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| Source : Chester County (Pa.) Historical Society - (Public Domain Image) |
Passmore Williamson, a defrocked Quaker, his views on abolition too radical for his home congregation, photo in jail at Philadelphia County Jail, Moyamensing Prison on contempt charges for his refusal to cooperate with the court in the case of Freed Slave and her two young sons, Jane Johnson, who was free when she set foot on Pennsylvania soil, 1855
Williamson argued in court that Jane Johnson was not a fugitive slave under provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act 1850 in that her master was transporting himself and his chattel to New York to catch a ship to his new ambassador's post in Guatemala.
Williamson defended Johnson in court and would not, could not reveal whereabouts of Jane Johnson landed him in jail for 100 days in contempt of court.
Passmore Williamson
