Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad in the Kentucky Borderland

216 Pages·2011·3.61 MB·English

by  J. Blaine Hudson

Fugitive Slaves and the
Underground Railroad in
the Kentucky Borderland
In memory of my grandmother,
Mabel L. Williamson (¡885–¡986),
granddaughter of an Underground Railroad worker
Fugitive Slaves and the
Underground Railroad in
the Kentucky Borderland
J. Blaine Hudson
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
ALSOBYJ. BLAINEHUDSON
Encyclopedia of the Underground Railroad
McFarland (2006)
Maps courtesy of the University of Louisville Center
for Graphic and Information Systems.
The present work is a reprint of the illustrated case bound
edition of Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad in the
Kentucky Borderland,first published in 2002 by McFarland.
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Hudson, J. Blaine.
Fugitive slaves and the Underground Railroad in the Kentucky
borderland / J. Blaine Hudson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-4685-8
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
¡. Underground railroad—Kentucky.
2. Underground railroad—Tennessee.
3. Underground railroad—Ohio River Valley.
4. Fugitive slaves—Kentucky—History—¡9th century.
5. Fugitive slaves—Tennessee—History—¡9th Century.
6. Fugutive slaves—Ohio River Valley—History—¡9th century.
7. Antislavery movements—Kentucky—History—¡9th century.
8. Antislavery movements—Tennessee—History—¡9th century.
9. Antislavery movements—Ohio River Valley—History—¡9th century.
I. Title.
E450.H86 20¡¡ 973.7'¡¡5—dc2¡ 2002007200
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
© 2002 J. Blaine Hudson. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, i ncluding photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without p ermission in writing from the publisher.
On the cover: “A Ride for Liberty—The Fugitive Slaves,”
Eastman Johnson, ¡863, oil on board 22" ×26∑"
(Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York) © 2002 PicturesNow.com
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
Contents
Maps and Tables ix
Preface 1
Chapter I: Introduction 3
Race and Historiography 5
Purpose of the Study 7
Research Method and Standards of Evidence 8
Chapter II: The Borderland 11
The Great River 12
The Human Landscape: Kentucky 13
The Human Landscape: North of Slavery 19
The Human Landscape: Tennessee and Points South 26
Chapter III: Fugitive Slaves 31
Slave Escapes: The Kentucky Fugitive Slave Data Base 32
Fugitive Slaves Before ¡850 41
Fugitive Slaves in the ¡850s 47
Fugitive Slaves During the Civil War 50
From the Perspectives of African Americans 51
Chapter IV: The Anatomy of Slave Escapes 55
Motivations 55
v
vi Contents
Escape Strategies 58
By Road, River and Rail 65
Risks 68
Chapter V: Friends of the Fugitive in the Kentucky Borderland 71
The Underground Road: Assisting Fugitive Slaves before ¡850 72
Harboring 77
Slave Escapes and Inter-racial Relationships 79
Coordinated Escapes 80
The “Quiet Insurrection” of the ¡850s 81
Before the Bar: Friends of the Fugitive in Court 86
The Free African American Community 91
Chapter VI: The Underground Railroad: Escape
Routes, Corridors, Crossing Points and Junctions 97
Through Kentucky 98
To Kentucky from Tennessee and Points South 101
Crossing Points: An Overview 103
From Kentucky to Illinois 105
From Kentucky to Indiana 106
From Kentucky to Ohio 119
Chapter VII: Individuals and Cases of Note 129
Fugitive: Eliza Harris 129
Fugitives: Thornton and Lucie Blackburn 130
Fugitive and Friend of the Fugitive: Henry Bibb 131
Friends of the Fugitive: Delia Webster and Calvin Fairbank 134
Fugitive and Friend of the Fugitive: Lewis Hayden 135
Friend of the Fugitive? Edward James “Patrick” Doyle 136
Friends of the Fugitive: Shelton Morris and Washington Spradling, Sr. 139
Fugitive: Rosetta Armstead/Anderson 141
Fugitive: Margaret Garner 143
Fugitive: Rachael 147
Friends of the Fugitive: Charles Bell and Oswell Wright 148
Friends of the Fugitive: Elijah Anderson and Chapman Harris 150
Friends of the Fugitive: John Parker and the Rev. John Rankin 152
Chapter VIII: Conclusion: The Desperate and the Brave 155
Assessment of the Evidence: Fugitive Slaves 155
Assessment of the Evidence: The Underground Railroad 158
Contents vii
The Question of Numbers 159
Directions for Future Research 163
Legend and Legacy 163
Appendix I: The Kentucky Borderland 167
I-¡. The Ohio River: Its Towns and Tributaries 167
I-2. ¡850 Kentucky Free Black Population 168
I-3. Kentucky Counties Bordering the Ohio River 168
I-4. Illinois, Indiana and Ohio Counties Bordering Kentucky 169
I-5. ¡850 Illinois Black Population 169
I-6. ¡850 Indiana Black Population 170
I-7. ¡850 Ohio Black Population 170
Appendix II: Kentucky Underground Railroad Workers 173
Notes 177
Bibliography 191
Index 199

Maps and Tables
Table II-¡: African American Population, ¡790–¡860 14
Map II-¡: ¡850 Kentucky Slave Population by County 16
Map II-2: ¡850 Kentucky Free Black Population by County 19
Table II-2: Kentucky and United States Free Black Population: ¡790–¡860 20
Map II-3: ¡850 Illinois Black Population by County 22
Map II-4: ¡850 Indiana Black Population by County 24
Map II-5: ¡850 Ohio Black Population by County 27
Table II-3: ¡850 Population Comparison: Kentucky and Tennessee 28
Map II-6: ¡850 Tennessee Slave Population by County 28
Map II-7: ¡850 Tennessee Free Black Population by County 29
Table III-¡: Kentucky Fugitive Slave Data Base: Reference Types 32
Table III-2: Kentucky Fugitive Slave Data Base: References by Decade 33
Table III-3: Kentucky Fugitive Slave Data Base: References by Period 33
Table III-4: Kentucky Fugitive Slave Data Base: Group Escapes by Period 33
Table III-5: Kentucky Fugitive Slave Data Base: Fugitive Slaves by Decade 34
Table III-6: Kentucky Fugitive Slave Data Base: References by Type
and by Period 34
Map III-¡: Kentucky Slave Escapes by County 35
Table III-7: Kentucky Fugitive Slave Data Base: State of Origin 35
ix