Zipporah Potter Atkin was born in Colonial Boston to enslaved parents. In Massachusetts of the mid-1600s, children of slaves were considered free upon birth, though it is unknown how she remained free throughout her life.
By 1670, Atkins had inherited money from her father, which he received from his former owner, Captain Robert Keayne. At 25, she used her capital to purchase property in the North End neighborhood of Boston, today part of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, making history as the first recorded black person to own land in what will become the United States of America. While it is impressive on its own, what makes it even more extraordinary, is that Atkins was a single woman when purchasing the land. In addition, the full ownership of the property remained hers after she got married, at a time when men had control over their wives.
In 1693, Atkins sold part of her land for 100 pounds, and after six years, she sold the rest of it for 25 pounds. She signed the deed with her initials, which indicates that she knew how to read and write at a time when most black people in colonial America were illiterate.
Atkins’ story was discovered in 2009 by Dr. Vivian Johnson, who found Atkins’s deed to the house and a 1676 map that indicated the location of her property. Though Johnson’s research has revealed many of Atkins’ unprecedented achievements, there are still many unknown details.
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