Portal:Indiana/Selected biography/26

Levi Coffin (October 28, 1798–September 16, 1877) was an American Quaker, abolitionist, and businessman. Coffin was deeply involved in the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio and his home is often called "Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad". He was nicknamed "President of the Underground Railroad" because of the thousands of slaves that are reported to have passed through his care while escaping their masters. Coffin was a local business leader who was a director of the Bank of Indiana, a merchant, and farmer. His position in the community allowed him to provide much of the funds necessary to supply food, clothing, and transportation for the Underground Railroad operations in his region. After slavery was abolished following the American Civil War, Coffin traveled across the Midwestern United States and abroad to France and Great Britain where he was instrumental in forming aid societies to provide food, clothing, funds, and education to the freed slaves.