The personal narrative of Peter Woods, survivor, leaves little room for doubt as to their identity and their residence around Christiana. He says: “They lived here among us adjoining me. One lived with Joseph Pownall. His name was John Beard. He was a little brown-skinned fellow--a pleasant chap. The other three were known to us as Thomas Wilson, Alexander Scott and Edward Thompson; Scott was a tall yellow-colored fellow, with straight hair. The colored fellows met at Parker’s nearly every Sunday. A good many got their washing done there. He had an apple-butter party about the time of the riot. We knew that these new colored fellows were escaped slaves. They were about the Riot House and in our neighborhood a couple of years before the riot. We colored fellows were all sworn in to keep secret what we knew and when these fellows came there they were sworn in too. Scott told how they four happened to run away. He said he brought them with him in a big wagon to Baltimore, or he said he had come with a big load of grain for his master. He put them on the cars at Baltimore, then sent his master’s team back and took the next train too, and that way they come up among the Quakers in this country which they knew was a good point on the underground railway. The people who owned these slaves or some of them sent men up into this country some time before. One man came to me one day while I was cradling wheat and said, ‘You are a little man to cradle wheat, I am trying to find three or four big colored men to cut wheat for me. Can you tell me if there are any here that I can get?’ I knew what he was after, that he was looking for escaped negroes, and I did not give him much satisfaction.” The “John Beard” whom Woods knew was Gorsuch’s boy Nelson Ford--so he told Cyrus Brinton. From Penningtonville (now Atglen, near Christiana), August 29, 1851, there was mailed to “Mr. Edward Gorsuch, Hereford P. O., Balt. Co., M. D.,” a letter which was found upon and taken from his body after he was killed; the following is a copy: LANCASTER, CO. 28 August 1851. Respected friend, I have the required Information of four men that is within Two miles of each other. now the best Way is for you to come as A hunter Disguised about two days ahead of your son and let him come By way of Philadelphia and get the deputy marshal John Nagle I think is his name. tell him the situation And he can get force of the right kind it will take About twelve so that they can divide and take them All within half an hour, now if you can come on the 2d or 3d of September come on & I will Meet you at the gap when you get their Inquire for Benjamin Clay’s tavern let Your son and the marshal get out Kinyer’s[B] hotel now if you cannot come At the time spoken of write very soon And let me know when you can I wish you to come as soon as you possibly can