Peter Mills (October 26, 1861 – September 22, 1972) was the last known verified surviving American man born into legal slavery: he died in 1972 aged 110.[1]
Mills was born in Prince George's County, Maryland on October 26, 1861. After the Civil War, he worked on his father's farm every day during the week before leaving to work in Baltimore and Washington, DC where he dug sewers, was a bricklayer and plasterer and played baseball in his spare time. Mills eventually moved to Pittsburgh after first visiting in 1881. Mills died after a pedestrian accident in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 22, 1972. He outlived his five wives.[2][3][4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Smith, Michael (16 July 2021). "Local voices: When did American slavery really end?". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
- ^ Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 23 Sep 1972, Sat., p. 5
- ^ "Aged Negro 110, Ex-Slave Died Free," The Indiana Gazette (Indiana, Pennsylvania), 25 Sep 1972, Mon, Page 19
- ^ "The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2021-05-02 – via Google News.