King Manor Museum
King Manor (built 1755, 1790, 1810)On February 9th, 1799, and March 20th, 1799, both the Assembly & Senate of New York State passed the Act of the gradual abolition of slavery. With this act, New York State began abolishing the institution of slavery within its domain from July 4th, 1799 to July 4th, 1827. New York counties, particularly pro-slavery ones like Queens and Ulster, began transitioning from slave to free societies. With slavery on the decline in the county, antislavery advocacy began to take root, particularly in the county seat, Jamaica Village. At the end of the 18th century, the old alliance between white abolitionists and Black freemen changed.White, anti-slavery advocates like Rufus King (1755-1827), founding father and framer of the US Constitution -- and owner of the large yellow manor house you see in this location --had collaborated with Black freemen up until the achievement of gradual emancipation, but now that freedom had been obtained they set their sights on other goals. Some, like Rufus King, were simply more interested in addressing slavery on a larger, national scale rather than in their own backyards, whereas many Black activists wanted to focus on their local and statewide communities. Other white abolitionists had more problematic ideas, and replaced their activism with questions and concerns over the emergence of a "free colored" community, expressing that they still wanted "equality" -- but only on their terms. Historians often point towards the “obsession” and apprehension of white abolitionists over the issue, and their attempts to “supervise” the Black population over these fears.Next Stop: Tree of Life Mural, 164th St /Jamaica Ave.
Tree of Life Mural
Tree of Life (2019)This mural is a work directed by artist Marissa Molina, with Peach Tao and Will DeNatale, through The Thrive Collective, painted throughout the summer and unvieled in August of 2019. Read more about the artwork and Thrive Collective's projects on their website.The Tree of Life is one of many community-based arts initiatives that are largely BIPOC-led in Jamaica, Queens. In 2020, Jamaica residents came together to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement, painting a massive mural on Jamaica Avenue in front of King Manor Museum as other communities across NYC did the same. Check out the video above to see the Black Lives Matter mural, which has since worn away.Continue walking to find more evidence of BIPOC-led community spaces in Jamaica and find out what that has to do with the development of a 19th century free Black community
Douglaston
Wilson Rantous (1807-1861)Not much is known about the free Black community in Jamaica directly following emancipation, but we do know that Troy and Catherine Rantous and their sons, Wilson & Troy were part of it. Wilson Rantous is said to have been born on a local farm around Jamaica in 1807, but it is unclear if his parents were still in bondage, freed, or reclassified as indentured servants under the 1799 Act when he was born. Regardless of his parents' status, Wilson himself was born free, and was immersed in a rural society that was slowly transitioning away from the institution of human bondage. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what experiences Rantous had as a child. If his parents were still enslaved, he would have remained a servant to his mother's “proprietor” until the age of 28. Alternatively, he may have spent the earlier portion of his life in an apprenticeship earning a modest amount income and gaining some form of education. The second option seems more plausible, as under state law Wilson would not have ended his time in indentured servitude until 1835, but we know he was able to aquire his own property long before then.Wilson passed away in 1861, leaving behind his wife Jane Rantous and his son Wilson Rantous Jr. He was buried in Flushing on his brother Troy’s estate, and his grave was rediscovered in 2014.The location of this point on our tour is the western corner of that property, purchased in 1827 by 20 year old Wilson Rantous.The precise area of the Green is speculated to have developed in the eastern part of the village along the full length of Douglas Street, which is today Douglas Avenue. No detailed maps for Jamaica Village exist before 1842, so not much is known about the development of the area. But the 1842 Map of the Village (see image) by Martin G. Johnson reveals that Rantous (spelled 'Ranters' in this case and many others) owned multiple plots of land on Douglas and the street below it (now Liberty Ave). By 1842, multiple structures -- homes and businesses -- are illustrated to be along South Street on many of Rantous’ properties.Not much to see now - what happened?Today, you can see that the area which used to be Wilson Rantous' Douglaston is now an industrial area. As the once rural Jamaica Village expanded into a neighborhood of a NYC Borough, Douglaston was swallowed up into the city. The homes, businesses, and community spaces it once held no longer exist, but the vibrant community itself remains. Black-led activism and community organization is alive and well in Jamaica, from the South Queens Women's March to the BLAQUE Resource Network to the local NAACP chapter. Why did Wilson purchase so much land? When Rantous purchased the land might provide an answer.1827 wasthe same year slavery officially ended in New York.Rantous’ personal financial records show that he received payment from multiple renters and that he paid contracters to build homes on his property (see images), so it is possible his purchase was in the conscious effort to establish the foundations of a community for newly freed people of color. Later, Wilson was directly involved in community building efforts such as schools, newspapers, and voting rights movements for the Black community. Douglaston became the center of this effort.Keep walking to 160th St. to explore the sites of Rantous' activism at work.
York College (St. Mark's Free Episcopal Colored School)
Information on the development of Douglaston during its earlier years is sparse, as the dominant white owned newspapers rarely covered the community, but the emergence of Black-centric newspapers began to change that.On January 7, 1837, the Weekly Advocate debuted in New York City as a journal “Established for, and Devoted to the Moral, Mental, and Political Improvement of the People of Color.” Only a few months later the paper was rebranded by its new editor, Samuel Cornish, to the Colored American (see images for an 1841 article). For the duration of its run, the paper covered the discourse over abolitionism, civil rights, and general welfare of people of color in the United States not only nationally or statewide, but locally as well. Wilson Rantous himself was involved in financing another Black-centric, Black-owned newspaper called the Weekly Anglo African.Wilson Rantous wasn't the only person working to make life better for people of color in Jamaica. He had quite a bit of help from another free Black man named Samuel V. Berry, with whom Rantous worked on a number of community building projects. Berry was a prominent member of the free Black community in NYC, born c. 1813 in New Jersey, and educated at the Episcopal Theological Seminary before becoming a priest at the African Episcopal Church (which was located on this site). Exactly when Berry arrived in Jamaica Village is unclear, but he quickly became involved in the efforts to improve the condition of his fellow citizens of color in the community. ___________________________St. Mark's Free Episcopal Colored SchoolOne of the first things Berry did in 1837 was establish St. Mark's Free Episcopal Colored School at the African Episcopal Church, which was supervised and financed by the Rector, William Lupton Johnson, of Grace Episcopal Church (a later stop on our tour!). Berry advertised the school in the Colored American in February of 1841 (see images). A few years after its establishment, a review of the school was published in the Long Island Democrat -- a white-centric newspaper -- and states that the curriculum for St. Mark's 59 students (25 boys and 34 girls) included reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography. The article also confronts racist pseudoscience that was commonly believed in the white community, asserting that "the colored children were not a whit behind white children" and "any gentlemen desirous of being fully convinced of the practicability of educating the colored population" best go to the school to "have his prejudices and erroneous notions corrected." Some of the children schooled at St. Mark's came from other nearby villages, but many of the children were local and probably lived in or around Wilson Rantous' Douglaston. St. Mark's also provided classes for adult students in basic academics like reading and writing, an invaluable resource for Black citizens who may have been previously enslaved and barred from education altogether.Today you can see that another educational institution, York College, sits on the site of St. Mark's, serving one of the most diverse places on the planet. Among them, Queens residents speak 138 languages and Queens itself is the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world. Walking through Jamaica on this tour, you may have heard Spanish, Kreyol, Yoruba, Bangla, Arabic, Hindi, and Urdu, as well as English out on the street.Next Stop: The site of Union Hall Academy on Union Hall Street.
Union Hall Academy
Union Hall Academy Union Hall Academy itself no longer exists, but its historic site is now across the street from a York College entrance and the location of what was the Union Hall Street Station on the Long Island Railroad. Today, Union Hall Academy is memorialized by a plaque on the sidewalk (see images), which reads:"Founded in 1792, the main building of this prestigious academy for young men and women stood here from 1820 until 1872 when the school was closed. It was named Union Hall because it was established through the united efforts of the residents of Jamaica, Newtown, and Flushing. Students came to the school from all over Long Island as well as other parts of the country and boarded with families in Jamaica Village."Union Hall was a state-funded school, arguably for the privileged. Many children of prominent white citizens attended Union Hall Academy in the 19th century, including Rufus King's sons. One of those sons, his eldest John Alsop King (who became Governor of New York in 1857 and an abolitionist in his own right), did eventually help to finance a wing for Black students at the academy.____________________________________Entering the 1840s, prominent Black activists in New York like Wilson Rantous began to stress the restoration of unbridled suffrage to citizens of color within the state.Even though most white New Yorkers were against Black suffrage, under New York State's 1777 constitution there were no specific restrictions to suffrage based on race -- that was, until a single, predominantly Black ward tipped an election in favor of the (often anti-slavery) Federalist Party in 1800. As a result, the opposing Democratic-Republican Party began to push for restrictions to Black voting, and some successfully passed the state legislature. This, coupled with white apprehension over the entrance of Black people into "their" free society, led many white New Yorkers to argue that Black people should not be considered full Citizens.On March 13th, 1821, restrictions were officially codified in the State's new Constitution. Article 2, section 1 of the 1821 Constitution stated that:...“no man of colour, unless he shall have been for three years a citizen of this state, and for one year next preceding any election, shall be seized and possessed of a freehold estate of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, over and above all debts and incumbrances charged theron; and shall have been actually rated, and paid tax theron, shall be entitled to vote at such election.”To make matters even more unfair, only four years after erecting voting restrictions on citizens of color, the State removed property requirements and reduced residency requirements to only a single year for white citizens. The 1821 Constitution ensured that a majority of people of color in New York were denied enfranchisement before some could even claim their freedom under gradual emancipation. Being locked out of “political citizenship,” most citizens of color turned their attention towards pushing for the recognition of their right to participate in governance. Two hundred fifty dollars of property doesn't sound like much, but it was nearly impossible for most early-19th century Black New Yorkers to achieve.Nevertheless, some did achieve it! Remember Wilson Rantous' approximately $250 property purchase when he formed Douglaston? That's right -- he purchased exactly enough property to be able to vote in New York State. He was one of only three to five Black men in Jamaica Village who could.The Jamaica Convention, 1840But Wilson didn't stop with his own rights! On April 4, 1840, a call was published in the Colored American for a Convention to take place in Jamaica Village in regards to “elevating the condition of the people of color on this [Long] Island.” The call asked for the temperance societies of Newton, Flushing, and Brooklyn to send three delegates each to be represented at the convention. The Jamaica Convention convened on April 27th, 1840, at what is called “Academy in Washington Street,” this may be referring to St. Mark’s, but is more likely the village’s boarding school -- Union Hall Academy. Samuel Berry, Rantous' friend and colleague, was one of the undersigners of the Convention. The Convention concluded with the following Declaration:"We, the colored citizens of the State of New York, being disfranchised, conceive it to be our solemn duty to exert ourselves by the use of all legitimate means, to obtain redress. We labor under political disenfranchisement, and suffer from a discriminating policy of legislation. We are debarred from the fountains of literature;- these avenues to the arts and sciences which in justice ought to be open to all classes, are closed against us. We are wronged and insulted by the proprietors of public conveyances in denying us those accommodations which they promise travellers, in consideration of their money. We are outraged by a system of public caste, which reigns through all orders of the community, the sanctuary of the Most High not omitted.We will therefore exert our energies in the use of all rightful reasonable means, to correct the abuses to which we have referred. We owe this to our God, our country, and to ourselves; and with a view to direct our energies more effectually in maturing and using means, we determine and agree to assemble by our delegates in Convention from year to year, till our object is gained, and that the first State Convention be held at Troy, on the first Monday in September next. Resolved, That each city and town hereafter sending delegates to the Convention, be required to pay into the treasury a sum equal to two cents per head. Resolved, That one object of the Convention shall be to appoint and support an agency to inquire into the state of our people as to schools, temperance, &c. Resolved, That the Colored American, published in New York, by C. B. Ray, ought to be regarded by every colored citizen as their own paper, and it is the sentiment of this Convention that Mr. Ray is entitled to the support of every Colored American."We don't have any documented evidence that Wilson Rantous attended this Convention in Jamaica, but it's extremely probable that he did since we know that Wilson Rantous (along with his friend Samuel Berry) served as a representative of Jamaica Village at the second meeting of this Convention prior to the Statewide Convention. The Jamaica Convention was the first of its kind in the State of New York, and was the origins of what would become an annual meeting of citizens of color statewide.
Grace Episcopal Church
Grace Episcopal Church (founded 1733; current building, 1862)This Gothic Revival church building was built during the American Civil War, but the church itself is much older and its buildings have been on this location since 1733. Burials in its large cemetery date as early as 1734. Today it is a predominantly Black church that reflects the Jamaica, Queens community as it is today -- a multicultural, vibrant community that encourages activism, supports humanities, and welcomes the arts.Grace Church belongs to the Episcopal Church, a Christian sect or "denomination" which originated in England and became a popular sect here in the American colonies and eventually the United States. In the early 19th century, Episcopalian beliefs often led worshippers to determine that slavery was proven immoral by Jesus Christ's teachings from the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The King family all attended Grace Church, which may have strengthened their resolve toward the anti-slavery cause; Rufus King, his wife Mary Alsop King and their sons John Alsop King, James Gore King, and Charles King are also buried here.Episcopalian beliefs also made this sect a good foundation for Black activism -- Samuel Berry became an Episcopal priest, and St. Mark's was an Episcopalian school. It makes sense, therefore, that another Episcopal church like Grace was chosen to host New York State's first convention for Black suffrage and the social and economic advancement of people of color.The first State Convention of Colored Citizens took place over three days in late August, 1840.It was held at the Israel African Methodist Episcopal Church which remains on Hamilton Street in Albany, NY as the oldest Black church in Upstate NY, founded 1828. About 40 representatives from across New York were in attendance. Among the representatives present was Samuel Berry for Jamaica; he was, presumably, elected by the Black populace in Jamaica to serve as their delegate.One of the main purposes of the convention was to address the “unjust” and “anti-republican” voting restraints put upon citizens of color under the State's current 1821 Constitution. The meeting drafted a lengthy address to their “Fellow-Citizens,” which presented their argument on why they deserved to have “equal and entire” citizenship based on the grounds of “common humanity.” At the end of the statement, the Convention implored that in the efforts to restore their “republican birthright,” fellow citizens must take up the “speedy adoption of such plans, and the formatio[n] of such measures, as may soon lead to the erasure of the odious proscriptive act of which we complain-we secured an equal suffrage, and the State freed from a stain upon its character.”1841 Jamaica ConventionAfter the 1840 State Convention, Berry returned to Jamaica where he once again continued working with Rantous. Berry & Rantous jointly arranged for a General Meeting to be held at St. Mark’s on January 6, 1841 to discuss measures to address disenfranchisement and to provide petitions for the public to sign. The Colored American accounts for a meeting taking place on the 18th of January taking up the same subject, where Rantous acted as Secretary and Berry addressed the assembled.Rantous and Berry's further efforts into organizing statewide action, including another convention to be held in November of 1841, gained traction and praise even outside of New York; a prominent Black newspaper from Boston -- America's first, The Liberator -- published the invitation. “Will the traducers of the colored fellow-citizens read it, and say whether this does not indicate a hungering and thirsting after knowledge, worthy of the highest commendation?” The Liberator's article reads. The invitation itself, signed by Rantous and Berry, encouraged Black citizens from across Long Island to "Come from old Suffolk [County]; our noble, active, and enterprising brethren of Kings [County], they must come, they of Queens [County] must not stay at home. Come from the borders of the blue waters of the Atlantic-from the shores of Long Island Sound.” It also appealed to the pride of Black Long Islanders, reminding them to “Remember that the first county convention held in this State, was held on the island, and the first State Convention was appointed by freemen of the island." When the 1841 Jamaica Convention was concluded, they left with these resolutions:Resolved, That the first step in the elevation of a people, is to enlighten and render them intelligent by Education.Resolved, That those parents who refuse to educate their children, and fit them to become useful and honorable citizens, are enemies alike to the happiness of their offspring, the prosperity of their people, and the well being of society.Resolved, That we recommend the clergy to enlist in the cause of education, and that we consider it the duty of every Christian Minister to see to the intellectual and moral, as well as the religious instruction of his charge.Resolved, That, for the better advancement of the cause of Intellectual and Moral Improvement, a Society be formed, to be called “A Society for the Improvement of the Condition of the People of Color.”Resolved, That we view with great satisfaction, the advancement of the cause of Temperance among our people; and we hope the day is not far distant when Intemperance shall hide her deforemed head, and when the cause of temperance shall be universal.The Evening Star comments on the resolutions, describing them as knowledgeable and goes on to decry the “prejudices of the North” for excluding the Black population from resources that would improve their condition. Additionally, the article calls for more attention to be put on the education of the young; arguing that “Their children must have the benefit of schools...when society has been just to them, it may with all propriety demand justice from them. In what men give to the purpose of their elevation they give but to receive again an hundred fold.”Sadly, this final commentary on the 1841 Jamaica Convention is the last detail we currently have on the Convention movement in Jamaica Village. With the Colored American ceasing publication in 1842, and local, white-centric papers in Queens covering very little of the occurrences of the Black community, not much else is known about the continued push for suffrage in the area. As for the wider Statewide movement for suffrage, the multiple petitions to the New York Legislature did not result in amending the State’s Constitution. Not until the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1870 would Black (male) New Yorkers regain their political citizenship and be allowed to vote on equal footing -- at least, legally -- with white men.Heading back to King Manor Museum, take a moment to think about how Wilson Rantous and Samuel Berry's activism relates to community issues present in today's New York.
King Manor Museum (Wrap Up)
The Legacy of Black Activism in Jamaica, QueensToday King Manor Museum's mission is to interpret founding father Rufus King’s political legacy and antislavery history to teach critical thinking for a healthier democracy -- something we cannot do without acknowledging, uplifting, and learning from the Black activism, culture, and arts still happening in Jamaica, Queens all around us. The same grassroots-style activism which Wilson Rantous, Samuel Berry and their allies employed is essential to civil rights movements today like Black Lives Matter, Women's Marches, and LGBTQ+ activism.Voting rights and access to political citizenship for BIPOC voters as well as equitable education for students of color remains an issue in New York and across the United States. Here are several local organizations that you can join or support that are working to address these inequities, bring diverse arts and humanities to the community, and improve the lives of all Queens residents:Let NY VoteSouth Queens Women's MarchBLAQUE Resource NetworkBraata ProductionsAutism Society Habilitation Organization (ASHO)Jamaica Center for Arts and LearningGet Involved at King Manor!Visit our website at www.kingmanor.org to check out our upcoming events and stay tuned for further research on Wilson Rantous, Douglaston, and Black activism in Jamaica, Queens!King Manor Museum is open for guided house tours:Mon-Tues, Thurs-Fri: 11am, 12pm 1pm, 2pm, 3pm (by reservation only)Saturday: 1-5pm (drop ins welcome!)We hope you enjoyed this tour! Research on Douglaston and Jamaica's 19th century Black community is ongoing at King Manor, and information will be updated as new facts come to light.Please take a moment to take a brief survey tell us what you think. Thank you!
