Having arrived safely, by the way and manner indicated in E.F.
Pennypacker's note, as they were found to be only sixteen and seventeen
years of age, considerable interest was felt by the Acting Committee to
hear their story. They were closely questioned in the usual manner. They
proved to be quite intelligent, considering how young they were, and how
the harrow of Slavery had been upon them from infancy.
They escaped from Chestertown, Md., in company with nine others (they
being a portion of the eleven who arrived in Wilmington, with two
carriages, etc., noticed on page 302), but, for prudential reasons they
were separated while traveling. Some were sent on, but the boys had to
be retained with friends in the country. Many such separations were
inevitable. In this respect a great deal of care and trouble had to be
endured for the sake of the cause.
Thomas Jervis, the elder boy, was quite dark, and stammered somewhat,
yet he was active and smart. He stated that Sarah Maria Perkins was his
mistress in Maryland. He was disposed to speak rather favorably of her,
at least he said that she was "tolerably kind" to her servants. She,
however, was in the habit of hiring out, to reap a greater revenue for
them, and did not always get them places where they were treated as well
as she herself treated them. Tom left his father, Thomas Gooseberry, and
three sisters, Julia Ann, Mary Ellen, and Katie Bright, all slaves.
Ezekiel, the younger boy, was of a chestnut color, clever-looking,
smart, and well-grown, just such an one as a father enjoying the
blessings of education and citizenship, might have felt a considerable
degree of pride in. He was owned by a man called John Dwa, who followed
"farming and drinking," and when under the influence of liquor, was
disposed to ill-treat the slaves. Ezekiel had not seen his mother for
many years, although she was living in Baltimore, and was known by the
name of "Dorcas Denby." He left no brothers nor sisters.
The idea of boys, so young and inexperienced as they were, being thrown
on the world, gave occasion for serious reflection. Still the Committee
were rejoiced that they were thus early in life, getting away from the
"Sum of all villanies." In talking with them, the Committee endeavored
to impress them with right ideas as to how they should walk in life,
aided them, of course, and sent them off with a double share of advice.
What has been their destiny since, is not known.
Henry Hooper, a young man of nineteen years of age, came from Maryland,
in December, in a subsequent Underground Rail Road arrival. That he came
in good order, and was aided and sent off, was fully enough stated on
the book, but nothing else; space, however was left for the writing out
of his narrative, but it was never filled up. Probably the loose sheet
on which the items were jotted down, was lost.
Jacob Hall, alias Henry Thomas, wife Henrietta, and child, were also
among the December passengers. On the subject of freedom they were
thoroughly converted. Although Jacob was only about twenty years of age,
he had seen enough of Slavery under his master, "Major William
Hutchins," whom he described as a "farmer, commissioner, drunkard, and
hard master," to know that no hope could be expected from him, but if he
remained, he would daily have to be under the "harrow." The desire to
work for himself was so strong, that he could not reconcile his mind to
the demands of Slavery. While meditating upon freedom, he concluded to
make an effort with his wife and child to go to Canada.
His wife, Henrietta, who was then owned by a woman named Sarah Ann
McGough, was as unhappily situated as himself. Indeed Henrietta had come
to the conclusion, that it was out of the question for a servant to
please her mistress, it mattered not how hard she might try; she also
said, that her mistress drank, and that made her "wus."
Besides, she had sold Henrietta's brother and sister, and was then
taking steps to sell her,--had just had her appraised with this view. It
was quite easy, therefore, looking at their condition in the light of
these plain facts, for both husband and wife to agree, that they could
not make their condition any worse, even if they should be captured in
attempting to escape. Henrietta also remembered, that years before her
mother had escaped, and got off to Canada, which was an additional
encouragement. Thus, as her own faith was strengthened, she could
strengthen that of her husband.
Their little child they resolved to cling to through thick and thin; so,
in order that they might not have so far to carry him, father and mother
each bridled a horse and "took out" in the direction of the first
Underground Rail Road station. Their faithful animals proved of
incalculable service, but they were obliged to turn them loose on the
road without even having the opportunity or pleasure of rewarding them
with a bountiful feed of oats.
Although they had strange roads, woods and night scenes to pass through,
yet they faltered not. They found friends and advisers on the road,
however, and reached the Committee in safety, who was made to rejoice
that such promising-looking "property" could come out of Ladies' Manor,
Maryland. The Committee felt that they had acted wisely in taking the
horses to assist them the first night.
The next arrival is recorded thus: "Dec. 10, 1855, Arrived, two men from
near Chestertown, Md. They came to Wilmington in a one horse wagon, and
through aid of T.G. they were sent on." (Further account at the time,
written on a loose piece of paper, is among the missing).
Fenton Jones escaped from Frederick, Md. After arriving in the
neighborhood of Ereildoun, Pa., he was induced to tarry awhile for the
purpose of earning means to carry him still farther. But he was soon led
to apprehend danger, and was advised and directed to apply to the
Vigilance Committee of Philadelphia for the needed aid, which he did,
and was dispatched forthwith to Canada.
About the same time a young woman arrived, calling herself Mary Curtis.
She was from Baltimore, and was prompted to escape to keep from being
sold. She was nineteen years of age, small size, dark complexion. No
special incidents in her life were noted.
William Brown came next. If others had managed to make their way out of
the prison-house without great difficulties, it was far from William to
meet with such good luck, as he had suffered excessively for five weeks
while traveling. It was an easy matter for a traveler to get lost, not
knowing the roads, nor was it safe to apply to a stranger for
information or direction--therefore, in many instances, the journey
would either have to be given up, or be prosecuted, suffering almost to
the death.
In the trying circumstances in which William found himself, dark as
everything looked, he could not consent to return to his master, as he
felt persuaded, that if he did, there would be no rest on earth for him.
He well remembered, that, because he had resisted being flogged (being
high spirited), his master had declined to sell him for the express
purpose of making an example of him--as a warning to the other slaves on
the place. William was as much opposed to being thus made use of as he
was to being flogged. His reflections and his stout heart enabled him to
endure five weeks of severe suffering while fleeing from oppression. Of
course, when he did succeed, the triumph was unspeakably joyous.
Doubtless, he had thought a great deal during this time, and being an
intelligent fugitive, he interested the Committee greatly.
The man that he escaped from was called William Elliott, a farmer,
living in Prince George's county, Md. William Elliott claimed the right
to flog and used it too. William, however, gave him the character of
being among the moderate slave-holders of that part of the country. This
was certainly a charitable view. William was of a chestnut color, well
made, and would have commanded, under the "hammer," a high price, if his
apparent intelligence had not damaged him. He left his father,
grand-mother, four sisters and two brothers, all living where he fled
from.
Charles Henry Brown. This "chattel" was owned by Dr. Richard Dorsey, of
Cambridge, Maryland. Up to twenty-seven years of age, he had experienced
and observed how slaves were treated in his neighborhood, and he made up
his mind that he was not in favor of the Institution in any form
whatever. Indeed he felt, that for a man to put his hand in his
neighbor's pocket and rob him, was nothing compared to the taking of a
man's hard earnings from year to year. Really Charles reasoned the case
so well, in his uncultured country phrases, that the Committee was
rather surprised, and admired his spirit in escaping. He was a man of
not quite medium size, with marked features of mind and character.
Oliver Purnell and Isaac Fidget arrived from Berlin, Md. Each had
different owners. Oliver stated that Mose Purnell had owned him, and
that he was a tolerably moderate kind of a slave-holder, although he was
occasionally subject to fractious turns. Oliver simply gave as his
reason for leaving in the manner that he did, that he wanted his "own
earnings." He felt that he had as good a right to the fruit of his labor
as anybody else. Despite all the pro-slavery teachings he had listened
to all his life, he was far from siding with the pro-slavery doctrines.
He was about twenty-six years of age, chestnut color, wide awake and a
man of promise; yet it was sadly obvious that he had been blighted and
cursed by slavery even in its mildest forms. He left his parents, two
brothers and three sisters all slaves in the hands of Purnell, the
master whom he deserted.
Isaac, his companion, was about thirty years of age, dark, and in
intellect about equal to the average passengers on the Underground Rail
Road. He had a very lively hope of finding his wife in freedom, she
having escaped the previous Spring; but of her whereabouts he was
ignorant, as he had had no tidings of her since her departure. A lady by
the name of Mrs. Fidget held the deed for Isaac. He spoke kindly of her,
as he thought she treated her slaves quite as well at least as the best
of slave-holders in his neighborhood. His view was a superficial one, it
meant only that they had not been beaten and starved half to death.
As the heroic adventures and sufferings of Slaves struggling for
freedom, shall be read by coming generations, were it not for
unquestioned statutes upholding Slavery in its dreadful heinousness,
people will hardly be able to believe that such atrocities were enacted
in the nineteenth century, under a highly enlightened, Christianized,
and civilized government. Having already copied a statute enacted by the
State of Virginia, as a sample of Southern State laws, it seems fitting
that the Fugitive Slave Bill, enacted by the Congress of the United
States, shall be also copied, in order to commemorate that most infamous
deed, by which, it may be seen, how great were the bulwarks of
oppression to be surmounted by all who sought to obtain freedom by
flight.