Tribute to Dr. John B.Estlin by William Wells Brown

“The last arrival from Europe brings the sad intelligence of the death of Dr. John B. Estlin, of Bristol, England.   For many years, Dr. Estlin has been one of the most earnest, self-sacrificing and devoted friends of the American slave in Great Britain. Though not possessed of a large fortune, he was, nevertheless, liberal in his donations to the Anti-Slavery cause. His sympathy was not confined to the Negro, but was shared by the needy of all countries and every color…. When informed that William and Ellen Craft had arrived in England after their interesting escape from the American slave-catchers, he said in a note to the writer of this, ‘If the Crafts do not find ready friends where they are, send them to Bristol, and I will keep them at my expense, until some provison is made for them.’ …Beside Crafts, many other American fugitive slaves are indebted to him for assistance in this direction….Besides having published several works against slavery, he has, for the past three years, been the chief support of a newspaper published in London, devoted to the dissemination of the principles of American abolitionists…..”   Signed W.W. B.      ( Liberator, July 6, 1855, pg 2)