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Prince Hall

1748-1807

Name: Prince Hall

Birthplace: Unknown

Status: Free of Color

Occupation/Training:

Residence: Boston

Abolitionist involvement: On March 6, 1776, Prince Hall and 14 other African Americans joined the Masons fraternal organization that was part of a Boston British regiment. After fighting broke out at Lexington, and the British soldiers evacuated Boston, Hall and his men retained their permit to have a lodge.

In January 1777, Hall was among eight African Americans who petitioned for the abolition of slavery by citing the need to restore "the Natural Right of all men." In 1787, "African Lodge No. 1, Dedicated to St. John," applied for, and received a charter, with Prince Hall as the master.

Also in 1787, Hall sent a petition to the general court of Boston to provide "Africans ... one day a work to work for themselves" to purchase themselves and transport themselves "to some part of the Coast of African, where we propose a settlement." This petition of emigration was written almost a quarter of a century before Paul Cuffee's voyage to Sierra Leone.

Publication/Reference: 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About African American History

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