Tomlinson Focus Generation: Reuben Tomlinson 1832-1908

Reuben Tomlinson 1832-1908

BEGINNINGS

Reuben was the 5th born of John and Catherine Gaulbert Tomlinson of Philadelphia according to several Quaker records which appear to list the children in age order[1], the earliest record for Reuben being April 1833. While no actual birth records have been located yet for the children, including Reuben, the year of birth is inferred from the Quaker Minutes, Census and Minnesota death index. Most Quaker records refer to birthplace as Radnor, Delaware County, adjacent to Philadelphia.  The 1860 Philadelphia Census, page 138[2] is the base record to research this family. His Mother, Catherine, is listed without her husband John, so we presume Reuben and his siblings lacked their Father for a time growing up. In 1860, six of their eleven offspring, even though young adults, were living at home. The eldest listed in the Quaker minutes were not in the 1860 family group.

MINNEAPOLIS PERIOD

In order to prove this biography and the family connection, it is necessary to jump ahead to May 30, 1894 in Minneapolis, MN. On this day, William (Jr.) the son of Reuben’s brother William was being wed to Lucy Phelps. The actual wedding commemorative booklet (pictured in an earlier blog post) contains several witness signatures, including Reuben Tomlinson. Reuben’s Minnesota death certificate of August 7, 1908[3] states his parents as John and Catherine Guillber (sic): this surname later confirmed as Gaulbert. This death record and the marriage booklet are key evidence to establishing the 1860 Tomlinson family in the Philadelphia Census, as William and Reuben’s family group. 

Additionally, Reuben and William are buried side by side at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis[4]. The Cemetery Office confirmed that Emma Tomlinson purchased the grave sites when her husband William died in 1871. She then presumably handled the burial of Reuben in 1908.

The Federal and State Census records for Minneapolis from 1880 to 1905[5] show Reuben as a long time resident of that city in his occupation as a lawyer. The 1895 Census asked how long a resident in the state and Reuben answered 17 years, hence settled there about 1878. His brother William has records in the state prior to 1870, so Reuben presumably followed. Minneapolis City Directories list Reuben as a lawyer in annual editions from 1882 to 1907[6]. Once he settled in Minnesota, he was involved in local civil society having been elected as Secretary to the “chief gentlemen’s social club in the city”, The Minneapolis Club in the 1880’s. A published history of the club lists Reuben as secretary or club treasurer from 1888 to 1908. Martindale’s American Law Directory of 1885 lists Reuben on page 221. Although Reuben had close relatives in Minneapolis during his time there, he lived by himself, with his later years residing at the Minneapolis Club. Reuben passed away 7 August 1908, of a heart attack.[7] He was buried beside his brother, with Emma Tomlinson making the arrangements. Reuben did not marry, thus no offspring.

THE ABOLITIONIST AND POLITICIAN PERIOD

During the 1860’s, Reuben worked in a clerk position according to Philadelphia City Directory dated 1861, his position was later recorded as with a bank. This occupation may have been a foundation for the law. There is a historical record of Quakers being closely involved with the Abolition movement. Reuben’s leanings in this direction were evident as early as 1859 with a reported speech to an anti-slavery fair at the Philadelphia Assembly building where John Brown’s capture in Virginia was debated.[8]

 

At some early point in his involvement with the cause, he met and became a close correspondent of James Miller McKim, the Presbyterian Minister instrumental in the passage of the Freedman’s Bureau bill by Congress in 1865. The Northern Armies captured Port Royal, South Carolina in 1861 and freed the 10,000 slaves when the plantation owners fled. The Pennsylvania Anti-slave Society participated in the social engineering experiment to educate and train the freed slaves to work the land and participate fully in the social and political life of the area. Reuben came down from Philadelphia for this effort as a school teacher and superintendent of public works from 1862 to 1865.[9]

No records have been found that show Reuben was enlisted or drafted into the military for the Civil War. There is a reference in the written history of the 54^th Massachusetts (colored regiment) that Reuben contributed food and supplies to their cause in 1863. His brother, Ezekiel was a 2^nd Lieutenant in the regiment.[10]

However there are numerous articles of the day and more recent books[11] referring to Reuben’s activities as an Abolitionist and active promoter of the Freedman’s’ Bureau attempts to assist freed slaves in their education and employment.  He was appointed Superintendent for Education for the Freedman’s Bureau, and subsequently in October 1865 as Superintendent for Schools for Charleston and neighbouring counties in South Carolina.[12] There are several records of speeches and testimony in Congress by Reuben on educational progress in South Carolina for freed slaves.  His positions in the state administration are documented from 1865 through 1875. However, by 1868 the initial growth of the black school system began to wane and actually decline as Northern funds dried up. There was some success, which was widely reported such as in a Kansas City paper September 7, 1868 quoted Reuben in his report “the astounding fact that there are 25,000 colored men and women in South Carolina today who can read a newspaper with fair understanding of its contents who two years ago did not know the alphabet”.[13]

 

Reuben is also recorded in several publications as lobbying the occupying Federal Army government to open voting for blacks, removal of segregation barriers and provide additional funds for education. By 1868, he had taken up an interest in state politics and ran for the legislature, but later that year he was appointed South Carolina State Auditor[14], and resigned his elected seat. In 1872, with disagreements with the main Republicans, he was party to forming a reform ticket within the Republicans and ran in the primaries for Governor, but lost. His name appears in a South Carolina paper where he appears to seek another office, but apparently did not have the support of Republicans or Democrats.

In January 1875, the Governor appointed Reuben as Jury Commissioner for Charleston County.[15] Reuben left the state shortly after, as there is no reference in any local paper for him after 1876. He is quoted in Boston papers in 1877 and 1878 given speeches on his experiences in the South and his continued lobbying for equal rights for ‘freedmen’. He was fighting a losing battle, as by 1875, South Carolina had passed the “Black Code’, which curtailed black freedoms. One of his letters described the failing of Rutherford Hayes administration, as failing in “its promises to protect the millions of colored people at the South in their civil and political rights” [16]

By 1880, Reuben had certainly left the South and also Pennsylvania for Minneapolis where some of his siblings resided. He had spent over 15 years serving the abolition and reconstruction efforts only to see these efforts diminished. Was he bitter, was he broken? I believe the answer is that his faith in man’s willingness to do the right thing was strong. Reuben was  true to the belief in equality for all men, as evidenced in an April 1875 lengthy letter he wrote to the Pennsylvania Society’s 100^th anniversary.[17] His conclusion in the letter:

 

APPENDIX: RESEARCH ISSUES

I am sure most research efforts turn up a contradicting fact. The 1860 Census and 1880 and later are quite consistent in describing Reuben’s age (with small variations), origins, and marital status. The 1870 Census for Charleston is an issue.[18] A Reuben is listed with occupation as State Auditor, boarding with other State Officials, but age 28 which should be 38. Is this an error of the Census scribe? Also his birth state recorded as Massachusetts, not Pennsylvania.  This information could have come from a fellow boarder and not Reuben himself. If so, not an unusual mistake, as many Northern reformers did come from New England. 

Thus I needed additional corroboration, even though I have many articles which described my 2^nd great uncle’s origins. The Freedman’s Archives contains many of Reuben’s signed school reports. I also have his signature in the 1894 wedding book of his nephew William (Jr.). These two signatures are quite similar. The one on the top is from the wedding book and on the bottom from the Freedman’s archives.

---

[1] U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935

[2] Year: 1860; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 1 Precincts 6, 7, and 9, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1151; Page: 604; Family History Library Film: 805151

[3]Minnesota, Death Index, 1908-2002

[4] Find a Grave Memorial number 12513857

[5] Minnesota, Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905

[6] U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989; Minneapolis, Minnesota, City Directory, 1882

[7]   www.newspapers.com/clip/13650482/reuben_tomlinson_obituary_1908/?xid=637

[8] The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) · Fri, Dec 16, 1859 · Page 4

[9] Rose, Willie Lee Nichols. Rehearsal for Reconstruction the Port Royal experiment. Athens: University of Georgia Press; 1999

[10] History of the 54th Regiment, 1863-1865, by Luis F. Emilio; Boston: The Boston Book Company 1891, pages 131 and 335.

[11] Seizing the New Day: African Americans in Post-Civil War Charleston, Wilbert Jenkins, Indiana U. Press 2003

[12] South Carolina Leader (Charleston, South Carolina) · Sat, Oct 7, 1865 · Page 2

[13] Wyandotte Commercial Gazette (Kansas City, Kansas) · Sat, Sep 7, 1867 · Page 1

[14] The Charleston Daily News (Charleston, South Carolina) · Fri, Nov 6, 1868 · First Edition · Page 1

[15] The Intelligencer (Anderson, South Carolina) · Thu, Jan 21, 1875 · First Edition · Page 2

[16] Rose, Willie Lee Nichols. Rehearsal for Reconstruction the Port Royal experiment. Athens: University of Georgia Press; 1999

[17] Centennial Anniversary of the Pennsylvania Society, et al. January 1876; Grant, Faires & Rogers, printers

[18] http://www.discoverfreedmen.org/