Robert Purvis 

 

Robert Purvis came to Philadelphia in 1819 as a child. Philadelphia was intended to be a temporary home; his parents, a wealthy couple, were planning on moving the family to England.  His mother was biracial, and his maternal grandmother had been captured in Morocco and sold into slavery in the US. 

His parents abhorred slavery and the family was deeply involved in the abolition movement.  Robert and his two brothers attended the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society's Clarkson School for grammar school.  The family were frequent guests at the home of abolitionist, James Forten.

When Robert was sixteen, his father died leaving the family a great deal of wealth. Robert spent time at Amherst Academy, but returned to Philadelphia in the mid-1820s.  Using some of the wealth left by his father, as well as other resources, Robert began buying and selling real estate, parlaying the inheritance into even greater wealth.   

He married Harriet Forten, shortly after his return in 1832.