Here’s the remarkable story of Abraham Losford, my favorite Howell resident of all time. He was a fugitive slave who became the most beloved barber in Howell and brought out the best in all the people in his new hometown.
Much of the information for this story comes from his obituary, which was printed in the Livingston Republican on June 2, 1897. That newspaper later became the Livingston County Press, and several decades later, I became the editor of it.
Abe was born into slavery in Kentucky in 1820, and when he was 29 years old, he was sold to a slave owner in another state. As he boarded the boat on the Ohio River that was going to take him away, Abe decided it was time to escape. He hopped off the boat, grabbed a skiff and rowed to the Indiana side of the river, where he hid in some thick brush while they searched for him.
The next day, he snuck back across the river to Kentucky to say goodbye to his wife and two small children. He was captured, though, and put on a horse with a rider on each side of him to make sure he wouldn’t escape again. They were going to take him back to the boat to take him to his new owner.
These people had no idea what a badass Abraham Losford was.
As the horses started to go from a trot to a gallop, Abe hopped off his horse and ran into the thick woods nearby. The two other guys took off after him, but Abe was too fast and too clever for them.
He found another way across the river to Indiana and started making his way through the woods. Even though Indiana was a free state, he was a fugitive slave, so if they caught him, he’d have to go back.
Abe spent seven weeks hiding and hiking through the woods and eventually came out near Goshen. He somehow heard that the slave catchers were still after him, so he decided to head into Canada.
In 1854, he made his way back to the States and into Detroit, and eventually found himself on a stagecoach heading across the state. Abe had become a barber and he had his barber chair on top of the stagecoach. When he got to Howell, a local guy named George Wilbur saw the barber chair, met Abe, and said, “You know, this town could use a barber.”
Abe Losford at age 34 thus became the first African-American resident of Howell, Michigan. For the next 43 years, this was his home, and from the looks of things in the newspaper, he became one of the most colorful and beloved people in town. His barbershop was on the second floor of a building at the main intersection in town, Grand River Avenue and Michigan Avenue.
He picked up the nickname “Old Uncle Abe” and the Livingston Republican is filled with stories about him.
And here’s the heartwarming part of the story. In 1850, Congress had passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which required any Northern state to detain and turn over any fugitive slave – like Abe Losford.
So when he came to Howell in 1854, this was still the law of the land. According to Abe’s 1897 obituary, this is what happened next: “On the passage of the Fugitive Slave law, Losford feared it would be necessary for him to again go to Canada, but on being assured that the people of Howell would do nothing to enforce the law, he remained here.”
Way to go, Howell.
That was the same year that the Republican Party was formed in Jackson, and Abe was such a fan of its abolitionist roots that he became a diehard Republican.
When the Civil War ended in 1865, Abe went back to Kentucky to search for his wife and children.
He discovered that his wife had died but he found his children, Ben and Sally, and brought them back to Michigan with him. Like his dad, Ben eventually became a barber and moved to Edmore. Sally married and remained in Howell for the rest of her life.
In 1873, Old Uncle Abe discovered that his nephew, a former slave named Charley Straws, was looking for a place to live. Abe brought him to Livingston County and Charley settled in Fowlerville, where he became the town barber there. When Charley died in 1899, his obituary said, “We think it may be safety said there is not a man in Livingston County who had more friends than Charley Straws.”
The only one who could rival him in that department was Old Uncle Abe himself. When Abe died in 1897 at age 77, his funeral was held at the First Baptist Church in Howell, and damn near everybody in town was in attendance.
The Livingston Republican summed up his legacy thusly: “The death of Mr. Losford removes one of the links that binds the past to the present. He was a distinct and conspicuous character in the community. His presence, as well as his open, manly character, was a living reminder of the sin of slavery. Many winters will come and go before the name of ‘Old Uncle Abe’ is forgotten in the community.”
Many winters have indeed come and gone, and I can promise you that you haven’t been forgotten in your community, Abe. Here’s to Howell and here’s to you.
