Important Players in a Divided Nation

Sons of the North, including young Spencer Kellogg, gave their all for the fight against slavery during the Civil War.

Abolitionists in New York State during the 19th century played an important role in helping turn the tide against slavery. This map depicts paths escaped persons took to reach free states and even Canada. Public Domain

In the 19th century, several deeply religious families in Central New York State produced fathers and sons with strong abolitionist convictions. It was inevitable that their deeply held beliefs would spur them into action.

The Brown, Gould, and Cozzens families, originally from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island respectively, produced children with these same strong convictions in and around Utica, New York. Descendants of the Brown family grew to be 300 strong by 1862.