African educator and abolitionist, George Boyer Vashon, achieved prominence in his lifetime as a man of many firsts. George Vashon was born on July 25, 1984, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to Anne Vashon and his father, entrepreneur and abolitionist John Baton Vashon. His life unfolded into a fascinating and inspiring story of a man who attained unprecedented feats in an era of vibrant racial segregation and social injustice.
According to the African American Registry, George began his schooling in the first black school established by his father in Pittsburgh, and later attended a public school where he demonstrated exceptional language ability. He could speak five foreign languages by the age of 16, including Hebrew, Persian, Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit. He continued his study at Oberlin College Institute in Ohio, where he became an active member of the Union Society, one of Oberlin’s recognized men’s literary groups, and also displayed his teaching abilities as a teacher at a local school.
George created history in 1844 when he became the first black graduate at Oberlin College, graduating as valedictorian and then receiving a Master of Arts degree in 1849, proving that hard work and determination always lead the road for success. George studied law under Walter Forward, a judge and significant personality in Pennsylvania politics, and eventually aimed for the bar in Allegheny County, driven by a desire to affect lives as an influential black community leader like his father.
Despite his application was denied due to his skin color, he overcame the institutional and racial hurdles of his time by passing the New York bar test on January 10, 1848, becoming the first black graduate before slavery was abolished and the first black lawyer in New York.
In 1849, he moved to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and became a professor of Latin, Greek, and English while simultaneously writing for the abolitionist Fredrick Douglass’s journal, the North Star. In 1851, he relocated to Syracuse, New York, and joined the faculty of New York Central College, McGrawville. He became interested in the Underground Railroad Network as well as national conferences while there. He was influential in national debates affecting the black population and movements aimed at abolishing slavery.
Years later, in 1863, he was appointed the second black president of Avery College in Pittsburgh, and eventually worked as a lawyer at the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands in Washington, D.C. That was not his only achievement belt. He was the first professor at Howard University and was instrumental in the establishment of the law school. After leaving Howard University, he went on to become a professor of mathematics, ancient and contemporary languages, and history at Alcon College in Rodney, Mississippi.
In 1857, George married Susan Paul Smith, the granddaughter of Rev. Thomas Paul, Sr. of Boston, and they had seven children. He died on October 5, 1878, after contracting yellow fever during a fall outbreak on Alcon’s campus.