The son of Ona and Betsey (Boyden) Kelton.
Fernando was a merchant from Vermont who rose to prominence in Columbus as a drygoods wholesaler. He and his wife, Sophia Langdon Stone Kelton, built the Kelton House on Town Street in 1852.
The Keltons were fervent abolitionists who used their home as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Fernando was so respected for his abolitionist work that he was selected to be a pallbearer at the funeral procession of Abraham Lincoln when Lincoln's remains were brought to Columbus on their way to Illinois for burial. The Keltons' eldest son Oscar joined the 95th Ohio Infantry, Company A in 1862 to fight against slavery. He rose to the rank of First Lieutenant before getting killed in the Battle of Brice's Crossroads on June 10, 1864, in Mississippi. After the war, Fernando traveled to Mississippi and brought back Oscar's body for burial at Green Lawn Cemetery. On his way back, Fernando had an accident that ultimately led to his death on May 11, 1866.
In 1864, Sophia Kelton found Martha and Pearl Hartway, who had escaped slavery in Virginia, hiding in the shrubbery at the Kelton home. Sophia took the girls in and gave them temporary refuge. Because of Ohio's Black Laws and the threat of slavecatchers, both girls wanted to continue north to freedom in Canada, but Martha was too ill to travel and so she stayed in the Kelton home. Martha was raised and educated as one of the family for the next 10 years until her marriage to Thomas Lawrence in 1874, a free black carpenter from Cadiz, Ohio, who worked for Fernando Kelton and whose work can still be seen in the Kelton House.
Fernando was a merchant from Vermont who rose to prominence in Columbus as a drygoods wholesaler. He and his wife, Sophia Langdon Stone Kelton, built the Kelton House on Town Street in 1852.
The Keltons were fervent abolitionists who used their home as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Fernando was so respected for his abolitionist work that he was selected to be a pallbearer at the funeral procession of Abraham Lincoln when Lincoln's remains were brought to Columbus on their way to Illinois for burial. The Keltons' eldest son Oscar joined the 95th Ohio Infantry, Company A in 1862 to fight against slavery. He rose to the rank of First Lieutenant before getting killed in the Battle of Brice's Crossroads on June 10, 1864, in Mississippi. After the war, Fernando traveled to Mississippi and brought back Oscar's body for burial at Green Lawn Cemetery. On his way back, Fernando had an accident that ultimately led to his death on May 11, 1866.
In 1864, Sophia Kelton found Martha and Pearl Hartway, who had escaped slavery in Virginia, hiding in the shrubbery at the Kelton home. Sophia took the girls in and gave them temporary refuge. Because of Ohio's Black Laws and the threat of slavecatchers, both girls wanted to continue north to freedom in Canada, but Martha was too ill to travel and so she stayed in the Kelton home. Martha was raised and educated as one of the family for the next 10 years until her marriage to Thomas Lawrence in 1874, a free black carpenter from Cadiz, Ohio, who worked for Fernando Kelton and whose work can still be seen in the Kelton House.
The son of Ona and Betsey (Boyden) Kelton.
Fernando was a merchant from Vermont who rose to prominence in Columbus as a drygoods wholesaler. He and his wife, Sophia Langdon Stone Kelton, built the Kelton House on Town Street in 1852.
The Keltons were fervent abolitionists who used their home as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Fernando was so respected for his abolitionist work that he was selected to be a pallbearer at the funeral procession of Abraham Lincoln when Lincoln's remains were brought to Columbus on their way to Illinois for burial. The Keltons' eldest son Oscar joined the 95th Ohio Infantry, Company A in 1862 to fight against slavery. He rose to the rank of First Lieutenant before getting killed in the Battle of Brice's Crossroads on June 10, 1864, in Mississippi. After the war, Fernando traveled to Mississippi and brought back Oscar's body for burial at Green Lawn Cemetery. On his way back, Fernando had an accident that ultimately led to his death on May 11, 1866.
In 1864, Sophia Kelton found Martha and Pearl Hartway, who had escaped slavery in Virginia, hiding in the shrubbery at the Kelton home. Sophia took the girls in and gave them temporary refuge. Because of Ohio's Black Laws and the threat of slavecatchers, both girls wanted to continue north to freedom in Canada, but Martha was too ill to travel and so she stayed in the Kelton home. Martha was raised and educated as one of the family for the next 10 years until her marriage to Thomas Lawrence in 1874, a free black carpenter from Cadiz, Ohio, who worked for Fernando Kelton and whose work can still be seen in the Kelton House.
Fernando was a merchant from Vermont who rose to prominence in Columbus as a drygoods wholesaler. He and his wife, Sophia Langdon Stone Kelton, built the Kelton House on Town Street in 1852.
The Keltons were fervent abolitionists who used their home as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Fernando was so respected for his abolitionist work that he was selected to be a pallbearer at the funeral procession of Abraham Lincoln when Lincoln's remains were brought to Columbus on their way to Illinois for burial. The Keltons' eldest son Oscar joined the 95th Ohio Infantry, Company A in 1862 to fight against slavery. He rose to the rank of First Lieutenant before getting killed in the Battle of Brice's Crossroads on June 10, 1864, in Mississippi. After the war, Fernando traveled to Mississippi and brought back Oscar's body for burial at Green Lawn Cemetery. On his way back, Fernando had an accident that ultimately led to his death on May 11, 1866.
In 1864, Sophia Kelton found Martha and Pearl Hartway, who had escaped slavery in Virginia, hiding in the shrubbery at the Kelton home. Sophia took the girls in and gave them temporary refuge. Because of Ohio's Black Laws and the threat of slavecatchers, both girls wanted to continue north to freedom in Canada, but Martha was too ill to travel and so she stayed in the Kelton home. Martha was raised and educated as one of the family for the next 10 years until her marriage to Thomas Lawrence in 1874, a free black carpenter from Cadiz, Ohio, who worked for Fernando Kelton and whose work can still be seen in the Kelton House.
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