A Standard History
of
Erie County, Ohio
An Authentic Narrative of the Past, with Particular Attention
to the Modern Era in the Commercial, Industrial,
Civic and Social Development.  A Chron-
icle of the People, with Family
Lineage and Memoirs.
By
HEWSON L. PEEKE
Assisted by the Board of Advisory Editors
Volume I.
ILLUSTRATED
The Lewis Publishing Company
Chicago and New York
1916

Chapter XXXI.
The Underground Railroad.
pg. 377

     Sandusky was the most important station and terminus of one branch of the underground railroad.  That this city was so regarded by the nation at large is shown among other things by the fact that Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" piloted the escaping slaves by the underground railway to Sandusky whence they took the boat for Canada.  In chapter 37, occurs the following::  As Tom had informed them that their party would be looked for in Sandusky, it was thought prudent to divide them.  Jim, with his old mother, was forwarded separately; and a night or two after George and Eliza, with their child, were driven privately into Sandusky, and lodged beneath a hospitable roof, preparatory to taking their last passage on the lake.

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     The disguises the party had assumed were in accordance with the hints of Tom Loker.  Mrs. Smyth, a respectable woman from the settlement in Canada, whether they were fleeing, being fortunate about crossing the lake to return thither, had consented to appear as the aunt of little Harry; and, in order to attach him to her, he had been allowed to remain, the two last days, under her sole charge; and an extra amount of petting, joined to an indefinite amount of seed-cakes and candy, had cemented a very close attachment on the part of the young gentleman.
     The hack drove to the wharf.  The two young men, as they appeared, walked up the plank into the boat, Eliza gallantly giving her arm to Mrs. Smyth, and George attending to their baggage.
     George was standing at the captain's office, settling for his party, when he overhead two men talking by his side.
     "I've watched every one that came on board," said one, "and I know they're not on this boat."
     The voice was that of the clerk of the boat.  The speaker whom he addressed was our sometime friend, Marks, who, with that valuable perseverance which characterized him, had come on to Sandusky, seeking whom he might devour.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

     It was a superb day.  The blue waves of Lake Erie danced, rippling and sparkling, in the sunlight.  A fresh breeze blew from the shore, and the lordly boat ploughed her way right gallantly onward.
     The underground railroad, so called, was the outgrowth of the concerted action of people friendly to the slaves, and who were willing for
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principle's sake to give their services, time and money to these fugitives, though at the risk of prosecution and pecuniary loss.  The charter was of define authority and its command was, "Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you."  Its conductors, agents and managers believed that they should obey God rather than man.  The road was secretly operated.  It published no reports, it declared no earthly dividends to its stockholders, and to all its passengers it supplied, without charge, free through tickets to the land of freedom in Canada, including lodging and meals.  They established across the State of Ohio a line of stations, from the Ohio River on the south, to Lake Erie on the north.  These stations were generally at or near farm-houses, and nearly always during the day, and at night carried in covered conveyance to the next station and there turned over to other friends who would care for them, and in turn give them into the hands of some one else for like treatment.  In this way the tedious journey was made across  the state ,and finally at Sandusky, passage was procured for Canada - "the goal of their desire, the mecca of their hope.
     It must be remembered that prior to 1850 there was no line of steam......

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at once served on those having them in custody.  On Saturday night, by agreement of parties, Judge Farwell ordered the sheriff to take the negro boys from the custody of their keepers at the Mansion House and confine them in the jail until the result of the proceedings could be known.  On Monday following they were produced before Moors Farwell, an associate judge of Erie County, and return made of the cause of capture and detention.  F. D. Parish and L. S. Beecher appeared as counsel for the boys, and John Wheeler and John N. Sloane as counsel for claimants.  The examination and argument of the cases closed about noon on Tuesday, and judge took the question under advisement until 9 o'clock the next morning, at which time it was held that they were not detained in a legal manner and they were discharged.
     As soon as the decision as proclaimed, the boys were released from confinement, hurried out of town and sent to Canada.  There is no doubt in this case, except for Mr. Parish no proceedings would have been made, and the boys would have been returned to slavery.  It was not, however, for aiding these boys to escape that Mr. Parish was sued, but for the part he took in behalf of other slaves which these same Kentuckians sought to reclaim on the same day, of which latter case the circumstances were as follows:  There were at this same time two colored persons.  Jane Garrison and her little boy Harrison, stopping at the house of Mr. Parish.  The son of the man claiming to own them called at Mr. Parish's house to see them, and stated to Mr. Parish that he was there to reclaim them, that they were the property of his father, Peter Driskell of Kentucky, Mr. Parish asked by what authority, and the reply was by power of attorney, offering to produce it.  "You need not show it," said Mr. Parish, "as nothing but judicial authority will do."  The slaves went into the house and were not seen afterwards.  Suit was brought in the Circuit Court of the United States against Mr. Parish for the value of the slaves, and a jury found a verdict against him for hindering and obstructing the arrest, and awarded damages against him in the sum of $500, the proved value of the slaves at the time of their escape.  The amount of judgment and the costs, and the costs and expenses in the suit, $1,000 in all, was collected by subscription in sums of one dollar each and presented to Mr. Parish.  A full report of this case can be found in fifth volume of "McLean's Reports."
     The rapacity of the slave power had been constantly increasing.  In 1842 they censured Mr. Giddings for offering in Congress a resolution that slavery did not extend on the high seas beyond the jurisdiction of the state.  In 1845 they demanded the annexation of Texas with slavery, by which a territory as large as France was added as a slave state to the Union.
     Elijah Anderson, a brave and fearless colored man, was the general superintendent of the underground system in this section of Ohio, and probably conducted more fugitives than any other dozen men up to the time he was arrested, tried and convicted in Kentucky, and sentenced to the state prison at Frankfort, where he died in 1857.  Anderson said,

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when coming to Sandusky in 1855, that he had conducted in all, over one thousand fugitives from slavery to freedom, over eight hundred of whom he brought after the act of 1850 had passed.  All of these did not come to Sandusky, for after the opening of the Cleveland, Cincinnati Railroad he took many to Cleveland, but Sandusky was the favorite and most important station.  One general advantage it possessed was its proximity to Canada and its sheltered position by reason of the islands of Lake Erie, which rendered it possible and safe to make the passage, in an emergency, in a small sail or even an open row-boat, if that was all that could be obtained at the moment, both of which means of transportation were often resorted to when it was known that the slave catchers were on the ground watching for their prey, as was frequently the case, and when an attempt to take passage on any regular boat would have been hazardous and unsafe.  Sometimes the fugitives would arrive in Sandusky in winter, and then they would be taken across to Point au Pelee.  James Wright, who for many years kept a livery stable in Sandusky, was always ready to hire his teams, this affording assistance, though he was not an abolitionist, as they then called them.  He was an officer at the meeting in Sandusky in 1845 heretofore described.  Among the early and earnest friends of the line were John Beatty, F. D. Parish (and whose house was called the "depot"), Samuel Walker, R. J. Jennings, Clifton Hadley, J. N. Davidson, Isaac Darling.  Rev. John Thorpe was an efficient conductor on the underground road and a willing assistant to all passengers.  And since 1848 John Irvine, Thomas Drake, William H. Clark, Sr., and Jr. , L. H. Lewis, Otis L. Peck, John G. Pool, S. E. Hitchcock, Homer Goodwin, Thomas C. McGee, George Barney, Herman Ruess, C. C. Keech, Samuel Irvine, O. C. McLouth, J. M. Root and H. C. Williams; others might be included, but these all gave money and, the "Irvines" especially, their personal aid at all times to effect the escape of a slave.  Richard Veecher, while a slave in Kentucky earned enough money to purchase his wife and children and sent them to some point in Ohio, where he, having run away shortly after, joined them and brought them to Sandusky in 1848.
     The line of road after leaving Sandusky, its great northern depot, and passing south to Huron County, had two distinct lines; one extending to Gallipolis, opposite the Virginia shore, and the other by way of Xenia to Madison, Indiana, a town on the Ohio River opposite Kentucky.  These were the principal routes of the underground line until after the completion of the Little Miami and Mad River and Lake Erie railroads, by means of which, in the year 1850, a direct connection was made from Cincinnati to Sandusky.
     In the autumn of 1850 a party of three came by the underground to Sandusky, the story of whose escape has brought tears to the eyes of multitudes not only in this country but in Europe, yes, in every house where "Uncle Tom's Cabin" has been read and where the story of Eliza Harris and her little boy crossing the Ohio River on the ice is known.  George Harris, her husband, escaped some time after his wife Eliza  had

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fled with her little boy, and they all, after several months, safely reached Sandusky, where for two days they were secreted, Eliza Cutting short her hair and dressing as a man, her little boy dressed as a girl and claimed by a kind hearted woman as her own, for Eliza and her boy were almost white.  This was the party that on a beautiful day boarded the steamer at Sandusky, at a time when Eliza's master was on the wharf, and after a few hours were all safely landed at Malden, on the free soil of Canada.
     On the afternoon of the 20th day of October, 1852, the City of Sandusky was the scene of a very great excitement, growing out of the arrest of two men, two women and three children by some Kentuckians, aided by O. Rice, then city marshal.  Three of the slaves were claimed by one Lewis F. Weimer and four by Charles M. Gibbons.  The slaves had arrived by the afternoon train and were going on board the steamer at the time of the departure for Detroit.
     The negroes were forcibly dragged ashore and taken to the mayor's office.  The citizens were told by the marshal, as he flourished his case, that it was a legal arrest and that the fugitives would be discharged unless the mayor should so decide.  It was only on this understanding that he was suffered to take the negroes through the streets to the mayor's office, a distance of over half a mile, without molestation.  Meanwhile, Mr. F. S. Hitchcock, John Irvine and John B. Lott came into the law office of Rush R. Sloane and requested him to appear before the mayor and learn if the negroes were properly arrested and legally detained.  Upon reaching the mayor's office they found the negroes there and the room filled with excited people.  Pistols and bowie knives were in the hands of many.  After waiting a short time Mr. Sloane asked by what authority these persons were held.  There was no reply.  "Are there any writs or papers to show why they are held!"  There was no reply.  He then said, speaking particularly to the men who sought this service, "I see no reason for detaining these persons;" and at this, John B. Lott, a colored man, cried out in an excited voice, "Hustle them out."  Immediately the people, carrying the negroes along, crowded out of the office, and as they started, one of the Kentuckians, all of whom had been standing near during the whole of the proceedings, turned to him and said, "Here are the papers.  I own the negroes, I'll hold you individually responsible for their escape."  He gave them the consoling reply that he was "good for them."
     The negroes were that same night placed in a sail-boat in charge of trusty conductors, and were received from the small boat the next day by Capt. James Nugent, a noble man, then living at Sandusky, and secreted on board the vessel he commanded, and on the second day after were safely landed in CAnada.  Soon after, two suits were commenced against Mr. Sloane in the District Court of the United States, at which time the whole state constituted the district and Columbus the place where the courts were held.  At the October term, 1854, the cases came on for trial.  In the case of Charles M. Gibbons against Rush R. Sloane, who claimed to own four of these slaves, the court instructed the jury

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that the power of attorney was defective, and to find a verdict in favor of the defendant.  In the case of Lewis F. Wimer vs. Sloane, the man who owned three of the slaves, the plaintiff obtained a judgment of $3,000 and costs, which, on motion the court refused to set aside.  Hon. Henry Stansbury and one Coffin were the attorneys for plaintiff.  Hon. Thomas Ewing, H. H. Hunter and S. F. Vinton were attorneys for defendant.  Judge Levitt presided.  What the slave ordinance, miscalled law, of 1850 was and what its demands and penalties were, can be seen in the now celebrated case of Weimer vs. Sloane.  In this trial occurring at Columbus, the capital of the State of Ohio, a state which by the Ordinance of 1787 had been forever dedicated to freedom, and with the facts in the case clearly proved the United States judge gave the law of the case to the jury, based on decisions made under the law of 1793, and not under the act of 1850, to which set no reference was made in his charge.
     In the summer of 1853 four fugitives arrived at Sandusky, coming over the Cincinnati & Sandusky Railroad, and who were allowed by a noble-hearted conductor to leave the train just east of Mill's Creek, and before reaching the cribbing where the road runs a short space in deep water.  Just north of where the negroes were left, there was on the north side of the railroad a little cluster of bushes and trees, and here, until night, the party was secreted.  Meanwhile Mr. John Irvine, who is mentioned before, had arranged for a "sharpee," a small sailboat used by fishermen, with one George Sweigels to sale the boat to Canada with this party, for which service Captain Sweigels was to and did receive $35.   One man accompanied Captain Sweigels, and at 8 o'clock in the evening the party in this small boat started to cross Lake Erie; the wind was favorable, and before morning Point au Pelee Island was reached, and the next day the four escaped fugitives were in Canada.  Captain Sweigels later resided in Sandusky.  In the year 1854 a party of seven runaway slaves were put on the cars of the Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark Road and safely brought to Sandusky.  The earnest men of the different stations from time to time received Grape Vine telegraph dispatches and were always ready to act with promptness in facilitating the onward progress of the fugitive.  In the above instance, when the slaves reached the City of the Bay, a small two-masted sailboat was in waiting, as it had been learned that it would not be safe to send the party in the Detroit boat, the agents of the owners being in town and watching the steamer daily.  Captain Sweigels was also engaged in this exploit, and it came near being a disastrous one, for after the boat was in the lake the wind increased so much that she was almost swamped, but at last was run safely into a small creek on the shore of Canada.  The Messrs. Irvine, H. F. Merry, George Reynolds and a conductor on the railroad above named could have given further particulars of this incident.
     The largest number of fugitives that was ever brought over the road at one time was twenty.
     One escape that occurred in 1855 is worth notice: a poor slave had been able by slow stages, now a ride and then a walk, to reach Shelby,

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and to which place he had been tracked.  The departures of each train was watched, and the kind friend (in need) at whose house he was secreted conceived a plan for his escape which he effected, communicating by Grape Vine telegraph the details to Sandusky friends.  On a certain train going north was placed in charge of the express agent a coffin containing a poor man, but whose friends wanted his remains carried to Sandusky for interment.  The rough box had knotty holes and plenty of shavings had been put in around the "body."  The train started, and in about two hours the "remains" were taken in charge by S. R. Irvine and others, taken to a friendly house and the "casket" opened.  The eyes were blood-shot, the mouth was foaming, the poor man nearly dead.  A doctor was quickly summoned, and soon the "corpse" was in a healthy state.  He was kept a few days and then in safety sent to Canada.  In the winter of 1858 a party of six women and five men arrived.  It was a cold winter and the lake frozen across.  This party had come on foot, in wagons, on railroad, and again on foot, walking into Sandusky at night.  Some had shoes, or what had been, some had stockings, and some had only old rags tied around their feet.  The party at midnight of the second day after their arrival was started off in a double sleigh.  The moon was full, and everything promised a nice journey and an early arrival in Canada.  All went well until they were nearly across, when a blinding snow storm came up and they wandered all night on the lake, and when daylight came they found themselves back near Marblehead Light, almost where they had started.  The driver was determined to return to Sandusky (he had been engaged to drive the negroes to Canada by their Sandusky friends), but the blacks compelled him to turn around and drive them to the queen's domain, Point au Pelee Island, where they were left and remained during the winter.
     Of the fugitives who has been brought to Sandusky since 1850 by the underground road are the following:  William Larkins, John Butler, Simpson Young, Moses Grances, William Resby, R. Dooty, George Bartlett, S. Bartlett and William Bartlett, Nancy Young, Martha Young, Allen Smith, Claracy Gibson, one Gilkner, B. Howard, M. Coleman, B. McKees, William Roberson, B. Franklin, T. Maddocks, L. Howard, J. Freeman, H. Moss, R. Anderson, William Hamilton, I. Gleason, wife and daughter, I. Moore, Sarah Moore, C. Boyd, R. Green, R. Taylor, D. Bell, H. Washington, T. Roberson, F. Bush, wife and son, E. Bell, I Freemat, H. Cole, H. Johnson, J. W. Coleman, Palmer Pruitt, T. Burnett, wife and three children, S. Falkner,  D. Gatewood, I. D. Brant, H. Bartlett, J. Hanshaw, wife and two children, H. Hanshaw, P. Scott, I. Howard, Virginia; G. Brown, Virginia; G. Brown, Kentucky; I. Marshall, wife and four children, a very small portion of the whole number, but no record was kept, of course, and in the lapse of time the names have been forgotten.

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