The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom: A comprehensive historySiebert, Wilbur Henry
History
The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom: A comprehensive history
Siebert, Wilbur Henry
Fugitive slaves -- United States; Underground Railroad
[128] The original memorandum is written in pencil on a letter
received by Mr. Putnam from Mr. John Stone, of Belpre, O., in
Aug., 1843. The contents of this letter, or message, is given on
page 57. The original is in possession of the author.
This is plainly a schedule of arriving and departing "trains" on
the Underground Road. It is noticeable that the schedule contains
no description, numerical or otherwise, of the parties coming and
going; nor does it indicate, except by initial, to what places or
persons the parties were despatched; further, it does not indicate
whether Mr. Putnam accompanied them or not. It does, however, give
us a clue to the amount of night service that was done at a station
of average activity on the Ohio River as early as the year 1843.
The demands upon operators increased, we know, from this time on
till 1860. The memorandum also shows the variation in the length of
time during which different companies of fugitives were detained
at a station; thus, the first fugitive, or company of fugitives,
as the case may have been, departed on the evening of the day of
arrival; the second party was kept in concealment from Wednesday
morning until the Sunday night next following before it was sent on
its way; the third party seems to have been divided, one section
being forwarded the night of the day of arrival, the other the next
night following; in the case of the last company there seems to have
existed some especial reason for haste, and we find it hurried away
at two o'clock in the morning, after only an hour's intermission
for rest and refreshment. The memorandum of night service at the
Putnam station may be regarded as fairly representative of the night
service at many other posts or stations throughout Ohio and the
adjoining states.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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