Elijah Fish was a pioneer settler of Birmingham who held strong abolitionist views and who founded (and became Deacon of) Birmingham’s First Presbyterian Church. He supported the abolitionist movement from early on, co-founding the Oakland County Anti-Slavery and Discussion Society in 1836 with fellow abolitionists George Wisner of Pontiac and Nathan Power of Farmington. Fish brought anti-slavery lecturers to Birmingham, provided funds and supplies to the UGRR, and worked with Black abolitionist Henry Bibb to purchase property in Ontario for resettlement of freedom seekers. His burial site at Greenwood Cemetery in Birmingham is listed on the UGRR Network to Freedom.
For More Information
Casaceli, Donna. “Birmingham’s Connection to the Underground Railroad: Deacon Elijah Staunton Fish—Abolitionist,” Birmingham Museum, 2021. Biography of Elijah Fish with images of news clippings of his abolitionist activities during the 1830s-1850s. Complete bibliography.
Elijah Fish and the Underground Railroad article by Donna Casaceli, Birmingham Museum
Acknowledgements
Primary research on Elijah Staunton Fish contributed by:
Donna Casaceli, Birmingham Museum