Significance

The Hamilton White house represents those wealthy European American Syracusans who worked behind the scenes to support benevolent causes relating to African American life but who did not take an active stand against slavery until the 1850s.

Biography

Brother of Horace White, one of the major businessmen affiliated with the Syracuse and Utica Railroad, Hamilton White gave money to the AME Zion Sunday School and to the Syracuse Orphan Asylum.

Not until the 1850s, however, did he take a public stand about slavery. In 1854, along with several hundred local citizens, Hamilton White signed a call to appoint delegates to a state-wide convention to oppose the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which would allow the extension of slavery into the territories. (Standard, July 31, 1854)

Site

Built in 1842, this Greek Revival mansion is the sole survivor of many outstanding homes that once stood around Fayette Park. Frederick Douglass spoke in Fayette Park in front of the home of Stephen Smith in 1847.

Further research

Further research might reveal more of Hamilton White's connections to abolitionism. His brother, Horace, probably gave free passes on the railroad to freedom seekers, and other railroad investors (John Wilkinson, Charles B. Sedgwick, and George Barnes) were active supporters of the underground railroad. Did White share their views.

Bibliography

Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency. Onondaga Landmarks: A Survey

of Historic and Architectural Sites in Syracuse and Onondaga County. .Syracuse: Cultural Resources Council of Syracuse and Onondaga County, 1975.

Files at Onondaga Historical Association.