Southwest corner of East Larned and Beaubien Streets

Detroit, MI 48226

Public Access: Yes

State Register Date: April 4, 1975

State Marker Erected: August 28, 1975

George De Baptiste - a long-time Mason and one of Detroit's most active and impassioned African American community leaders - lived at this site during the 1850s and 1860s. Born in Virginia about 1815, he moved to Madison, Indiana, in 1838 and became involved in the Underground Railroad. Forced to leave because of his antislavery activities, De Baptiste became the personal valet of General William Henry Harrison, whom he accompanied to the White House as a steward. In 1846, De Baptiste came to Detroit and conducted several successful businesses. At the same time, he served as a delegate to the Cleveland National Convention of Colored Citizens, and as an agent for the Freedman's Aid Commission. During the Civil War, he was an organizer of Michigan's Colored Regiment. De Baptiste died in 1875."

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