Pyrrhus Concer Home

Pyrrhus Concer is an important historical figure in Southampton Village. He was born into slavery and received his freedom from the Pelletreau family as a young man. He went to sea on the whaling ship Manhattan, captained by Mercator Cooper of Southampton. On Pyrrhus’s return to Southampton, he became something of a local celebrity recounting stories of the vessel’s historic stop on Japan’s coast in 1848. Captain Cooper had rescued shipwrecked Japanese sailors and, despite the well-known Japanese hostility toward foreigners, he made a detour to return the sailors to their country. When Japanese authorities boarded Cooper’s ship in the harbor and saw Concer, they were fascinated, never having seen a Black man before. Cooper’s gesture and Concer’s good-humored patience as they fussed over him charmed the Japanese, signaling a softening of relations and perhaps easing the way for Commodore Perry’s breakthrough eight years later. In his later life, Concer was a respected landowner, whose home sat at 51 Pond Lane, across the street from his business — he operated a summer ferry service on Lake Agawam, taking people to the beach. In the 1840 Federal Census there is 1 free person of color between the ages of 24 and 35 working in “navigation of the ocean” living in the home. At this time Pyrrhus would have already began his career as a whaler and would have been 26. Pyrrhus would later inherit the home from his grandfather in 1843. He lived here with his wife Rachel until her death on May 10, 1890 and his eventual death on August 23, 1897. They had two children, James and Charles, who would sadly die before reaching adulthood. A churchgoer and familiar face around the village, when he died at 84, the pews at his funeral were filled with friends and admirers. He is buried in the North End Burial Grounds with an inscription on his gravestone that reads: “Though born a slave/he possessed virtues/without which kings/are but slaves.” Pyrrhus left behind a legacy of philanthropy. Upon his death he gave his entire estate of $5,000 to various charitable organizations. With the largest sum being left here as a Christian Education Fund. For more information, visit https://www.southamptonhistory.org/post/pyrrhus-concer-an-adventurous-life