STAMP OF APPROVAL
Levi and Catharine Coffin Receive National Honors
Often, the stories important to Indiana are also stories that resonate beyond our state’s borders.
A great example of that is the story of Levi and Catharine Coffin, which has gained national attention thanks, in part, to two distinct honors: a new national postage stamp, and an induction into the National Abolition Hall of Fame Museum.
The Coffins, who operated in both Indiana and Ohio, are credited with helping more than 1,000 people escape the horrors of slavery. Their home which is now the Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site in Fountain City served as a crucial stop on the Underground Railroad, providing shelter, food and guidance for freedom-seekers.
In name only, the Underground Railroad started as a loosely organized secret network of courageous and imaginative freedom-seekers, and the brave operatives who assisted them. The network coalesced into a well-organized system as it responded to the large numbers of freedom-seekers and a corresponding rise in attempts to thwart escapes.
Most of the people who assisted the freedom-seekers remained anonymous, but some, like Levi and Catharine Coffin, left their mark on history through their unwavering commitment and courageous actions in the fight for freedom before and during the Civil War.
To celebrate that history, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled Catharine Coffin’s stamp along with the other new Underground Railroad stamps at a local ceremony in March at the historic site. The series, which is available in post offices nationwide, depicts 10 key figures of the Underground Railroad: Catharine Coffin, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garrett, Laura Haviland, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Jacobs, William Lambert, Rev. Jermain Loguen, William Still and Harriet Tubman.
Additionally, the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum, located in Peterboro, N.Y., will induct the Coffins this fall as part of the class of 2024. The museum is dedicated to recognizing and preserving the legacy of those who fought tirelessly to end slavery. Though the hall of fame honors several people who worked with the Coffins as part of the Underground Railroad, the couple was not previously included.
The hall of fame accepts nominations for new honorees every two years, inducting four in each class. Joanna Hahn, central regional director and site manager for the Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site, wrote the nominations for the Coffins. Hahn emphasized Levi Coffin’s autobiography, “Reminiscences,” as a primary source detailing decades of dedication as well as a list of the many contemporary accounts of those who worked alongside the Coffins in Indiana and Ohio.
The 2024 class of inductees will be recognized during a special ceremony in October. After that, the Coffins’ images and biographies will be displayed in the hall of fame alongside many who, like them, fought the battle for abolition.
The stamp and hall of fame recognitions are a testament to the lasting impact of the Coffins’ work and their enduring legacy of antislavery activism. ◆
Pictured (L-R): Joanna Hahn, central region director; Janice McGuire, volunteer; Saundra Jackson, volunteer; Mary Walker, board member.
