Passmore Williamson

Passmore Williamson (February 23, 1822 - February 1, 1895) was an abolitionist and businessman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a free state in the years. Secretary of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and a member of its Vigilance Committee, Williamson is best known for helping Jane Johnson and her two sons gain freedom from slavery on July 18, 1855.

In a case that established legal precedent, he was served with a writ of habeas corpus by federal US District Court John K. Kane under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 to produce Johnson and her two sons in court. He did not know where they were held, so could not respond; Judge Kane charged him with contempt of court and sentenced him to 90 days.

The jailing of Williamson dramatically expanded news coverage of the case and generated debate about the extension of "Slave Power" over state law, as Pennsylvania did not recognize slavery. It held that slaveowners gave up their property rights in slaves if they brought them into the state; if the slave chose freedom, the state would support that decision and not compensate the owner. Thus, Johnson was not literally a fugitive, as she had gained freedom in the state according to state law, after John Hill Wheeler voluntarily took her there in the course of his travel.

Passmore Williamson was born in 1822 as the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Pyle) Williamson, a Quaker family in Westtown, Pennsylvania. He also had two sisters. In the 1840s his family moved from Chester County into the city of Philadelphia. Like his father, the younger Williamson became a conveyancer, preparing legal documents associated with property, such as deeds and leases.

He became committed to abolitionism as an adult, joining the Pennsylvania Abolition Society in 1842, and elected its Secretary in 1848. Pennsylvania was established as a free state soon after the American Revolutionary War; it did not recognize slavery and held that masters gave up their property rights if they brought slaves to the state. Abolitionism, however, was not supported by everyone and was controversial.

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