John Hossack
| John Hossack | |
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John Hossack
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| Born |
December 6, 1806 Elgin, Moray, Scotland |
| Died | December 8, 1891 (aged 85) Ottawa, Illinois, United States |
| Residence | John Hossack House |
| Nationality | Scottish-American |
| Occupation | Grain and lumber trader, abolitionist |
| Known for | Involvement in the Underground Railroad |
| Movement | Slavery abolition |
| Criminal charge | Violating the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 |
| Criminal penalty | Ten days imprisonment, $100 fine |
| Spouse(s) | Martha Lens (1833–?) |
| Children | Eleven children |
John Hossack (December 6, 1806 — November 8, 1891) was a Scottish-American abolitionist whose home, John Hossack House, was a "station" on the Underground Railroad. He gained notoriety in 1860 when he was tried and convicted for violating the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 by helping Jim Gray, an African American, avoid slave catchers.
Born in Elgin, Scotland in 1806, Hossack immigrated to North America at the age of twelve when he traveled to Quebec to work in an uncle's confectionery store. Upon becoming an adult, he set up his own confectionery store. He married Martha Lens in 1833; the couple would eventually have eleven children together. Soon after his marriage, Hossack left the confectionery business to become a contractor on the Long Sault canal being built on the Saint Lawrence River.
In 1838, Hossack moved to Chicago to become a contractor on the Illinois and Michigan Canal. When funding for the canal dried up however, Hossack, having all of his capital tied up in the canal, was forced to seek other work, and opened up a prairie farm, known as "Hossack's Grove", in Cook County. It was during this time that Hossack first became involved in the abolitionist cause, and Hossack's Grove became a refuge for runaway slaves.
In 1849, Hossack moved to Ottawa, Illinois to engage in the lumber trade. He soon became involved in the business of buying and shipping grain to Chicago. Within a few years, Hossack was one of the largest dealers in lumber and grain in the Midwestern United States.
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