Dangerfield Newby was the oldest of John Brown

John Brown (abolitionist)

John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...

's raiders, one of five black raiders, and the first of his men to die at Harpers Ferry

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an attempt by white abolitionist John Brown to start an armed slave revolt by seizing a United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Virginia in 1859...

, Virginia. Born a slave in Fauquier County, Virginia

Fauquier County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 55,139 people, 19,842 households, and 15,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 21,046 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...

, Newby married a woman also enslaved. Newby was later freed by his Scottish father, but his wife and seven children remained in bondage. A letter found on his body revealed the motive for joining John Brown and the raid on Harpers Ferry

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry

John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an attempt by white abolitionist John Brown to start an armed slave revolt by seizing a United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Virginia in 1859...

.

Newby's wife was the slave of Jesse Jennings, of Arlington or Warrenton, Virginia

Warrenton, Virginia

Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census, and 14,634 at the 2010 estimate. It is the county seat of Fauquier County. Public schools in the town include Fauquier High School, Warrenton Middle School, Taylor Middle School and two...

.