The Remond Family

     

John and Nancy Remond were free African Americans in the early to mid-19th century. John had come to America from Curacao in 1798 when he was ten years old. He later married Nancy Lenox.  John had studied catering and Nancy was an excellent cook and baker. They eventually began to operate a catering business out of Hamilton Hall on Chestnut Street in Salem. They soon became famous for their amazing culinary feats. 

    In addition to their successful business, the Remonds became active in the causes of abolition, women’s suffrage and school desegregation in Salem.

Sarah Parker Remond was the daughter of John and Nancy.  In 1835, when Sarah and her sister passed the entry exam for Salem High School, the school committee forced them to leave the school. Her father John campaigned to desegregate the Salem schools. In 1841 he succeeded, and the family returned to Salem.

         It probably helped that in the 1840s Salem was a center of the abolitionist movement, despite the policies of the school committee. In 1856 Sarah and

her brother Charles joined a team of lecturers, which included Susan B. Anthony, to tour New York State speaking about anti-slavery issues.