[Manuscript Execution Bond Signed by Three Free African Americans in Early-19th-Century Boston -- Coffin Pitts, John E. Scarlett, and Benjamin P. Bassett]

[Boston]: February 16, 1815. Manuscript document signed, on plain paper, 5.25 x 6 inches. Minor toning and wear, old folds, some mostly unobtrusive staining. Very good. A unique and powerful record of free persons of color living and working in early America, specifically Boston in 1815. The present document is signed at the bottom by at least three free African Americans who made a mark on history enough to be present in the written record of Massachusetts during this period, mainly through their abolitionist activities. The first, Coffin Pitts (1793-1871), was a prominent clothing merchant on Brattle Street in the early-19th century, most notable for his later employment of Anthony Burns shortly before Burns was captured under the Fugitive Slave Act in 1854. Pitts was also a founding member of the Massachusetts General Colored Association in 1826, and later worked as a Boston agent for the Freedmen'a Bureau in the 1860s, helping ex-slaves who arrived in Boston following the Civil War. His longtime residence at 67 Joy Street is part of the Boston African American National Historic Site.

The second free person of color who signed here is John E. Scarlett, who was also a founding member of the MGCA and also a clothing dealer, who had also worked previously as a chimney sweep. Both Pitts and Scarlett were active in the abolitionist cause, speaking in active opposition to the American Colonization Society while lending their support to organizations like William Lloyd Garrison's New England Anti-Slavery Society and the Boston Vigilance Committee. 

The third free African American who signed the present document was Benjamin P. Bassett. Bassett was a prominent barber in Boston in the first half the 19th century. According to a government report on African American historic sites in Boston, Bassett and Coffin Pitts lived together for a few years, between 1847 and 1850. Bassett was also one of sixty-five African American men to sign a petition to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in June 1853 arguing that Black men should be allowed to serve in the state militia. Bassett was also a founding member of the Adelphic Union for the Promotion of Literature and Science in 1836.

"This may certify that I the Subscriber have this day taken an Execution Bond of Ziba Ware and Ebenezer Dart for one thousand and twenty one dollars and eighty eight cents which saim [sic] of the Subscriber mean to waite [sic] on them for the one half until the fifth of January next and if they then fale [sic] of paying it is to be at my option to collect as of I please otherwise this is to be voyd [sic]. Witness my hand. Coffin Pitts Benja P Bassett Fortune Limes John E. Scarlett.