Peter Fossett

Peter Fossett (1815-1901) was a reverend and Underground Railroad conductor born at Monticello under enslavement in 1815.

Early Life

Fossett was born on June 6, 1815 at Monticello. His parents were Joseph, a master blacksmith, and Edith Hern Fossett, the head cook at the property. As a child, Fossett learned how to read and write under Lewis Randolph, one of Thomas Jefferson's grandchildren who lived on the property.

Following Jefferson's death in 1826, Peter's father Joseph was freed according to his will. His wife and children, however, were auctioned off in January of 1827. Joseph purchased the freedom of his wife and a few of his children, but Col. John Jones refused to allow Peter to be sold to his family, and he remained in Charlottesville when his parents and siblings moved to Ohio in 1840. It was Fossett who taught Burkley Bullock another enslaved man in the Jones house to read and write, even though Jones had already threatened to beat him if he did so.

Fossett made several attempts to escape enslavement, and Jones responded by placing him up for auction once more in 1850. This time, Fossett's family and members of the Charlottesville community banded together to purchase him, thus making him a free man once he moved to Ohio to join them.

Life in Ohio

Upon reaching Ohio, Fossett settled in Cincinnati, where the rest of his family lived. He worked several jobs there, including as a washer, waiter, and caterer. During this time, he worked as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, for which he was personally commended by Levi Coffin (a Quaker abolitionist referred to as the President of the Underground Railroad). When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Fossett joined the Union Army, serving in the Black Brigade of Cincinnati as a captain. His unit helped to build the forifications that protected the riverside city from attack by the Confederate Army

In the 1870s, Fossett founded a catering business with his brother William, which became one of the most prominent in the city, often hired by the elites of the city. It was at this time that he was ordained as Baptist minister and founded his own church, First Baptist Church of Cumminsville. He served as leader of the church for over thirty years until his death, working without a salary.

Fossett was generally considered a leader of the Black community in Cincinnati and the country, and when he grew old money was raised to fund a trip back to Monticello and Charlottesville, where he died in January of 1901. It is believed that he was the last person directly enslaved by Thomas Jefferson to pass away.