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1846--Case of the Kidnapping of Jerry Phinney
Judge Brown decided Jerry Phinney was kidnapped and taken to Ohio. It was argued that Phinney was hired out and brought to Ohio on purpose and was not escaping from his enslaver, Mrs. Long.
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1864--Miss Mandana Tileston Marries to Man in Prison
Mandana Tileston marries Rev. Calvin Fairbanks after a 13-year engagement. Fairbanks had been imprisoned 12.5 years prior in Kentucky for helping the escape of enslaved people.
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1865--Rev. Calvin Fairbank Imprisoned
Rev. Calvin Fairbank gives his account of the physical punishments he endured while in prison for assisting in an enslaved person's escape.
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1855--Warrant for Mr. McCormick
Mr. McCormick, former minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, has a warrant for his arrest by the state of Kentucky. Kentucky required the state of Indiana to return McCormick to KY to stand trial for helping enslaved people to freedom. McCormick was removed from his position in his church for these acts. He does not object to the claims.
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1861--Sago Lawsuit
Lawsuit between Kentucky against Ohio for refusing to issue a warrant against Sago who was charged in KY for helping an enslaved person escape. Sago took refuge in Ohio.
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1857 – Four Arrested in Mechanicsburg for Aiding Freedom Seeker
Around August 21, 1856, four men aided freedom seeker, Add White by hiding him in Mechanicsburg, Ohio. White had originally fled enslavement in Flemingsburg, Kentucky, where he was enslaved by Daniel G. White. While travelling through Ohio in the Underground Railroad, White was aided by Russel Hyde, Hiram Guttridge, and two brothers, Charles and Edward Taylor. It is not known what happened to White after his stay in Mechanicsburg, but almost a year later, a warrant was issued by Commissioner Newhall for the arrest of the four men who aided him. The charge against them was only for sheltering and protecting a “fugitive” rather than aiding in an escape. The penalty for such a charge was a $1,000 fine and imprisonment. On Tuesday, June 2, 1857, United States Deputy Marshall Churchill left Cincinnati with eleven others to Urbana. The following Wednesday morning they continued to Mechanicsburg to carry out the arrest. Though the arrest was successful, many of the local public were reported to have protested, referring to Marshall Churchill and his posse as “Boarder Ruffians” who wanted to take the four men over to Kentucky and lynch them. Like Add White’s ultimate fate, the proceedings and outcome of the ensuing trial are unknown.
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1866-- Freedman Assaulted by Eight Armed Men
Late in the night on Sunday, February 25, 1866, eight armed men reported to be “Rebel Rangers” ordered Harrison Griggs to come out of his home. Under threat, Harrison complied. Near his home, seven of the eight men whipped him with the branch of a white thorn tree for an hour. They assaulted him in turns until they were exhausted, witnessed by his own family and the family of Edmund Baker. Though he was not stripped, the assault left Harrison bloodied and bruised with thorns stuck all over his body, including the head and face. After the flogging, the assailants threatened to kill him unless he left the state immediately. Harrison left the following morning. The following Wednesday he made a statement in front of Captain Oyler of the Freedmen’s Bureau in Covington. It is unknown if the Rebel Rangers of Boone County faced any repercussions for the assault.
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1853-- Twenty-Five Enslaved Seek Freedom after Reading Uncle Tom's Cabin
Twenty-five enslaved persons fled slavery in Boone County, Kentucky, allegedly after one of them read Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin to the group of them. A month later it was reported that none of them had been captured.
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1854-- Twenty-Three Freedom Seekers Escape Enslavement via the Licking River
On Wednesday, June 15, 1854, 23 freedom seekers traveled down the Licking River in disguise from Grant County, KY. They crossed the Ohio and reportedly headed straight for Canada. Their identities and the ultimate outcome of their escape are unknown.
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1854-- Escape of Nine Freedom Seekers from Kentucky
Nine enslaved persons from Kentucky fled enslavement on Sunday, September 3, 1854. They were believed to be hiding in Cincinnati the following Tuesday. The freedom seekers' identities are unknown, as is the success of their flight.
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1854-- Examination for Trial of Eight Freedom Seekers in Cincinnati