Sydney Howard Gay

Sidney Howard Gay (1814–1888) was an American attorney, journalist and abolitionist who was active in New York City. Beginning in 1843, he was editor of the National Anti-Slavery Standard for 14 years. His offices became a stop of the Underground Railroad, and he became very active in collaborating with others to help fugitive slaves reach freedom.

He worked closely with free black Louis Napoleon, and for about two years, Gay kept a detailed record of the approximately 200 men he and Napoleon aided in what is known as the Record of Fugitives. Because he aided men coming from Philadelphia, some of his notes overlap materials by activist William Still, who published his account in 1872. Gay's Record was not discovered among his papers at Columbia University until the early 21st century. Gay and Napoleon may have aided an estimated 3,000 refugees, helping many get to upstate New York and Canada. His Record reveals what a large organization the Underground Railroad truly was, aided by hundreds of people from different walks of life.

Gay was born in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1814 to the lawyer Ebenezer Gay and Mary Alleyne Otis, niece of American Revolutionary activists James Otis, Jr., and Mercy Otis Warren. On his father's side, he was descended from Governor William Bradford, a founder of the Plymouth Colony, who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. On his mother's side, he was descended from John Otis, who settled in Hingham in 1635.

Sydney's father, Ebenezer Gay, was a prosperous but unhappy attorney who wanted one of his sons to join his practice. Sydney's older brothers did not meet Ebenezer's expectations, and he decided to prepare Sydney for a legal career by sending him to Harvard College. But Sydney was 15 years old and could not adjust to being away from home. He became ill and had to withdraw from his classes. Ebenezer was disappointed when Sydney refused to return to the college.

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