Very respectfully thy friend WILLIAM M. P. (In pencil) WM M PADGETT. About the same time there had come into Gorsuch’s locality a man (whose name is not known), purporting to be from lower Lancaster County, who claimed to be able to locate a number of slaves escaped from Baltimore County, among them one of Dr. Pearce, who had escaped the same night as Gorsuch’s. Dr. Pearce was a son of the elder Gorsuch’s married sister Belinda. Acting upon these reports and under the authority of the new Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, Edward Gorsuch, his son, Dickinson, his nephew, Dr. Thomas Pearce, Nicholas Hutchings and Nathan Nelson, neighbors and friends, came to Pennsylvania to recover the slaves. Under date of September 9, 1851, the owner procured from Edward D. Ingraham, United States Commissioner at Philadelphia, four warrants directed to Henry H. Kline, Deputy United States Marshal, to apprehend the fugitives. About the attempt and failure to execute those warrants, or any of them, circle the Christiana Riot and the Treason Trials of 1851. According to Dickinson Gorsuch’s diary his father left for Philadelphia “on the express train,” Monday, September 8, 1851, and the others followed next day. The warrants had meantime issued and the Maryland party met at Parkesburg on Wednesday, September 10. By arrangement Constables John Agan and “Sheriff’s Officer” Thompson Tully of Philadelphia had come on to Parkesburg; Deputy Marshal Kline went separately by rail to West Chester, took a vehicle to Gallagherville, and started thence for Penningtonville [now Atglen]. His wagon broke down; he and his man Gallagher hired another vehicle and reached Penningtonville about midnight; his delay caused the party to disconnect. Agan and Tully and the Gorsuches stayed at Parkesburg. Meantime a light young colored man, named Samuel Williams, of Seventh Street, below Lombard, Philadelphia, recognized Kline at Penningtonville; he likely scented his real errand, and when Kline represented that he was after two horse thieves, Williams told him they had left. When Kline started for Gap he was followed by some one whom he suspected to be Williams, and Williams no doubt sounded a general alarm as to Kline’s errand. He had been dispatched for that purpose from Philadelphia, where a Vigilant Committee was on the lookout to protect fugitives. It was also told by John Criley on information from Henry Murr, blacksmith, that Joseph Scarlet, from a business trip to Philadelphia early in the week, had brought like tidings into the neighborhood.