Georgia Militia during the conflict. Harris was a proud veteran, who “often marched in July 4th parades along with other veterans of that struggle.….” (obit) Yet, his application for a pension was denied because the government could find no proof of his service. Although this discrepancy exists, it appears that during his lifetime no one questioned Harris’ status as a veteran of the War. (Index Record, Bounty Land Warrant Applications Index) A contemporary news article underscores the acceptance of his military service even as it raises a new question about that service: “He was in the Virginia Regiment as serat to Lt. Harris.” (Buffalo Morning Express, April 10, 1867, p. 1).
No information confirms whether Harris was free-born or earned his freedom, perhaps as a result of his military service. However, even before he relocated to New York State, we can surmise that at some point in his life, Peyton Harris was free and was allowed to start his own business. We can speculate on one or two scenarios. He was granted freedom as a result of a special relationship with the slave owner or he was freed as a result of his military service. Throughout the years, census takers variously recorded his race as Mulatto or Black as did newspaper articles. And Harris claimed that his half-brother was John Crittenden, a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. (“Death of Peyton Harris”, Buffalo Weekly Express, February 9, 1882, pg. 4) Crittenden’s father, also named John, was a member of the Virginia State Legislature from 1790 to 1805.
As to the possibility that he earned his freedom because of his military service, Harris casts doubts on the possibility of that route to freedom. In a letter to the editor of the New York Tribune (September 30, 1863), entitled “Rebel Promises to the Slave”, Peyton made his opinion known about whether slaves could rely on the promise of manumission as a result of volunteering for military service. He cited his own experience. “I was in the army under General Cox after Washington was burned…..We colored men were informed that a proclamation had been issued by General Jackson, promising freedom for all slaves who should join the army….These promies were all violated. I know that in Virginia several Negroes received 39 lashes each for merely having the pamphlet in their possession. It is perfectly understood among the slaves and other colored men of the South that not a slave who entered the service was freed.” This letter offers additional insight into Harris’ background. If he wrote this letter it provides evidence of his literacy.
Peyton married Alla on August 12, 1833 in Chesterfield, Virgina. He had seven children with Alla or perhaps with someone else as his children’s birthdates, in some cases pre-date his and Alla’s marriage. However, this also revisits the question of Peyton and Alla’s status as enslaved people, who may not have been permitted to marry earlier. The children were: Caroline Harris (Phillips) 1818; John Thomas Harris, 1820 – February 16, 1841; an un-named son, 1821 – 1830; Adelaide Harris (Qualls, Willam) 1823 – July 9, 1871; Anna Maria Harris (Talbert, Robert) 1832-September 16, 1896, unknown, unknown. Alla (1799) died on October 12, 1854. (obit)
Peyton remarried five years later. Rebecca Pierce Harris was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1795. She and Peyton were married in August 1859 in Detroit. This was also her second marriage but nothing is known about her first husband. They had one daughter, Frances V. Harris, who was born in New York State in 1839 and died on October 29, 1866. The death notice for Frances stated that she was 29 years old at the time of her death. Frances presents another little mystery, as Peyton was married to Alla at the time of her birth. Although it was not unusual for family members to live in the households of extended family, Frances is enumerated in both the 1850 Federal Census and 1855 New York State Census with William and Adelaide Harris Qualls. They lived next door to Peyton Harris. The 1860 Census shows her residing with Peyton and Rebecca.
Rebecca Harris had her own interesting if somewhat questionable story. As a child, Rebecca reportedly lived on a plantation visited often by George Washington, the nation’s first President. Washington died in 1799. At the time of her death, on March 20, 1889, Rebecca was said to be nearly 100 years old. (Death of an old colored woman who remembered General Washington, Wyoming County Times, March 21, 1889) Even if she’d been born in 1795, however, she’d only have been four years old when Washington died. Nonetheless, she had claimed to have seen the former President on the plantation and so the story was passed on. Her obituary noted that neither she nor other members of her family had ever been slaves. At some point, she left Virginia, moved to New York, and subsequently to Detroit before her marriage to Peyton. The marriage lasted 23 years. After Peyton Harris’ death, it appears that the Harris family was not supportive of Rebecca. However, it was reported that she received monetary support from Harris’ estate. At the time of her death, she lived at 98 Clinton Street, a property owned by the Harris/Tabert family. However, she lived with friends.
The City Directory of 1835, the first to record his residence in the area, identified Peyton’s occupation as “wood dealer”. Future directories attested to the numerous professions he pursued following his move to Buffalo. For example, the 1841 directory denotes that he was still in the lumber business but by 1844, he was a professional clothes cleaner. The directories of 1846 and 1847, cite him as a renovator located in the Birkhead Buildings on Commercial Street. But by 1849 he’d returned to the cleaning business. At some point, he added tailoring and clothes dying to the services he provided. He operated a shop at 21 Commercial Street, which it seems was maintained as his principal business until his death.
It should not be surprising that Harris was an active entrepreneur, who established numerous and diverse businesses. Prior to his relocation to Buffalo, “he operated boats on the St. James River in Virginia, hauling coal and other merchandise via boats pulled by 6 horse teams……. before the railroads.” (Obituary, Buffalo Weekly Express, February 9, 1882, p. 4) It was also reported that Harris operated boats on the Erie Canal. A 1919 article claimed that the boats were named “the Morning Star, the Evening Star, and the North Star”. (Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express, November 30, 1919, Section 4, p. 8)
Shortly after his move to Buffalo, Peyton Harris purchased 600 acres on Grand Island. In 1837, however, a news story reported a notice posted by the local sheriff announcing that land owned by Harris was being auctioned. The notice placed in the Daily Commerical Advertiser ( Dec. 7, 1837) detailed the seizure of the property of “Petyon Harris; land in the city of Buffalo beginning on Washington Street, land on Grand Island, 160 acres and a parcel on Genesee Street; property to be put up for sale.” The sale was slated to take place in January of the following year. Although this appears to have been a setback Peyton apparently held on to numerous parcels of land on the Island and in the city of Buffalo. Later, he purchased new properties in addition to his numerous business ventures. Undoubtedly these investments formed the foundation of his wealth.
Unfortunately, it appears that land ownership also became a source of Harris family conflict that continued long after his death. Harris’ obituary alluded to the fact that he’d lost a sizable portion of his land in bad deals. “Mr. Harris was a rich man, those who know his history say, but encountered serious misfortunes, once losing a very large sum by the failure of another to whom it was entrusted.” (Buffalo Morning Express and illustrated Buffalo Express, Feb. 3, 1882, p. 4) Another paper wrote simply, “He was a wealthy man, who suffered several reversals.” (Obituary, Buffalo Weekly Express, February 9, 1882, p. 4)
Peyton Harris’ history is intimately connected to that of the Talbert family. Harris’ son-in-law, Robert Talbert, a wealthy real-estate owner, in his own right, struck it rich during the California gold rush. On his return to Buffalo, he also engaged in numerous businesses, including real estate transactions, that were very prosperous. In 1892 Talbert died suddenly, intestate. His widow, Anna Harris Talbert died four years later. The family dispute over Mrs. Talbert’s estate signaled a long-standing and deeply entrenched family feud that not only included the Talbert estate but that left by Peyton Harris. Following the death of
Anna Harris Talbert, the Talbert siblings engaged in a bitter, highly publicized and protracted lawsuit involving the estate of their mother. That battle, however, is worthy of it’s own story-line.
Peyton Harris was instrumental in the establishment of a religious institution that has endured to this day. His legacy is inextricably linked to that of the Michigan Street Baptist Church. Mary Burnett Talbert, Peyton’s future granddaughter-in law, wrote a history of the Church covering the period from its founding in 1836 to 1908. (MBT, 1908) She wrote that in 1836, a small group of African Americans ventured out from the Washington Street Baptist Church, an integrated body, to form their own congregation. This group, originally named themselves the Second Baptist Church. Comprised of 13 African American men and women, including Peyton Harris, the Second Baptist Church formally began to meet in the fall of 1836. The group launched their worship services on the second floor of a small building that housed an undertaker’s parlor. Talbert wrote that Harris was one of three deacons, including his son-in-law, William Qualls, who represented the church as delegates to the Buffalo Baptist Association in 1841. By 1843 the little congregation had grown to 56. At this time, the congregation determined that a new house of worship was needed. Harris and Qualls were given the mission of finding the land on which they could build a church. They found the land on Michigan Street near Batavia (now Broadway). The church purchased the site and Harris was asked to secure the lumber, brick, and stone for the new structure. Given Harris’ occupation as a wood dealer and renovator at the time it’s not surprising that he would be assigned this task. Rev. Samuel H. Davis, pastor of the church and a mason by trade, did much of the masonry in the construction of the building. The cornerstone of the building was laid in June 1845. According to Talbert, “Work progressed rapidly on the building and the following spring they were able to worship in the basement.” Construction to complete the building, however, continued for several more years until 1849. Talbert noted that the first time the church is referred to as the Michigan Street Baptist Church is in church minutes in 1851.
The church that Harris helped to construct became more than a house of worship. Monroe Fordham wrote that “the pre-Civil War church was the institution that enabled African Americans to harness the energy and resources of the black community and to transform their ideas and aspirations into functional programs and activities.” (Fordham, Origins of the Michigan Street Baptist Church). The Michigan Street Baptist Church became an outlet through which its members and others exercised an active voice for social change, political engagement, and economic advancement. These were efforts in which Harris actively participated and often led. Fordham offered an example of the determination of members of the Black community to publicly speak to perceived wrongs. “In 1838 a group of Buffalo's most influential African American citizens, which included at least four officers from the Michigan Street Baptist Church, published a statement protesting the ‘opprobrious epithets continually poured out against the colored citizens, and the contemptuous manner in which we are treated’." Peyton Harris was one of the four officers from the church to sign this resolution. The group posed and answered its own question; “Are we deserving of such treatment?” ….” Surely not.” This signaled the determination of the group... i.e. the community….. to continue to respond to real and perceived discrimination encountered by its members.
The community, however, was not opposed to chastising one of their own for violating community norms. In 1857, William Cooper, a fugitive slave who had found a home in Buffalo, was brought before a community meeting, chaired by Peyton Harris. Cooper, it was alleged, had betrayed his wife and helped to sell her into slavery. Members of the community pledged to ostracize him or anyone who supported him until he made amends for his egregious actions. They resolved:
“That if William Cooper will pledge himself to a Committee and bind himself in writing to devote all the real estate he has, to be sold for money, to be used in the purchase of his wife out of slavery, providing his great sin should be the means of her return into slavery, this indignant public will forgive him, otherwise, we will not.” (Buffalo Courier, March 5, 1857) No record of the outcome of this incident has been found. Several members voted no to this resolution, but Harris was a primary supporter.
In another incident, Harris and others formed a committee in response to concerns that African Americans were representing themselves as “fugitive slaves”, perpetrating scams to fraudulently obtain money and social assistance. (Notice to the Public, Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express, December 29, 1856, p. 3)
Mary Talbert references an 1842 “state convention” supported by the Michigan Street Baptist Church during which a resolution on slavery was adopted. “No. 4, on Slavery – Resolved, that the System of Slavery is alike opposed to the spirit of the Gospel and the Principles of Justice, that we have no fellow with it, and we recommend to the members of our Churches the use of all suitable means to effect its entire abolition.” (MBT, p. 3) Although Talbert does not address this subject in her historical review, it is a long-held belief, supported by hiding spaces in the Church’s basement, that the Michigan Street Baptist Church was a stop on the legendary Underground Railroad. An undated newspaper article, printed in a 2003 newsletter from the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier, Inc., attributed the dearth of information on the church’s role as a stop on the Underground Railroad to the need for secrecy to protect runaways. The same article described how the church accommodated these fugitives, allowing them to sleep on the pews of the church at night and eat in the basement until they could be transported across the border.
The Michigan Street Baptist Church is documented as a frequent gathering place for abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, Henry Highland Garnet, Martin Delaney and William Wells Brown, who exhorted their audiences to help bring an end to slavery. A passionate abolitionist, Harris was a principal meeting organizer, mobilizing the community on several occasions to respond to national and local tensions related to the looming Civil War. In October 1850, the community met to address the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. The meeting, chaired by John Simpson appointed 5 vice-presidents, among them Peyton Harris. A Resolution that was crafted by the group, began by re-defining the Fugitive Slave Act as more properly “a bill to extend slavery over the free states and encourage the kidnapping of freemen.” The group resolved to “resist any attempt to enforce the act” and ultimately to “test the constitutionality of the law to the Supreme Court.” The final Resolution bore the signature of Peyton Harris in addition to seven other officers elected to represent the community. (Fugitive Slave Bill: Meeting of Colored Citizens”, The Buffalo Daily Republic, Oct. 4, 1850, p. 2)
The community was generally more inclined to argue their objections to the evils of slavery via resolutions or legal actions. But, perhaps because he’d been a soldier, Harris was not above taking a confrontational stance to achieve freedom for Blacks. On May 18, 1861, attendees at a community meeting at the Michigan Street Baptist Church discussed the potential creation of a colored regiment. Harris was chair of the meeting, which pledged to raise a volunteer company of 100 “able bodied colored men to aid in the defence of our country against Southern aggression.” (May 18, 1911, NY Age) The regiment was not formed but several men from Buffalo, including John Dover and Albert Thompson, joined colored regiments and served during the Civil War.on May 18, 1861.
In the decades between 1830 and 1860, African Americans held a series of national conventions of colored citizens. These conventions drew “delegates from free northern Black communities throughout the north to consider the plight of African Americans, slave and free, and to plan strategies to promote the uplift of Americans of color.” (Fordham). In 1843 the National Convention of Colored Citizens was held in Buffalo. Samuel H. Davis, pastor of Michigan Street Baptist Church was elected chairman pro tem of the convention. Davis’ keynote address “calling on African Americans, particularly those who had been enslaved, to "make known our wrongs to the world and to our oppressors." was widely recognized as a clarion call to the country. While Harris was not a delegate to this convention, four years later at the National Convention of Colored People (1847) held in Troy, New York, he was not only a delegate, he was elected as one of three vice-presidents of the body. Other delegates included Henry Highland Garnet and Alexander Crummell, nationally known abolitionists.
20 years later, Harris created a stir when he objected to allowing Susan B. Anthony to address the 1866 State Conference meeting in Albany. In his mid-70s at the time, the old man, described as “a plump, jolly, rotund, colored individual” was chided and cajoled for his stance. Ultimately, finding himself alone in his opposition, Harris relented, and Miss Anthony was allowed to address the body. (Buffalo Courier, October 20, 1866) Harris was a vice-president of this convention as well.
Peyton Harris was an ardent Republican and determined to have Blacks engaged in the political process. Like most African Americans of his time he revered President Lincoln and believed that the party of Lincoln gave Negroes the best opportunity to achieve parity. In 1872, he organized the Lincoln Club and became its first president. The club’s objectives included, the “moral and intellectual improvement of its members; and to honor and perpetuate the memory of Lincoln.” The club met for many years, often at Harris’ home or at the Michigan Street Baptist Church. (Buffalo Evening Post, Jan. 29, 1872, p. 3) Annually, they organized an event to commemorate Lincoln’s life.
There are no known photos of this pillar of the Black community. The closest we can come to “seeing” Peyton Harris is a written portrait that was printed at the time of his wife’s death in 1889. The journalist reminisced about Buffalo’s “oldest colored citizen” noting that “He was fond of an argument and did not lack shrewdness, ability or earnestness.” She also painted this image of Harris, “scurrying down the street; carrying a basket on one arm and a second-hand garment (to be cleaned) on the other”. She added that this was a common sight. Furthermore, the author detailed Harris’ personal appearance, “He had a massive head on a short neck, broad shoulders, short legs and his head on one side like a magpie looking into a bone.” (BEN, Peyton Harris’ Days, April 28, 1889, p10) While this description evokes a caricaturist image it aligns, to some extent, with the earlier description of Harris at the 1847 National Convention for Colored People.
Forty years after his death Peyton Harris was still being acknowledged and lauded for his noteworthy accomplishments and contributions. “Peyton Harris was, at the time of his death, the oldest and most respected representative of the colored race in Buffalo and the most highly respected of that race…..his funeral, which took place there (Michigan Street Baptist Church) was largely attended by people of his own race and many of his friends and patrons from other walks of life.” In closing the author added, “Uncle Peyton, as he was familiarly called, was well versed in fact and tradition about older Buffalo and delighted to reminisce with our first settlers. Always industrious, the old man amassed a very comfortable competence which carried him through old age in comfort.” (“This Day in Buffalo’s History: the City’s Oldest Man of Color, 1922, Buffalo Times” )
Peyton Harris and his family moved to Buffalo, New York when the city was still in its infancy. At a time when the African American community numbered just a few hundred residents, Harris applied his experience and expertise to create a community that elevated his compatriots and in turn contributed to the vibrancy of the city as a whole. He left a deep footprint in Buffalo History and an indelible impression on those, who knew him.
Barbara Seals Nevergold, PhD is a lifelong educator, who taught in the Buffalo Schools, the University at Buffalo, and SUNY Empire State College. In 1999, she co-founded the Uncrowned Queens Institute and has worked to create a model for the reclamation, preservation, and dissemination of the biographic histories of African American women and men. The Institute’s signature digital archive is at www.uncrownedcommunitybuilders.com In 2020, she was named a Fellow in the New York Academy of History.
Dr. Nevergold is co-author of the book series, Uncrowned Queens: African American women community builders of WNY and Oklahoma, numerous other publications, and Go, Tell Michelle: African American Women Write to the New First Lady (SUNY Press, 2009). The book features a compilation of letters and poems to First Lady, Michelle Obama from 100 women throughout the United States and Africa. The book received the Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award from the Association of Black Women Historians.
Dr. Nevergold was appointed an at-large member of the Buffalo Board of Education in 2012. She served as Board President in 2013-14 and 2016-2019. She retired from the Board in 2019.
