We know very little about Mr. Kilburne, except that he was a resident of New Haven,
born somewhere in the South during the 1770s, and that he appeared at a meeting of
Mexico Anti-Slavery Society in August 1836 to tell his story. He was, reported the
minutes of the meeting, "a man venerable for his years and his character. . . . He
confessed that for sixty years he had indulged towards the colored man a cruel
prejudice and dislike. He attributed the fact to the influence of slavery, in the midst of
which he spent his childhood. `But about two years since,' said he, `a colored man
called at my door, on Saturday evening, and requested permission to tarry in my house
over the Sabbath. I gave him place, and before he left had occasion to bless God for
this. . . .refreshing interview with a christian brother. I found my dislike was wicked
prejudice. Friends, I have none of it now."

Source:

Friend of Man, August 18, 1836.

Kilburne
Wellman
10/98