Born free in Charles Town, Va., in 1812, Martin R. Delany moved with his family to Chambersburg, Pa., in 1822. At age 19, Delany walked from Chambersburg to Pittsburgh for an education and a better life. Rev. Lewis Woodson and John B. Vashon became his mentors and advisors as he grew into a leader in the abolitionist community. Delany joined the Temperance Society, the Young Men’s Literary and Moral Reform Society, and the Philanthropic Society. Also a member of Bethel AME Church, he combined religion with activism and became a major proponent of African American liberation.

In 1843, Delany married Catherine Richards, daughter of Charles Richards of Pittsburgh. That same year, Delany established the first African American newspaper west of the Allegheny Mountains, The Mystery. He joined Frederick Douglass in publishing the North Star in 1847, selling “The Mystery” to the AME Church. Delany went on to study medicine under Dr Francis J. LeMoyne and others before entering medical school at Harvard College in 1850. In August 1854, Delany led the National Emigration Convention in Cleveland. Delegates from Allegheny County supported the convention, which proposed emigration to Canada or Central or South America to find freedom.

BlackHistory #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM #Pittsburgh #PittsburghHistory

Delany was commissioned as a Major in the Union Army, the first field-grade Black officer in the Union Army