Black Abolitionists' Activism in Lowell
Document 23

Document 23: List of Hairdressers (barbers), Lowell City Directory, 1851

This list, from the 1851 Lowell City Directory, allows us to see that six of the city’s fifteen of hairdressers (barbers) were Black men (in italics), including Nathaniel Booth who emancipated himself and settled in Lowell in 1850. Also on the list is Horatio (H.W.) Foster who was very active in the abolition movement.

Vocabulary

Wig maker: A person who creates hair pieces that cover all or parts of a person’s head

Transcript

Hairdressers

Barth Daniel W., 3 Ame’n H. bl.

Booth N., Wash. House

Brinsley Fred’k, Mid., op. depot

Brooks Wm. F., 1 Mechanics’ bl.

Foster H.W., 65 Cen. (wig maker)

Grush Joseph, S. Middlesex

Lewis & Lew, 12 Merrimac

Lewis S.A., 234 Merrimac

Moore, Edwin, 18 Merrimac

Phipps Saml., 124 Central

Proctor H.B., Merrimac House

Redford Thomas, 252 Merrimac House

Reinewald Henry, Merr. House

Rugg C.S., 31 Central

Text-Dependent Questions

What does this directory listing tell us about hairdressers and barbers in Lowell?

Discussion Questions

At least one of these men – Nathanial Booth – was formerly enslaved. What do you think accounts for the sizeable number of Black men engaged in the barbering trade?
How might this information be helpful to someone researching Black hairdressers in the nineteenth century?

Print document and transcript

CitationList of Hairdressers (barbers), Lowell City Directory, 1851.Center for Lowell History

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