James H. Birch (slave trader)

Common card · No. 221989

James H. Birch (October 3, 1803 – December 20, 1870) was an American slave trader in the District of Columbia. He was most active as a trader in the 1830s and 1840s and was infamously involved in the imprisonment of Dorcas Allen and Solomon Northup. He later became involved in municipal maintenance governance, and the Washington city watch, and was involved in running Potomac-region hotels and resorts. He died at his home "on the Island" (possibly Mason's Island) at age 67 in 1870 and is buried at the Congressional Cemetery.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Birch, Public domain