Amos Fortune, A Freed Slave, Tanner and Philanthropist in Jaffrey

Amos Fortune

AMOS FORTUNE (c. 1710-1801) ~ Amos Fortune’s life is summarized in the epitaph on his grave in Jaffrey’s Old Burying Ground, written by his friend, the Rev. Laban Ainsworth:

“Sacred to the memory of Amos Fortune, who was born free in Africa, a slave in America, he purchased liberty, professed Christianity, lived reputably, and died hopefully, November 17,1801, AET 91.”

He was captured at age 15 in Africa, brought to Boston and sold into slavery. He was trained in Woburn, Mass. as a tanner and purchased his freedom at the age of 60 in 1770. In 1779, he purchased a slave named Violet and married her the next day.

In 1781, he and Violet moved from Woburn to Jaffrey and established a tannery on a stream at the foot of a hill on the south side of “the road to the meeting house,” now known as Mountain Road or Rte. 124. The land Fortune settled on was set aside for the minister of the Congregational church organized in 1780, which met at the Meeting- house, erected in 1775. In 1782, Rev. Laban Ainsworth was called to be the first minister. Fortune remained on the property and the two men became friends.

At the age of 79, Fortune purchased 25 acres on Tyler Brook for 45 pounds. The house and barn he built are still standing in their original location on the road known now as Amos Fortune Road. He became a full member of First Church, helped found the first library in Jaffrey in 1789, the Jaffrey Social Library, and left money in his will for the First Church and the Town.

Amos Fortune sign from the Melville Academy Museum exhibit.