Kelton House, Columbus, OH

The Kelton House was built in Columbus in 1852 by Fernando Cortez Kelton and Sophia Stone Kelton. The Kelton’s were strong abolitionists and Fernando was chosen as a pallbearer for Lincoln’s funeral procession when it went through Columbus. The family also helped countless slaves in their escape to freedom by hiding them on their property in places such as the barn, the cistern, or in the servants quarters. The family took in a ten year old girl, Martha Hathaway, who had escaped from Virginia with her older sister. Martha’s sister continued north and into Wisconsin, but at the time that Sophia Kelton found them, Martha was too sick to continue on their journey. She lived with the Keltons for 10 years and married Thomas Lawrence in the front parlor of the house. The last living member of the Kelton family to live in the home was Fernando and Sophia’s granddaughter, Grace, who left the property to the Columbus Foundation to preserve and use for educational purposes.

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Leeann Mckenna