George T. Downing
| George T. Downing | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
December 30, 1819 New York, New York |
| Died | July 21, 1903 (aged 83) Newport, Rhode Island |
| Occupation | Caterer |
| Political party | Republican |
George T. Downing (December 30, 1819 – July 21, 1903) was an abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights. His father was a caterer and Oyster seller in Philadelphia and New York City and George followed the same career path in New York, Newport, Rhode Island, and Washington, DC. From the 1830s until the end of slavery, Downing was active in the abolitionist movement and in the Underground Railroad, with his restaurant serving as a rest house. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Downing helped recruit African American soldiers. After the war he moved to Washington, DC where he ran the Refectory for the House of Representatives. He was a prominent member in the Colored Conventions Movement and worked to join the efforts of women's rights and black rights. He became close to Charles Sumner and was with the legislator when he died. Late in his life he returned to Rhode Island where he continued to be a community leader and civil rights activist.
George Thomas Downing was born in New York on December 30, 1819 to Thomas Downing and Rebecca West. Thomas was born in 1791 in Chincoteague, Virginia, and Rebecca was born in Philadelphia. He was one of five children, the others being twins Thomas and Henry, Jane, and Peter William. Downing's father's parents were freed by his former owner, John Downign, who built the Downing Meeting House and made Thomas and Rebecca caretakers. Among the visitors to the house where many elite Virginia families, including the Whartons, the Wests, The Taylors, the Custis and the Wise families. His father was a playmate of Virginia Governor Thomas A. Wise, and accompanied Wise briefly during the War of 1812, where he served as a soldier, but settling in Philadelphia and then moving to New York. He established a business on 5 broad street and owned a number of houses on that block which became an important hotel for foreign visitors, including Charles Dickens and Lord Morpeth. Downing famously sent some American oysters to Queen Victoria, in recognition of which she sent a gold chronometer watch to Thomas in the care of . Thomas died on April 10, 1866, several years after Rebecca.
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