Robert Purvis | |
|---|---|
 Purvis c.1840–1849 | |
| Born | August 4, 1810 |
| Died | April 15, 1898 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | American- Moroccan |
| Known for | Abolitionist, Underground Railroad |
| Spouse(s) | Harriet Forten Purvis Tracy Townsend |
| Children | 8, including Harriet Purvis, Jr., Charles Burleigh Purvis |
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Robert Purvis (August 4, 1810 – April 15, 1898) was an American abolitionist in the United States. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and was likely educated at Amherst Academy, a secondary school in Amherst, Massachusetts. He spent most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1833 he helped found the American Anti-Slavery Society and the Library Company of Colored People. From 1845 to 1850 he served as president of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society and also traveled to Britain to gain support for the movement.
Of mixed race, Purvis and his brothers were three-quarters European by ancestry and inherited considerable wealth from their native British father after his death in 1826. Purvis's parents had lived in a common law marriage, prevented from marrying because his mother was a mixed race free woman of color, of Sub-saharan African, Jewish, and Moroccan descent. The sons chose to identify with the black community and used their education and wealth to support abolition of slavery and anti-slavery activities, as well as projects in education to help the advance of African Americans.