William Henry Burleigh

"His history is the history of abolitionism, of temperence, and of human progress" --Celia Burleigh

 
• Woodstock, Connecticut -- February 2, 1812
• Rinaldo and Lydia Bradford Burleigh give birth to their fourth son William Henry
• "To a boyhood familiar with hard work, that knew little recreation and much self-sacrifice, succeeded in early manhood and the care of a family, and the advocacy of unpopular reforms" - Celia Burleigh
• Married -- Harriet Adelia Frink
• As a public activist for unpopular change, Burleigh and his family suffered poverty, prejudice, and pain
• "Posterity will find it difficult to believe the story of the cruel sufferings and indignities that were heaped upon him and his co-laborers in the cause of freedom" -Hon. Francis Gillette
• Brooklyn, Connecticut -- 1833-1837
• Worked as an assistant editor for the Unionist
• Pittsburgh -- 1837
• William published the "Christian Witness" and "Temperance Banner," beginning his public life as author, editor, and reformer
• "As a writer, speaker, editor, poet, reformer, friend, and associate, it was the universal testimony of those who knew him best and esteemed him most truly, that he stood in the forefront of his generation" - Hon. Francis Gillette
• Philadelphia -- 1841
• Published Poems, 1841 - a collection of reform-based poetry that circulated the nation and began a network for cultural change through literature
• "...so I would write only when inspired by my best thoughts, and when I feel that my spirit is in harmony with all that is best in the soul to which I address myself..." - Wm. H. Burleigh, in a letter to Celia
• Ann Arbor, Michigan -- June 16, 1841
• Signal of Liberty published "To The Friends of Emancipation" by Wm. H. Burleigh in an effort to share the national abolitionist culture through well-known and well-respected poetry
• Hartford, Connecticut -- 1843
• Moved to Hartford to take charge of the Connecticut Anti-Slavery Society's Christian Freeman (later renamed Charter Oak)
• Syracuse, New York -- 1849
• Crossed state lines to broaden the audience of his lectures, editing, and ideas in the New York Temperance Society
• "His proudest boast was to have been associated with the noble men and women who constitued the vanguard of progress." - Celia Burleigh
• New York -- 1855
• Received appointment as Harbor Master of New York, and honor bestowed by Governor Clark
• February, 1863 -- 1865
• Faced personal devastation with the losses of his father, wife, eldest son, and eldest child
• "The joys and sorrows that befell the man, is the greater fact of the man himself." - Celia Burleigh
• September, 1865
• Married Celia Burleigh, who taught him the importance and intricacy of the woman's movement
• "No man had a more tender and reverent appreciation of women's nature than he, and as her cause was the latest which he espoused, he brought to its advocacy all that was noblest in him, the best results of a ripe manhood." - Celia Burleigh
• Brooklyn -- March 18, 1871
• William Henry Burleigh died, leaving the world a legacy of advocacy, poetry, and human kindness
• "I have made a great many mistakes, but I have tried to live a manly abd true life, and to serve God by helping humanity. In leaving the world it is with no bitter self-condemnation; my purpose has been honest and upright." - William Henry Burleigh
• New York -- 1871
• Hurd and Houghton published Poems, by William H. Burleigh. With a Sketch of his Life by Celia Burleigh, which provides a rich collection of personality and poetry that celebrates life, love, and literature

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