Finally finished Mr. Galloway this morning. If I am not mistaken, there is a filmmaker in Chapel Hill preparing to shoot a documentary about Abraham's short but illustrious life. For a man that was born a slave and died at the age of thirty-three, you will be amazed at what he accomplished and see why he was chosen by historians for representation in this painting.
click on image for larger view
Biography: Abraham H. Galloway's mother was a seventeen-year-old
slave, and his white father, John Wesley Galloway, was the son of a wealthy
Brunswick County planter. Marsden Milton Hankins, a railroad mechanic (skilled
artisan) and prosperous citizen of Wilmington, owned Abraham Galloway from
infancy. Galloway received training as a brick mason and was allowed to work
independently, as long as he earned enough to give his owner fifteen dollars
each month. Craving freedom, Galloway escaped from Wilmington on a ship going
north and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in June 1857. From there he
journeyed to the safety of Ontario, Canada, and became a spokesman for
abolition. He maintained close contacts with abolitionists in Massachusetts and
probably helped other fugitive slaves reach the safety of Canada. After the
outbreak of war, Galloway returned to North Carolina to work for the liberation
of African Americans.
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