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34 - Underground Railroad, Part 1 by William Still · Underground Railroad, Part 1

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  Speaker 1: Section thirty three of The Underground Railroad Part one. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. The Underground Railroad Part one by William
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  Speaker 1: Still Section thirty three William Taylor, Louisa Brown, Jacob Waters,
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  Speaker 1: and Alfred Golden arrival from Baltimore. William N. Taylor one
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  Speaker 1: hundred dollars reward ran away from Richmond City on Tuesday
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  Speaker 1: the second of June. A Negro man named William N. Taylor,
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  Speaker 1: belonging to Missus Margaret Tyler of Hanover County. Said negro
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  Speaker 1: was hired to FITZHERG. Mayo Tobacconist is quite black, of
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  Speaker 1: genteel and easy manners, about five feet ten or eleven
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  Speaker 1: inches high, has one front tooth broken, and is about
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  Speaker 1: thirty five years old. He is supposed either to have
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  Speaker 1: made his escape north or attempted to do so. The
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  Speaker 1: above reward will be paid for his delivery to Messrs
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  Speaker 1: Hill and Rawlings in Richmond, or secured in jail so
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  Speaker 1: that I get him again. James G. Tyler, Trustee for
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  Speaker 1: Margaret Tyler, June eighth Richmond Inquirer, June ninth, fifty seven.
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  Speaker 1: William unquestionably possessed a fair share of common sense and
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  Speaker 1: just enough distaste to slavery to arouse him most resolutely
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  Speaker 1: to seek his freedom. The advertisement of James G. Tyler
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  Speaker 1: was not altogether accurate with regard to his description of William,
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  Speaker 1: but notwithstanding, in handling William down to posterity, the description
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  Speaker 1: of Tyler has been adopted instead of the one engrossed
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  Speaker 1: in the records by the committee. But as a simple
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  Speaker 1: matter of fair play, it seems fitting that the description
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  Speaker 1: given by William while on the underground railroad of his master,
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  Speaker 1: et cetera, should come in. Just here William acknowledged that
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  Speaker 1: he was the property of Walter H. Tyler, brother of
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  Speaker 1: ex President Tyler, who was described as follows. He master
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  Speaker 1: was about sixty five years of age, was a barbarous man,
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  Speaker 1: very intemperate, horse racer, chicken cock fighter, and gambler. He
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  Speaker 1: has owned as high as forty head of slaves, but
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  Speaker 1: he had gambled them all away. He was a doctor
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  Speaker 1: circulated high amongst Southerners, though he never lived agreeably with
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  Speaker 1: his wife, would curse her and call her all kinds
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  Speaker 1: of names that he should not call a lady from
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  Speaker 1: a boy of nine up to the time I was
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  Speaker 1: fifteen or sixteen, I don't reckon. He whipped me less
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  Speaker 1: than a hundred times. He shot at me once with
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  Speaker 1: a double barreled gun. What made me leave was because
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  Speaker 1: I worked for him all my lifetime, and he never
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  Speaker 1: gave me but two dollars and fifteen cents in all
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  Speaker 1: his life. I was hired out this year for two
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  Speaker 1: hundred dollars. But when I would go to him to
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  Speaker 1: make complaints of hard treatment from the man I was
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  Speaker 1: hired to, he would say, G blank d g blank en.
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  Speaker 1: It don't come to me. All I want is my money.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Tyler was a thin, raw boned man with a
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  Speaker 1: lawung knows the picture of the President. His wife was
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  Speaker 1: a tolerably well disposed woman. In some instances she was
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  Speaker 1: a tall, thin visaged woman and stood high in the community.
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  Speaker 1: Through her I fell into the hands of Tyler. At
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  Speaker 1: present she owns about fifty slaves. His own slaves, spoken
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  Speaker 1: of as having been gambled away, came by his father.
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  Speaker 1: He has been married the second time twice. William had
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  Speaker 1: been sold and bought in on account of his master's creditors,
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  Speaker 1: and for many months had been expecting to be sold
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  Speaker 1: again to meet pressure claims in the hands of the
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  Speaker 1: sheriff against Tyler. He, by the way, now lives in
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  Speaker 1: Hanover County, about eighteen miles from Richmond, and for fear
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  Speaker 1: of the sheriff, makes himself very scarce in that city.
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  Speaker 1: At fourteen years of age, William was sold for eight
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  Speaker 1: hundred dollars. He would have brought in eighteen fifty seven,
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  Speaker 1: probably twelve hundred and fifty dollars. He was a member
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  Speaker 1: of the Baptist Church in good and regular standing. Louisa
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  Speaker 1: Browne Louisa is a good looking, well grown, intelligence shi
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  Speaker 1: mulatto girl of sixteen years of age and was owned
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  Speaker 1: by a widow woman of Baltimore, Maryland. To keep from
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  Speaker 1: being sold, she was prompted to try her fortune on
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  Speaker 1: the underground railroad for freedom in Canada, under the protection
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  Speaker 1: of the British lion. Jacob Waters and Alfred Golden. Jacob
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  Speaker 1: is twenty one years of age, dark chestnut color, medium size,
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  Speaker 1: and of prepossessing manners. Fled from near Frederick, Maryland, from
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  Speaker 1: the clutches of a farmer by the name of William Dorsey,
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  Speaker 1: who was described as a severe master and had sold
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  Speaker 1: two of Jacob's sisters south only three years prior to
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  Speaker 1: his escape. Jacob left three brothers in chains. Alfred is
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  Speaker 1: twenty three years of age, in stature, quite small, full black,
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  Speaker 1: and bears the marks of ill usage. Though a member
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  Speaker 1: of the Methodist Church, his master, Fletcher Jackson, thought nothing
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  Speaker 1: of taking the shovel to Alfred's head, or of knocking
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  Speaker 1: him and stamping his head with the heels of his
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  Speaker 1: boot repeatedly. Of late, he had been shockingly beaten escaped
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  Speaker 1: those terrible visitations. Therefore he made up his mind to
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  Speaker 1: seek refuge in Canada. Arrival from Baltimore, Jefferson Pipkins, Elias
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  Speaker 1: David Jones, Louisa Pipkins, Elizabeth Britt, Harriet Brown, Elias, Jane Wootton,
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  Speaker 1: Gracie Murray, Elias, Sophia Simms, Edward Williams, Elias, Henry Johnson,
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  Speaker 1: and Charles Lee, Elias Thomas Bushier. Six very clever looking
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  Speaker 1: passengers all in one party from Baltimore, Maryland, the first
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  Speaker 1: Sunday in April eighteen fifty three. Baltimore used to be
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  Speaker 1: in the days of slavery. One of the most difficult
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  Speaker 1: places in the South for even free colored people to
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  Speaker 1: get away from, much more for slaves. The rule forbade
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  Speaker 1: any colored person leaving there by railroad or steamboat without
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  Speaker 1: such applicants had been weighed, measured, and then given a
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  Speaker 1: bond signed by unquestionable signatures. Well known Baltimore was rigid
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  Speaker 1: in the extreme and was a never failing source of annoyance, trouble,
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  Speaker 1: and expense to colored people ja generally and not unfrequently
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  Speaker 1: to slaveholders too, when they were traveling north with colored servants,
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  Speaker 1: just as they were ready to start that rules would
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  Speaker 1: forbid colored servants until the law was complied, with parties
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  Speaker 1: hurrying on, would, on account of this obstruction, have to
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  Speaker 1: wait until their hurry was over. As this was all
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  Speaker 1: done in the interest of slavery, the matter was not
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  Speaker 1: very loudly condemned. But notwithstanding all this weighing, measuring and
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  Speaker 1: requiring of bonds, many travelers by the underground railroad took
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  Speaker 1: passage from Baltimore. The enterprising individual whose name stands at
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  Speaker 1: the head of this narrative came directly from this stronghold
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  Speaker 1: of slavery. The widow Pipkins held the title deed for Jefferson.
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  Speaker 1: She was unfortunate in losing him, as she was living
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  Speaker 1: in ease and luxury off of Jefferson's sweat and labor. Louisa,
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  Speaker 1: Harriet and Grace owed service to George Stewart of Baltimore.
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  Speaker 1: Edward was owned by Charles Moundu and Charles Lee. By
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  Speaker 1: the above Stuart, those who would have taken this party
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  Speaker 1: for stupid or for know nothings would have found themselves
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  Speaker 1: very much mistaken. Indeed, they were far from being dull
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  Speaker 1: or sleepy on the subject of slavery. At any rate,
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  Speaker 1: they had considered pretty thoroughly how wrongfully they, with all
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  Speaker 1: others in similar circumstances, had been year in and year outs,
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  Speaker 1: subjected to unrequited toil. So resolved to leave their masters
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  Speaker 1: and mistresses to search for themselves while they would try
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  Speaker 1: to find their fortunes in Canada. Four of the party
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  Speaker 1: ranged in age from twenty to twenty eight years of age,
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  Speaker 1: and the other two from thirty seven to forty. The
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  Speaker 1: Committee on whom they called, rendered them due aid and
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  Speaker 1: advice and forwarded them to the committee in New York.
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  Speaker 1: The following letter from Jefferson appealing for assistance on behalf
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  Speaker 1: of his children in slavery was peculiarly touching, as were
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  Speaker 1: all similar letters. But the mournful thought that these appeals, sighs,
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  Speaker 1: tears and prayers would continue, in most cases to be
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  Speaker 1: made till death, that nothing could be done directly for
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  Speaker 1: the deliverance of such sufferers was often as painful as
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  Speaker 1: they escape from the auction block was gratifying. Letter from
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  Speaker 1: Jefferson Pipkins September twenty eighth, eighteen fifty six to William Still, Sir,
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  Speaker 1: I take the liberty of writing to you a few
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  Speaker 1: lines concerning my children, for I am very anxious to
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  Speaker 1: get them, and I wish you to please try what
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  Speaker 1: you can do for me. Their names are Charles and
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  Speaker 1: Patrick and are living with Missus Joseph g Ray Murphysborough,
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  Speaker 1: Hartford County, North Carolina. Emma lives with a lawyer Baker
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  Speaker 1: in Gatesville, North Carolina, and Susan lives in Portsmouth, Virginia,
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  Speaker 1: and is stopping with doctor Collins's sister, a Missus Nash.
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  Speaker 1: You can find her by inquiring for doctor Collins at
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  Speaker 1: the ferry boat at Portsmouth, and Rose, a colored woman
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  Speaker 1: at the Crawford House, can tell where she is, and
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  Speaker 1: I trust you will try what you think will be
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  Speaker 1: the best way, and you will do me a great favor.
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  Speaker 1: Yours respectfully, Jefferson Pipkins p s. I'm living at Yorkville
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  Speaker 1: near Toronto, Canada West. My wife sends her best respects
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  Speaker 1: to missus Still. End of Section thirty three and end
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  Speaker 1: of The Underground Railroad Part one by William Still