Reverend Charles Turner Torrey - Watertown, MA - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

A 10' by 2' by 2' marble monument to the Reverend Charles T. Torrey contains a medallion bronze relief portrait of the Charles T. Torrey set within a marble circle and a small bronze relief of a female slave, both created by sculptor Thomas A. Carew. The inscriptions on the sides of the monument tell the story of his martyrdom in the cause of the abolition of slavery and for personally freeing over 400 slaves via the underground railroad.

Front of monument:

"It is better to die
in prison
with the peace of God
in our breasts,
than to live in freedom
with
a polluted conscience."
Torrey's Letters, Feb. 7, 1846.

{Bronze Portrait of Rev. Torrey}

Reverend
CH'S T. TORREY.
Born at Scituate
Nov. 21, 1833.
Ordained at Providence
March 1837.
Arrested at Baltimore
June 24, 1844.
Died in the Penitentiary
of that City
May 9, 1846.
The friends of the
American Slave
erect this stone
in his memory
as a Martyr for Liberty.
·----------·
J.T. Carew

On side of the monument:

Where NOW beneath
his brethren
The toiling slave
is driven.
Where now a tyrant's mockery
is offered up
to heaven.
THERE shall his praise
be spoken,
Redeemed from falsehood's ban.
Where the fetters shall
be broken.
And the SLAVE shall
be a MAN.

{Bronze relief sculpture of a seated female slave with her hair arranged in corn rows}

On side of the monument:

CHARLES TURNER TORREY
was arrested,
for aiding slaves to
regain their Liberty
For this humane act
he was indicted as
a Criminal,
convicted by the Baltimore City Court
and sentenced to the
Penitentiary
for six years.
While on his death bed
he was refused
a pardon
by the Governor
of Maryland
and died of consumption
after two years
confinement,
a victim
of his sufferings.

Description: Torrey was born November 21, 1813, in Scituate, MA and educated at Exeter Academy, Yale University, and Andover Theological Seminary. After his ordination he he became an active worker for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. He was sent to a Baltimore prison for attempting to free slaves. He became a martyr to the cause of abolition after his death in a prison. Wikipedia list his accomplishments as: He cofounded the 1840 Liberty Party, whose sole platform was the abolition of slavery. He established in 1842 the first highly organized Underground Railroad route, running from Washington, DC, to Albany, NY. He was referred to by some at that time as the “father” of the Underground Railroad. He personally freed about 400 slaves, more than any other abolitionist. By contrast, Harriet Tubman freed about 70 slaves. Torrey took the slaves from the Washington and Baltimore region and specifically recruited slaves owned by Southern members of Congress and other high government officials. He was one of the first white abolitionists to work closely with black counterparts, staying at their homes and sharing the dangers of their task. He strongly influenced the aggressive abolitionists who followed him. John Brown, for example, cited Torrey as one of the three abolitionists he looked to as models for his own efforts Date of birth: 11/23/1833 Date of death: 06/24/1846 Area of notoriety: Historical Figure Marker Type: Monument Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daylight Hours Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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