Martin Robison Delany M. D. (abt. 1812 - 1885)

Born about 6 May 1812 in Charles Town, Jefferson, Virginia, United States

Husband of Catherine A. (Richards) Delany — married 1843 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died 24 Jan 1885 at about age 72 in Greene, Ohio, United States

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Biography

Martin Delany M. D. was a Freemason and a member of Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio.

Major Martin Delany M. D. served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: 25 Jun 1865
Mustered out: 5 Feb 1866
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 104th Regiment, US Colored Infantry

Martin Delany M. D. is Notable.

Martin Robison Delany was born in 1812 in Charles Town^[1], Virginia (now: West Virginia) to Samuel and Patti Delaney.

He was an African-American abolitionist, journalist, physician, ^[2] soldier, and writer. He was one of the first three African-Americans admitted to Harvard Medical School. All three were dismissed after only a few weeks due to protests by white students. Major Delany fought for the Union in the Civil War, and recruited for the first regiment in the United States to enlist men of color during that war: the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry.^{[3] [4]}

Catherine was united in marriage to a rising young physician, Dr. Martin R. Delany. His parents were pure Africans, coming directly from the South Coast to the state of Pennsylvania.

Catherine linked her life with a man who was destined to be a noted character in race history. During the great epidemic of black, Asiatic Cholera in Pittsburgh, while hundreds died from the scourge, Dr. Delany did not lose a single patient.

As a physician and ethnologist he spent a year on an exploring expedition in the interior of Africa with Mr. Robert Douglas and Prof. Robert Campbell of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On his return to England he was accorded high honor by Lord Brougham and other noted men and women of the nobility.

As a tribute and token of esteem, a social organization, composed of English and Scotch members, and an adjunct of the Royal Geographical Society, presented Dr. Delany with a handsome jeweled sword and a Field Marshal's uniform for his activities and research in Central Africa.^[5]

At the close of the Civil War he was made a Major, the first Negro to be thus breveted.

The couple lived in Pittsburgh until after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed and was actuated by the infamous Dred Scott decision which followed in its wake to leave this place. Hence in 1856 they moved to Chatham, Ontario.

At the time of the 1861 Census of Canada East, Canada West, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Martin R, Kate A, T L O, C L R, A D, St C, and F S Delany were listed as living in Chatham, Canada West^[6]. At the time of the census, Martin's occupation was listed as "Physician".

Again in 1864 they moved to Wilberforce University, Ohio, where they could educate their children and where they spent the remaining years of their lives.^[7]

Children

• Toussaint L'Ouverture Delany
• Charles Lenox Remond Delany
• Alexandre Dumas Delany
• Saint Cyprian Delany
• Faustin Soulouque Delany
• Placido Rameses Delany
• Hallie Amelia Ethiopia Delany
• four who died in infancy

The male children were educated at Wilberforce University in 1868; their residence was Chatham, Canada West^[8]

Wikidata: Item Q1046980

Occupations

• 1870: Farmer
• 1850: Leecher and cupper

Residences

• 1850: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife, children, Elizabeth Smith and Elizabeth Emith

Military Service

He recruited for the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, and also served with the 104th United States Colored Troops (USCT) during the American Civil War, rising to the rank of Major.

Sources

1. ↑ West Virginia Archives and History
2. ↑ 1880 US Federal Census
3. ↑ National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, online. National Park Service. U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
4. ↑ National Archives
5. ↑ Brown, Page 91
6. ↑ Census of Canada East, Canada West, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 1861, Canada West (Ontario), Kent, Town of Chatham, page 45, Martin R Delany; RG31 - Statistics Canada, roll C-1038-1039 (https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1861/Pages/item.aspx?itemid=1622478 : Accessed May 11, 2020).
7. ↑ Brown, Hallie Q. compiler and editor. Homespun Heroines and Other Women of Distinction [electronic edition], Xenia, Ohio: The Aldine Publishing Company, 2000. © This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text. http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/brownhal/brownhal.html
8. ↑ Educational Institutions. American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Catalogs, 1765-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Catalogs, 1765-1935 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

• "1850 United States Census," database with images, FamilySearch - account required : 12 April 2016, Martin R Delany, Pittsburgh, ward 6, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States; citing family 3232, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1850; Census Place: Pittsburgh Ward 6, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Roll: M432_746; Page: 389B; Image: 265

  Martin R Delany 38 leecher/cupper born VA

  Catharine Delany 28 born PA

  Leovature Delany 3 born PA

  Charles Delany 9/12 born PA

• 1861 Census of Canada, Chatham, Kent, Canada West "Census returns for 1861." LAC microfilm C-999 to C-1007, C-1010 to C-1093, C-1095 to C-1108, C-1232 to C-1331, M-1165 to M-1166, M-1168 to M-1171, M-556, M-874 to M-878, M-880 to M-886, M-896 to M-900. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.Census of Nova Scotia, 1861. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada: Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM): Nova Scotia Board of Statistics, 1861. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1861 Census of Canada [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009. Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Census Returns For 1861; Roll: C-1038-1039.
• "1870 United States Census," database with images, FamilySearch - account required : 12 April 2016, Martin Delana, Ohio, United States; citing p. 12, family 85, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 552,704.; 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Year: 1870; Census Place: Xenia, Greene, Ohio; Roll: M593_1205; Page: 254B; Family History Library Film: 552704.

  Name: Martin Delana

  Age in 1870: 58

  Birthplace: Virginia

  Dwelling Number: 84

  Home in 1870: Xenia, Greene, Ohio

  Race: Black

  Gender: Male

  Occupation: Farmer

  Male Citizen Over 21: Y

  Real Estate Value: 600

  Household Members:

  Martin Delana 58

  Catharine Delana 48

  Santo Delana 25

  Lenox Delana 20

  Alaxender Delana 16

  Samuel Delana 14

  Salute Delana 12

  Placito Delana 8

  Hallie Delana 6

• 1880 Tenth Census of the United States. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Year: 1880; Census Place: Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina; Roll: 1221; Page: 31B; Enumeration District: 053.
• Brown, Hallie Quinn. Homespun Heroines and Other Women of Distinction. Oxford University Press, 1988. [1]
• The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography. Edited by John S. Bowman. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1995. (CamDcAB)
• Card Records of Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, ca. 1879-ca. 1903; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1845, 22 rolls); Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92; National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com. Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, 1861-1904 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Card Records of Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, ca. 1879-ca. 1903; NAI Number: 616171; Record Group: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General; Record Group Number: 92; Series Number: M1845; Roll: 5.
• Civil Rights in the United States. Two volumes. Edited by Waldo E. Martin, Jr. and Patricia Sullivan. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. (CivRUS)
• Dictionary of American Medical Biography. Two volumes. Edited by Martin Kaufman, Stuart Galishoff, and Todd L. Savitt. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1984. (DcAmMeB)
• The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers. Four volumes. Edited by John R. Shook. Bristol, England: Thoemmes Continuum, 2005. (DcMAP)
• Encyclopedia of American Biography. Edited by John A. Garraty. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1974. (EncAB-H 1974)
• Encyclopedia of American Biography. Edited by John A. Garraty and Jerome L. Sternstein. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. (EncAB-H 1996)
• Encyclopedia of American Social Movements. Four volumes. Edited by Immanuel Ness. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 2004. Use the Biographical Index to locate biographies.(EncASoM) Biography contains portrait.
• Gates Jr., Henry Louis and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (editors). African American Lives. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. (AfrAmL) Biography contains portrait.
• In Black and White. A guide to magazine articles, newspaper articles, and books concerning Black individuals and groups. Third edition. Two volumes. Edited by Mary Mace Spradling. Detroit: Gale Research, 1980. (InB&W 3)
• In Black and White. A guide to magazine articles, newspaper articles, and books concerning Black individuals and groups. Third edition, Supplement. Edited by Mary Mace Spradling. Detroit: Gale Research, 1985. (InB&W 3S)
• Magill, Frank N. (editor.) Cyclopedia of World Authors. Third edition. Five volumes. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, 1997. (CyWA 3) Biography contains portrait.
• "Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6X6-JZP : 9 March 2018), M. R. Delany, 29 Jan 1885; citing Death, Xenia, Xenia City, Greene, Ohio, United States, source ID v 2 p 31, County courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 534,104.
• Reef, Catherine. African Americans in the Military. A to Z of African Americans. New York: Facts on File, 2004. (AfrAmM) Biography contains portrait.
• Rummel, Jack. African American Social Leaders and Activists. A to Z of African Americans. New York: Facts On File, 2003. (AfrAmSLA) Biography contains portrait.
• Southern, Eileen. Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982. (BiDAfM)
• West Virginia Archives and History. "Martin Delany."
• Whitman, Alden (editor.) American Reformers. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1985. (AmRef) Biography contains portrait.
• Wikipedia contributors. "Martin Delany." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 16 Jan. 2018. Web. 17 Jan. 2018.
• "Find a Grave," database with images, (Find A Grave: Memorial #12629 : accessed 5 October 2022), Memorial page for MAJ Martin Robison Delany Famous memorial (6 May 1812-24 Jan 1885), citing Massies Creek Cemetery, Cedarville, Greene County, Ohio, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Christy Perry Tuohey for providing a source for his birthplace of Charles Town, Jefferson County, Virginia (now West Virginia.)