Anderson, Elijah A.

Item

Title: Anderson, Elijah A.
Gender: Male
Biography: Anderson was a Virginia-born free African American, blacksmith by trade, active agent and conductor on the UGRR. He was known for helping enslaved people escape in great number. Anderson arrived in Cincinnati in the 1830s, moved to Madison, IN in 1835, then to Lawrenceburg. It is suspected that hundreds of enslaved people held in Boone County found freedom with his help. Arrested in 1856, Anderson died of suspicious circumstances in a Kentucky penitentiary in 1861, on the day he was due for early release.; Elijah was an inmate in the state penitentiary in Frankfort during the 1860 census following a felony conviction for aiding escaped enslaved people. He died in prison the following year.
Member: Anderson family
Birth date: 1808
Place of birth: Fluvanna (Va.)
Spouse(s): Anderson, Mary T.
Child(ren): Anderson, Martha E.; Anderson, John [3]
Death date: 1861
Death and burial information: Frankfort (Ky.)
Occupation(s): Blacksmith
Resided in: Madison (Ind.); Lawrenceburg (Ind.)
Related resource: 'Elijah Anderson and the Underground Railroad in Boone County' by Hillary Delaney [PDF]
Bibliographic citation(s): "Colored Conductor," Rushville Republican, 26 Dec 1967, page 6. Newspapers.com, accessed 24 Jul 2016. <https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5993337/ugrr-madison-harris-and-elijah-anderson/?xid=637>; "From Indiana," The Belvidere Standard, 11 Aug 1857, page 1. Newspapers.com, accessed 24 Jul 2016. <https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5993229/letter-re-elijah-anderson/?xid=637>; "Another Negro Stealer," The Louisville Daily Courier, 19 Dec 1856, page 3. Newspapers.com, accessed 24 Jul 2016. <https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5993104/elijah-anderson-arrest/?xid=637>; "Negro Stealer Convicted," The Louisville Daily Courier, 19 Jun 1857, page 3. Newspapers.com, accessed 24 Jul 2016. <https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5993128/elijah-anderson-conviction/?xid=637>
Source(s): Sixth Census of the United States, 1840; Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; Eighth Census of the United States, 1860

Item sets: AA--Persons--Miscellaneous

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Items with "Father: Anderson, Elijah A."
Title	Class
Anderson, John [3]	Person
Anderson, Martha E.	Person

Items with "Spouse(s): Anderson, Elijah A."
Title	Class
Anderson, Mary T.	Person