Catharine White Coffin
Catharine Coffin (1803-1881) was born to Stanton and Sarah White on September 10, in Guilford County, North Carolina. Raised a Quaker and a member of the New Garden Monthly Meeting, Catharine was raised in a period when many members became involved in anti-slavery activities. By 1819, Underground Railroad activity had begun in Guilford County under the leadership of Vestal Coffin, along with his cousin Levi Coffin. Levi and Catharine had been brought up in the same neighborhood, with Levi good friends and travel partner of Catharine’s brother Benjamin White. In 1824, Levi and Catharine married and two years later relocated to Wayne County, Indiana, in what today is Fountain City.
Catharine’s role with immediate abolitionism becomes clearer during the period when she lived in Indiana from 1826-1847. In his autobiography, Levi mentions that Catharine’s “heart has ever been quick to respond to the cry of distress, and she has been an able and efficient helper to me in all my efforts on behalf of the fugitive slaves, and a cheerful sharer in all the toils, privations and dangers which we have, in consequence, been called upon to endure.” With this, Levi sets the stage that during a long career with the Underground Railroad, Catharine was always by his side.
According to her husband Levi’s autobiography, the Coffin’s aided around one hundred freedom seekers a year, due to three Underground Railroad routes that merged in Wayne County, Indiana. As a result, the Coffin home gained the nickname of “Grand Central Station.” During this period, Catharine managed a home that continually saw freedom seekers on a weekly basis and was instrumental in making sure the home was ready to receive all on the Railroad. This include making sure all were fed and comfortable, at times having to focus on the extended care of freedom seekers with injuries or illnesses. And Catharine was never afraid to actively protect her home when slave catchers came asking questions. Much of this work took place in the winter months when some enslaved Africans in the upland South felt it was the best time of year of reaching freedom in the north.
In the spring of 1847, Levi and Catharine moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they continued the work, creating relationships with Underground Railroad supporters such as Laura Haviland, Calvin Fairbank, and William Brisbane. In her autobiography, Haviland remarks of her time staying with the Coffins when she was in Cincinnati, noting Catharine’s continued passion with aiding freedom seekers.
Along with dedicated Underground Railroad work, Catharine was also active in Indiana and Ohio in the public side of the anti-slavery movement, especially as a member of female anti-slavery societies. Catharine hosted sewing circles in the Coffin homes in both locations, coordinating the creation of new clothing for freedom seekers. During this time, her house hosted abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, Arnold Buffum, and Charles Osborne. In Cincinnati, she helped to coordinate anti-slavery bazaars that raised money in support of anti-slavery initiatives.
Catharine’s story is one of many women whose contributions to ending slavery were not recognized to the same extent as their male counterparts. Her husband Levi’s autobiography today is an important primary resource of Underground Railroad history, yet we do not know if Catharine was given the same chance to share her experience. Even those closest to her, such as her children, failed to leave us with any stories about the impact she made. Her obituary stated that "she was to the last, a bright, cheerful woman, endowed with much conversational power and a sense of the witty and humorous, and filled as was her mind with stirring reminiscences of the past, she was entertaining and instructive to all eager listeners.” Imagine what we would know today if this quote went further into what stories Catharine had to tell.
Written by Joanna Hahn, Nominator
Central Regional Director, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites
Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site, Fountain City, Indiana
Catharine’s role with immediate abolitionism becomes clearer during the period when she lived in Indiana from 1826-1847. In his autobiography, Levi mentions that Catharine’s “heart has ever been quick to respond to the cry of distress, and she has been an able and efficient helper to me in all my efforts on behalf of the fugitive slaves, and a cheerful sharer in all the toils, privations and dangers which we have, in consequence, been called upon to endure.” With this, Levi sets the stage that during a long career with the Underground Railroad, Catharine was always by his side.
According to her husband Levi’s autobiography, the Coffin’s aided around one hundred freedom seekers a year, due to three Underground Railroad routes that merged in Wayne County, Indiana. As a result, the Coffin home gained the nickname of “Grand Central Station.” During this period, Catharine managed a home that continually saw freedom seekers on a weekly basis and was instrumental in making sure the home was ready to receive all on the Railroad. This include making sure all were fed and comfortable, at times having to focus on the extended care of freedom seekers with injuries or illnesses. And Catharine was never afraid to actively protect her home when slave catchers came asking questions. Much of this work took place in the winter months when some enslaved Africans in the upland South felt it was the best time of year of reaching freedom in the north.
In the spring of 1847, Levi and Catharine moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they continued the work, creating relationships with Underground Railroad supporters such as Laura Haviland, Calvin Fairbank, and William Brisbane. In her autobiography, Haviland remarks of her time staying with the Coffins when she was in Cincinnati, noting Catharine’s continued passion with aiding freedom seekers.
Along with dedicated Underground Railroad work, Catharine was also active in Indiana and Ohio in the public side of the anti-slavery movement, especially as a member of female anti-slavery societies. Catharine hosted sewing circles in the Coffin homes in both locations, coordinating the creation of new clothing for freedom seekers. During this time, her house hosted abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass, Arnold Buffum, and Charles Osborne. In Cincinnati, she helped to coordinate anti-slavery bazaars that raised money in support of anti-slavery initiatives.
Catharine’s story is one of many women whose contributions to ending slavery were not recognized to the same extent as their male counterparts. Her husband Levi’s autobiography today is an important primary resource of Underground Railroad history, yet we do not know if Catharine was given the same chance to share her experience. Even those closest to her, such as her children, failed to leave us with any stories about the impact she made. Her obituary stated that "she was to the last, a bright, cheerful woman, endowed with much conversational power and a sense of the witty and humorous, and filled as was her mind with stirring reminiscences of the past, she was entertaining and instructive to all eager listeners.” Imagine what we would know today if this quote went further into what stories Catharine had to tell.
Written by Joanna Hahn, Nominator
Central Regional Director, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites
Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site, Fountain City, Indiana