ABSTRACT
Born into enslavement but having a public career that included meeting with two American Presidents, Edmund Kelly is not only relatively forgotten in transatlantic abolitionist history, but he remains one of the more puzzling figures in regard to his personal story. This is possibly because during his lifetime, his name was spelt in a variety of ways—variously appearing as Edmund/Edmond and Kelly/Kelley. In 1838, when still enslaved, Kelly underwent a religious conversion. He chose to follow his vocation and entered the church, just as many other prominent black abolitionists, including Samuel Ringgold Ward and Henry Highland Garnet, had done but, unlike them, he chose the Baptist Church. Although he escaped alone, Kelly had a family. In 1839, he had married Paralee Walker. In mid-1852, Kelly sailed from Boston to Liverpool, a journey taken by many black abolitionists before and after him.
