Mufflin Gibbs
Mufflin Wistar Gibbs, born in Philadelphia April 12, 1823, worked with Frederick Douglass as an abolitionist lecturer throughout the East Coast. In 1849, Gibbs came to San Francisco and worked as boot-blacker (shoe shine stand business). In the1850s, Gibbs started a clothing business in the San Francisco with Peter Lester a fellow Philadelphian. In 1855, Gibbs was co-founder of San Francisco’s first black newspaper: the Mirror of the Times. This newspaper lasted from 1855-1857. The Mirror of the Times spurned two successful newspapers that followed five years later and lasted through the end of the century. In 1858, Mifflin Gibbs left San Francisco because of the growing racial prejudice towards African Americans. He lead the migration of 200 other black families from San Francisco to Victoria BC. In Victoria BC, Gibbs became a very successful and wealthy coal shipper. Later, he returned to the United States and lived in Little Rock Arkansas where he became a judge and a US Consul to Madagascar. He retired in Little Rock and lived there until July 11, 1915 (Lapp). (“California Historical Society, FN10675/CHS2011.516.tif”)