The Underground Railroad...

(Extract from The Indianpolis News, April 28, 1904*)

Escape of the Southern Slaves by Way of
Indiana’s Famous “Underground Railroad”

Abolitionists Who Defied The Slave Trader And Showed Many
A Poor Wretch The Way To Freedom In The Northern States

(Special to The Indianapolis News)
WASHINGTON, Ind., April 26 — For years before President Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation of emancipation freeing all the negroes who were then held in bondage and treated as mere chattels to be bought and sold at will, there existed in Indiana what was then known as the "underground railroad” which was established in almost every Northern State.

The name "underground railroad" was a misnomer, as the so-called railway was not a railway at all and it was not underground. It had its stations however, and conductors or pilots. It was not at all like our modern railways, over which huge engines draw magnificent trains of coaches and go thundering over rivers, hills and valleys. The means of transportation over this "railway" was by foot, on horseback, piloted by a conductor, hidden in a wagon, or on the old canal in the hold of a towboat. The passengers traveled by night and slept by day. The freight carried over the "underground railroad” was human freight - slaves escaping from their Southern masters to Canada, where the mailed hand of England protected them from all fear of ever being returned to spend their lives beneath the lash owned by another man.

Indiana Laws and the Slave
When Indiana entered the Union, she came in as a free State, but she passed laws designed to protect the property of every man, and one of  most stringent measures made it a crime to harbor or  assist a runaway slave. Many, even though their sympathies were with the slave believed that,  "good or bad, laws should be enforced," and insisted that the law be carried out. Others, like Garrison and Senator Seward, believed in the higher law and helped the slave in spite of the laws promulgated by man. Not only were the officers vigilant, but many men, even in this (Daviess) county, were especially active in catching runaway slaves and returning them to their master, as big rewards were always paid for the work.

Brave Peter Stephenson
Early in the 80s, a feeling appeared favoring the slave and a movement was started in their behalf, but it was several years later that it took definite shape in Indiana, under the tutorship of Peter Stephenson, a brave man endowed with a will of iron.

Stephenson was fearless and strong in his convictions, daring to do what he considered right. He was born at Cape Fear,  New Jersey, June 3, 1794, of German parentage and died in this city in (date???). The family  moved to Ohio in 1810 and settled at Cincinnati, then a small village. He left Cincinnati in 1839, and came to this county and settled.

His First Slave Rescue
Shortly after Stephenson arrived here, a slave from South Carolina, with an iron collar about his neck and with upright iron prongs extending at least a foot above his head on either side, was captured north of  the city in what is known as Prairie creek bottoms. The negro was jailed and the captors began seeking a master. Then Peter Stephenson made his debut. There was no charge against the negro; nobody could swear that the was a slave, though none believed otherwise, and Stephenson effected the man’s release. Going to Bruner's blacksmith shop, he had the irons filed off the negro, and that night he sent the slave through to Canada and to freedom. That was the beginning, and thereafter Stephenson was recognized as the leader, and for many years the only man who openly favored the negro slaves and was willing to risk his all to effect their freedom.

Formation of the Undergrpound
Then began the slow formation by Stephenson of what was known as the "underground railroad" through Indiana. The man was recognized not only as the original abolitionist of Daviess county, but as one of the boldest men in the cause. The organization of the railroad to help slaves through from the Ohio river to Canada was slow and necessarily dangerous, and recruits, eligible in every way, were not easily found. After several years, the system was completed. Daviess county was the center, and in most cases,  runaways were brought direct from Evansville to the home of Stephenson, then sent to Terre Haute, and from there to Canada on a train.

That was the usual route, but when danger threatened this was deviated from and the negro was taken by a more circuitous route. John Little and a family named Sterne, at Princeton, Ind., and Dr. Posey, father of Frank Posey, of Evansville, were all willing to harbor the escaping slaves, and by way of these homes the negroes were taken North.   Little usually did the piloting from his home to Stephenson's place himself, saying that in such important work no one should be trusted. In Daviess county many houses were open to fleeing slave when hard pressed.   The home of John Thompson, one of the pioneers, and Seth Cruse, a business man, were always open, and a colored barber, named James Delaney, proved of valuable assistance in many ways.

Cherry Grove Station
Across White river, and in the northern part of Knox county, was what was known as "Cherry Grove." The place was a settlement of negroes, the leaders of the community being Willey Hughes and a man named Embree. These people could hide fugitives  in the Wabash or White river bottoms and keep them for indefinite periods, and a number of times the fleeing slaves were taken to "Cherry Grove". Another place which was used by the "underground railroad" was what was known as the old Ten Mile House, which stood ten miles north of Washington, and was one of the old-fashioned country taverns. The place was conducted by Perry McGaughey father of John McGaughey, of this city. The proprietor was a typical tavern keeper, but his sympathies were with the slaves, and he harbored the escaping men several  times when danger threatened and their pursuers were close.

Threatened with Tar and Feathers
During organization of the railroad, Stephenson engaged in a series of debates throughout the county with number of prominent men of the day. It was said that he was willing to go anywhere and at any time to advance freedom for the negro. The principal questions discussed were: "Is Slavery Right According to the Bible?" and, "Resolved, That the Indian Had Been More Mistreated Than The Negro.” In almost every schoolhouse in the country he debated. It was after one of these debates - his opponent being John Scudder  (father of ?? William Scudder) - that the abolitionist was almost mobbed. The verdict of the jury had been in favor of Stephenson, and the crowd, which sympathized with Scudder, decided to tar and feather old Peter. The tar and feathers were obtained while the old abolitionist was in the schoolhouse, but when questioned who should lead the attack everyone balked. No one wanted to face the stern abolitionist, for they knew him and feared the result.

Escape of Mother and Child 
An episode which borders on fiction, yet the veracity of which is vouched for by those interested, is that of "Lizzie" and her child. It seems that the woman and child were slaves on a Kentucky plantation adjoining the plantation of her husband's master. One day the mas-ter decided to sell the woman and her child "down the river." She told her husband and asked him to help her to escape. That night the husband stole a horse, and taking his wife and child in his arms, rode north all night long ar-riving at the Ohio river early in the morning. The horse, with the woman and babe on its back, and the man holding to its mane, swam the river and reached the Indiana shore. There they found an underground railroad pilot, William Brown. He put the woman and child in his wagon, and the following night deliv-ered them to Peter Stephenson. The woman and child had been at the Ste-phenson home several days when it was discovered that she was being pursued. They tried to get her to leave the child and escape, but the mother refused. That night they were taken to the home of Stephen Stephenson who had married shortly before and lived several miles distant. Several days later the woman and babe were placed in the hold of a canal boat and taken to Terre Haute, and later reached Canada, where her husband joined her.

*Date of publication questionable (unable to decipher accurately from the photocopied article in my possession)

The Underground Railroad: An Overview

The Underground Railroad, a vast network of people who helped fugitive slaves escape to the North and to Canada, was not run by any single organization or person. Rather, it consisted of many individuals -- many whites, but predominently black -- who knew only of the local efforts to aid fugitives as opposed to the overall operation. Still, it effectively moved hundreds of slaves northward each year - according to one estimate, the South lost 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850.

An organized system to assist runaway slaves seems to have begun towards the end of the 18th century. In 1786, George Washington complained about how one of his runaway slaves was helped by a "society of Quakers, formed for such purposes." The system grew, and around 1831 it was dubbed "The Underground Railroad," after the then emerging steam railroads. The system even adopted terms used in railroading: the homes and businesses where fugitives would rest and eat were called "stations" and "depots" and were run by "stationmasters," those who contributed money or goods were "stockholders," and the "conductor" was responsible for moving fugitives from one station to the next. 

For the slave, running away to the North was anything but easy. The first step was to escape from the slaveholder. For many slaves, this meant relying on his or her own resources. Sometimes a "conductor," posing as a slave, would enter a plantation and then guide the runaways northward. The fugitives would move at night and would generally travel between 10 and 20 miles to the next station, where they would rest and eat, hiding in barns and other out-of-the-way places. While they waited, a message would be sent to the next station to alert its stationmaster. 

Fugitives would also travel by train and boat -- conveyances that sometimes had to be paid for. Money was also needed to improve the appearance of the runaways -- a black man, woman, or child in tattered clothes would invariably attract suspicious eyes. This money was donated by individuals and also raised by various groups, including vigilance committees that sprang up in the larger towns and cities of the North, most prominently in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. In addition to soliciting money, the organizations provided food, lodging and money, and helped the fugitives settle into a community by helping them find jobs and providing letters of recommendation. 

The Underground Railroad had many notable participants, including John Fairfield in Ohio, the son of a slaveholding family, who made many daring rescues, Levi Coffin, a Quaker who assisted more than 3,000 slaves, and Harriet Tubman, who made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom.