A Philadelphia community leader, abolitionists, and an education and civil rights activist, Burr was among the African American gentlemen who signed the broadside to recruit United States Colored Troops in Philadelphia, along with Robert Purvis, William T. Catto and William's son, Octavius. Burr was an organizer in the Underground Railroad, working in support of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. He was among the people, who raised funds for the defense of the Christiana Resistance men, who were tried for treason for not obeying the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. He is believed to be the son of Aaron Burr,...

Born free in South Carolina, Daniel came North at an early age and was initially a school teacher in Philadelphia before he left his connection with the Methodist church and joined the African Methodist Episcopal church. In 1852, he was elected AME bishop and his tenure was called the most significant since that of Richard Allen’s, the church founder. It was Payne who purchased Wilberforce College in 1863 from white Methodists and made it the first black college in the US. Payne served as its president. Daniel is recognized for his work that not only improved the...

Most well-known as a conductor on the Underground Railroad and author of his account of the Underground Railroad, "The Underground Railroad Records". Still was also a businessman, philanthropist, and life-long civil rights activist. His book, "A Brief Narrative of the Struggle for the Rights of Colored People of Philadelphia in the City Railway Cars", describes efforts to desegregate Philadelphia streetcars. As the head of the Knights of Pythian lodge, Still provided support for Catto's baseball team. His daughter, Caroline Still (1848-1919) was an early graduate of Women's Medical College and became a pioneering medical doctor, working at Tuskegee Institute....