Pedro Tovookan Parris papers

Historical/Biographical Note

Historical/Biographical Note

Pedro Tovookan Parris was an enslaved person born in 1833 on the eastern Africa, likely in Tanzania or Mozambique. He was enslaved at about ten years of age by a neighboring nation and was ultimately sold to a Portuguese enslaver in Zanzibar before being transported to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the Porpoise, a United States brig captained by Cyrus Libby of Scarborough, Maine. At this time, it had long been illegal for United States citizens to engage in the slave trade. Upon arrival in Rio de Janeiro, Captain Libby was arrested for violating the slave trade laws of the United States.

Parris and two other enslaved men were taken into custody and transported to Boston, Massachusetts, by George William Gordon, the United States consul to Brazil at the time, to testify at Libby's trial. These men were kept in custody until Libby's acquittal in 1846. Following the trial, Parris lived with the family of United States Marshall Virgil D. Parris, whom he had met during the trial, in Paris, Maine. While living with the Parris family, Parris learned to read and write, the basics of mathematics, and practiced public speaking and art. He was also solicited to campaign for George William Gordon during his unsuccessful 1856 gubernatorial campaign. He lived with the Parris family until he died of pneumonia on April 10, 1860.