Biography

James Bennet was involved in the case of Anthony Adams, a free black man from New York who was arrested for the "offense" trying to reside on North Carolina, with a letter written to William Seward about the case stating, "Our laws will not allow Northern free Negroes to reside among us." The writer urged someone to come pay his jail fees and bring him home, or he would be sold into slavery to pay those fees. Seward sent James Bennet, and the NYS legislature voted for funds to reimburse him for expenses and for his services. In a letter written to Seward by his nephew Augustus in December, 1856, Augustus tells him that Bennet is being sent to retrieve Adams, and will stop in Washington DC to tell Seward about the case and its progress person.