On this day in 1850

May 3,1850Shadrach Minkins, right, worked at the Cornhill Coffee House and Tavern, believed to have been located in the highlighted area. Credit: Courtesy of National Park ServiceShadrach Minkins, already separated from his family, escaped from the Norfolk, Virginia, home, where he was enslaved. He made his way to Boston, where he did odd jobs until he began working as a waiter at Taft’s Cornhill Coffee House. Months later, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which gave authoriti