FALMOUTH, Va. (AP) - Virginia is recognizing an enslaved man whose escape to New England helped stir anti-slavery sentiment in the North.
A state historical marker will be dedicated Tuesday in Stafford County in memory of Anthony Burns, who had been hired out by his owner in 1854 to work in Richmond. From there, he escaped slavery and fled to Boston.
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Burns' owner demanded his return under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The same year he fled Virginia, Burns was arrested and returned to Virginia.
But abolitionists didn't give up. They purchased Burns in 1855 and he attended Oberlin College.
The marker dedicated to Burns will be dedicated in Falmouth. Speakers will include the principal of an elementary school named in his memory.