Albert Hazlett (c. 1836 – March 16, 1860; né Absalom Hazlett) was an American abolitionist, and participant in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry (October 16 to 18, 1859). He was executed on March 15, 1860, in Charles Town, Virginia, (now in West Virginia) for the crime.
Absalom Hazlett, commonly known as Albert Hazlett, was born about 1838 in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.[1] His parents were Sarah (née Miller) Hazlett, of Bedford Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania[2] and Alexander Hazlett, whose father William Hazlett lived in Bedford County, Pennsylvania before moving in 1825 to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Alexander became a stonemason and relocated with the jobs he accepted. The family was poor and many of the children had ongoing lung illnesses.
Hazlett, his wife, and 6 children lived in Center Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania in 1840.Hazlett and his family lived near the head of the dam of the Old Upper Twolick flouring mill in 1845.[3]
In 1850, Absalom (12) lived on a farm in Green Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania with his parents, an older brother Washington (16), and younger siblings Peter (10), Jeremiah (9), Henry (7), Mary (3) and Sarah (1). The family was also said in an article about Alexander and Sarah Hazlett's children to include John, William, and Jonas — listed before the younger children, except Washington, from the 1850 census. About 1850, Alexander inherited 50 acres of farm land from his sister Mary McKane. The farm was located one-half mile southeast of the Twolick Bridge off of the Ebensburg Pike. His father, Alexander, died in May 1856.
Hazlett settled in Bourbon County, Kansas after moving to the territory in 1857. He met John Brown, the abolitionist, in the territory and joined Brown's party. Hazlett served under James Montgomery (a Jayhawker during the Bleeding Kansas era), where Hazlett was a "brave and efficient" soldier. Hazlett served as an officer under John Henry Kagi in the winter of 1857–1858. With nine men, he fought with the Free State forces of Kansas and won a battle against 80 men.
He had returned to his mother's farm (after his father's death in 1856 and before John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859) to harvest her crops with her mother's neighbor James Morrow Campbell. Hazlett was summoned by a messenger and left the farm.
According to the Indiana Gazette, Hazlett participated in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. Summarizing the event, the newspaper said,
At Harpers Ferry, Virginia, Hazlett fought next to Aaron Dwight Stevens, a commander of the raid. He was later captured at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, near the Pennsylvania border and was taken to Virginia.
Hazlett was imprisoned in Charles Town, Virginia, now Charles Town, West Virginia, where he was visited by his brother from Armstrong County, Pennsylvania for several days until March 15, 1860, the day before his execution.
Hazlett and Stevens were executed at on March 16, 1860, at Charles Town.[4] According to the Evening Star, the men were sent to "that bourne from which no traveler returneth".[5] After their death, Hazlett's and Steven's bodies were taken to Harpers Ferry, Virginia where they were met by Hazlett's brother and Steven's sister and fiancé. Hazlett's intended bride, Miss Stephenson accompanied the corpse to Eaglewood Cemetery in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Miss Stephenson later married Jonas Hazlett.
At the time of their execution, all but four of the participants in the raid had been captured and received justice.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission erected a marker in remembrance of Hazlett in 2002. The marker is located on South 6th Street, Pennsylvania Route 954, at in Indiana, Pennsylvania. It states:
It was selected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for his historical role as an abolitionist in 1859 (later executed for his participation that year in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry).[6] Spencer Sadler wrote the biography Absalom Hazlett: A Loyal Soldier in John Brown’s Army, which was one of the series "America Through Time: Adding Color to American History" that was commissioned by Fonthill Media LLC.