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Thursday, September 22, 2016

"Augustus-Washington" {September 21 1820-June 7,1875}

He was an African American abolitionist and photographer specializing as Daguerretotypist.

From Trenton,New Jersey he was the son of a former slave and a woman of South Asian decent.His mama died when he was a young a step mama,also a former slave raised him.Augustus struggled to obtain schooling,first in Trenton and later at Oneida Institute in Whitesboro,
New York,Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire,and Dartmouth College.In 1843,he moved to Hartford and opened a daguerrean studio to help finance his education.Finishing school in 1847,he returned to Hartford;opens a a studio for a short period of time.During this time many of his portraits were of political and social figures of the era and reflect his sentiment about slavery.

In 1851 he expressed pessimism about prospects of African Americans in American society in a letter to New York Tribune.In 1853 he immigrated to Liberia to work as a schoolteacher,farmer stone operator
and Dagurretotypist.One year later,Augustus he expressed enthusiasm about his adopted land in a letter,stating that,I believe that I shall do a thousand times more good for Africa." The last reference to Augustus work as a Daguerretypist dates from 1858.

He never regretted his decision to immigrate to Liberia,and when he died in Monrovia.His death was mourned as a "severe loss to Western Africa."

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