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Title
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Hair-breadth Escapes from Slavery to Freedom
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Creator
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Rev. William Troy
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Publisher
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Academic Affairs Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Place
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Chapel Hill, NC
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Date
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7 Nov 1860
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Language
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English
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Temporal coverage
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1860-1861
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Description
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"A large family of slaves, called the Monroe Family, lived in Boone county, in the State of Kentucky. This family consisted of a mother and ten daughters and one son, who was a young man. The girls ranged in age from six to nineteen years. The mother was an energetic, determined woman. She and her children were to be sold to the far South. She had but little notice of this, as her master thought it would be best to keep the matter as quiet as possible. Still, the old woman consulted her son upon the subject of escaping to the State of Ohio. The son readily agreed to the mother's proposition, both of them knowing that many difficulties awaited them. It was now the month of October, 1856. They were living forty miles from the Ohio river, which separates the North from the South, and the first desire was to reach that river safely. They waited until a late hour of the night, when each taking a small parcel of clothes, they began their journey. Their parcel was but little trouble to them, for slaves, as a rule, are not troubled with many changes of raiment. By day-dawn they had travelled the distance of twelve miles, and they found themselves in the dense forest. They remained in the woods until night, when they proceeded towards the Ohio. The young man knew the route to the river, and that made their journey comparatively easy. They were, however, often obliged to turn out of their way into the forest, to avoid meeting persons who were passing. The third night, however, they reached the bank of the Ohio river. They found a small boat, and with it they soon crossed. Arrived on the opposite side of the river, they soon walked up the bank, but were unable to tell which way to go, for they were now strangers in a foreign land. They were now in the neighbourhood of New Richmond, in the State of Ohio. When they came within a mile of the place, the son left the mother and the ten daughters in the forest, and went into the town to communicate the circumstance of their escape to friends of the slave. H. J., a good and tried friend, with T., and others, immediately adopted plans to forward these passengers as soon as possible. Night had again approached, and their plans could be better carried into effect, because, as we often say in America, "night has no eyes." These strangers in the forest were now visited by the company whose initials are given above. In the meantime, the master of the escaped party had now crossed the river and was in search of his flown birds; and a reward of two thousand dollars was offered for the arrest of the fugitives in any State of the Union. Great excitement now prevailed. Slave-hunters (as they can be easily found in any portion of Ohio) were busily engaged in the anxious search. H. J., and T., and others, kept an eye upon the movements of those who were known to be the enemies of the slave, while the poor slaves were put into a covered wagon with bags of straw, and conveyed to another station. All worked well thus far. They were conveyed from place to place by the so-called "Underground Railway," until they reached a little town in the State of Michigan, called Ann Arbor. The master arrived at this point before them, for he had properly surmised that the slaves would endeavour to reach the city of Detroit in the same State, a city on the bank of the river which is the dividing-line between Canada and the United States. The slaves, finding out that they were being closely pursued, by the advice of their friends, immediately took the railway train direct to Detroit, and in two hours and a half, conducted by their friends, they were on the bank of the Detroit river. The master, finding that his slaves had left Ann Arbor, followed by the next train. At Detroit the slaves hurried to the ferry and stepped on board the steamboat Argo, which in ten or fifteen minutes sailed for the Canadian shore. The master was that very moment coming in full speed down Jefferson Avenue, Detroit, calling to the captain, "stop!" "stop!" but the call only excited laughter among the few who knew the master's errand. The woman and her eleven children were thus landed safely on British soil. It was my fortune to meet her soon after she walked off the boat. I asked her several questions in relation to her situation. She said she had no friends except her children, and was deeply affected when she mentioned how narrowly she escaped. Her tears rolled down her cheeks, and literally fell upon the ground. I truly felt for her. The tears of the poor can always work into my heart. I told her to cheer up; that she should be provided for by some means. We soon secured a house where the mother and the children could stop and rest themselves. Food and raiment were provided for them, and the daughters soon obtained employment as domestics. The younger ones were placed in the school. The same winter two of them professed religion, and united with the church in Windsor. One of these has since departed this life, and I am glad to be informed by my friends at home that she died in the faith. I will here give you the language of my eldest daughter in relation to the death of this departed:--"
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Accessed online at Documenting the American South, Docsouth.unc.edu