January 1826

Isabella Baumfree, later known as Sojourner Truth, escaped enslavement in New York State with her infant daughter Sophia, walking to the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen who sheltered her. She subsequently won a landmark legal case in 1828 to recover her son Peter — one of the first successful suits by a Black American woman in a US court.

John Bowdoin Russwurm graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 1826 — one of the first Black Americans to earn a college degree in the United States. The following year he co-founded Freedom's Journal with Samuel Cornish. After editorializing in favor of emigration — a controversial position — he emigrated to Liberia in 1829 and served as superintendent of education and later governor of Maryland in Liberia.

John Russwurm graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 1826 — one of the first Black Americans to earn a college degree in the US. The following year he co-founded Freedom's Journal with Samuel Cornish. After editorializing in favor of emigration he moved to Liberia in 1829, serving as superintendent of education and later governor.