Civil War  |  Historic Site

George Teamoh

Virginia

600 Green St
Portsmouth, VA 23704
United States

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Portrait of George Teamoh (1817-after 1887); born a slave, worked as the Norfolk Navy Yard and other military installations. Teamoh wrote his autobiography and served in the Virginia legislature during the Reconstruction era.
Portrait of George Teamoh (1817-after 1887); born a slave, worked at the Norfolk Navy Yard and other military installations. Teamoh wrote his autobiography and served in the Virginia legislature during the Reconstruction era. Library of Congress

A member of the Constitutional Convention of 1867 and the Senate of Virginia from 1869 until 1871, George Teamoh was born enslaved in Portsmouth where he spent most of his early life. A skilled laborer, he served as a ship’s carpenter and caulker in the Tidewater area. After his family was sold away from him, he escaped from slavery in 1853 by jumping ship in New York while hired out on a mercantile voyage. He resided in Massachusetts until the end of the Civil War when he returned to Portsmouth and became an important community leader. Teamoh died sometime after 1883.

Marker: Q-8-x, Virginia Department of Historic Resources (2012)

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Portsmouth, VA
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