The Underground Railroad
he and his wife are now living, they are known only by their adopted
names.
Evan Graff was of square solid build, dark, and smart, age twenty-five.
He fled in company with four others (whose narratives were not written),
from Frederick county, Maryland. Henry Heart, residing at Sam's Creek,
exercised authority over Evan. With this master, said Evan, I have known
hard times. I have been treated as bad as a man could be. I have been
married three years and have not received five dollars in money since,
towards supporting my family. "How have you lived then?" inquired one
who sympathized. "My wife has kept house for a colored gentleman, and
got her board for her services," said Evan. "In what other particulars
have you been treated hard?" was next asked. "Sometimes I hadn't half
clothes enough to keep me warm, through all weathers," answered Evan.
"What put it into your head to leave?" was the third query. "Well, sir,"
said Evan, "I thought to try and do better." How did you make up your
mind to leave your wife and child in Slavery? "Well, sir, I was very
loth to leave my wife and child, but I just thought in this way: I had a
brother who was entitled to his freedom, but he fell out with one of his
young masters, and was just taken up and sold South, and I thought I
might be taken off too, so I thought I would stand as good a chance in
leaving, as if I stayed." Had you a mother and father, brothers and
sisters? inquired a member of the Committee. "Yes, sir," was the prompt
reply. Evan then gave their names thus: "My father's name was Sam Graff,
my mother's name was Becky." Ruth Ann Dorsey, Isaac Hanson (and two
brothers of Evan), Grafton and Allen accompanied him in his flight.
James, Harriet, Charles Albert, Thomas Ephraim, Adeline Matilda, John
Israel and Daniel Buchanan (brothers and sisters of Evan), were all left
in Slavery.
Polly Pool was their mistress, rather had owned them up to within a
short time before the flight of Evan and his comrades, but she had
lately been unfortunate in business, which resulted in a thorough
scattering of the entire family. Some fell into the hands of the
mistress' children, and some into the hands of the grandchildren. In
Evan's opinion she was a tolerable good mistress; his opportunities of
judging, however, had not been very favorable, as he had not been in her
hands a great while.
Luke Goines came from Harper's Ferry, where he was owned by Mrs.
Carroll. Luke first made his way to Baltimore and afterwards to
Philadelphia.
Henson Kelly was owned by Reason Hastell, of Baltimore. Slavery did not
agree with him, and he left to better his condition.
Stafford Smith fled from Westmoreland county, Virginia, where he was
owned by Harriet Parker, a single woman, advanced in years, and the
owner of many slaves "As a mistress, she was very hard. I have been
hired to first one and then another, bad man all along. My mistress was
a Methodist, but she seemed to know nothing about goodness. She was not
in the habit of allowing the slaves any chance at all."
* * * * *
ARRIVAL FROM VIRGINIA, 1860.
JENNY BUCHANAN.
A KIND MASTER; JENNY CHASTISED ONE OF HIS SONS FOR AN INSULT, AND AS A
PUNISHMENT SHE WAS SOLD--SEIZED FOR DEBT--SOLD A SECOND TIME.
Jenny was about forty-five years of age, a dark mulatto, stature medium,
manners modest and graceful; she had served only in high life; thus she
had acquired a great deal of information. She stated that she was born a
slave, under John Bower, of Rockbridge, Virginia, and that he was the
owner of a large plantation, with a great number of slaves. He was
considered to be a good man to his servants, and was generally beloved
by them. Suddenly, however, he was taken ill with paralysis, which
confined him to his bed. During this illness one of the sons, a young
gentleman, offered an insult to Jenny, for which she felt justified in
administering to him, a severe chastisement. For this grave offence she
was condemned to be sold to a trader by the name of William Watts, who
owned a place in Mississippi. The conditions of sale were that she was
to be taken out of the state and never to be allowed to return. It so
happened, however, before she was removed that Watts, the trader, failed
in order to cheat his creditors it was supposed. Governor McDowell, of
Virginia, was one of those to whom he was largely indebted for a number
of slaves which he, the Governor, had placed in his hands for disposal,
some time before the trader took the benefit. Therefore, as the Governor
was anxious to recover his loss as much as possible, he seized on Jenny.
It was through this interference that the condition relative to her
being sent out of the state was broken.
"The Governor," said Jenny, "was a very fine gentleman, as good as I
could expect of Virginia. He allowed his slaves to raise fowl and hogs,
with many privileges of one kind and another; besides he kept them all
together; but he took sick and died. There was a great change shortly
after that. The slaves were soon scattered like the wind. The Governor
had nine sons and daughters.
After his death Mrs. McDowell, alias Mrs. Sally Thomas, took possession,
and employed an overseer, by the name of Henry Morgan. He was a very
good man in his looks, but a very rascally man; would get drunk, and
sell her property to get whisky. Mrs. McDowell would let him do just as
he pleased. For the slightest complaint the overseer might see fit to
make against any of the slaves, she would tell him to sell them"--"Sell,
Mr. Morgan." "He would treat them worse than he would any dog; would
beat them over the head with great hickory sticks, the same as he would
beat an ox. He would pasture cows and horses on the plantation, and keep
the money. We slaves all knew it, and we told her; but our words would
not go in court against a white man, and until she was told by Mr.
White, and her cousin, Dr. Taylor, and Mr. Barclay, she would not
believe how shamefully this overseer was cheating her. But at last she
was convinced, and discharged him, and hired another by the name of John
Moore. The new one, if anything, was worse than the old one, for he
could do the most unblushing acts of cruelty with pleasure. He was a
demon."
Finally the estate had to be settled, and the property divided. At this
time it was in the hands of the oldest daughter, Mistress Sally, who had
been married to Frank Thomas, the Governor of Maryland. But the Governor
had discarded her for some reason or other, and according to his
published account of her it might seem that he had good reason for doing
so. It was understood that he gave her a divorce, so she was considered
single for life. It was also understood that she was to buy in the
homestead at a moderate price, with as many slaves as she might desire.
Said Jenny, "I was sold at this settlement sale, and bought in by the
'grass widow' for four hundred dollars." The place and a number of
slaves were bought in on terms equally as low. After this the widow
became smitten with a reverend gentleman, by the name of John Miller,
who had formerly lived North; he had been a popular preacher. After a
courtship, which did not last very long, they were married. This took
place three years ago, prior to the writing of this narrative. After the
marriage, Rev. Mr. Miller took up his abode on the old homestead, and
entered upon his duties as a slave-holder in good earnest.
"How did you like him?" inquired a member of the Committee.
"I despised him," was Jenny's prompt answer.
"Why did you despise him?"
"Because he had such mean ways with him," said Jenny. She then went on
to remark as follows:--"Coming there, taking so much authority over
other people's servants. He was so mean that he broke up all the
privileges the servants had before he came. He stopped all hands from
raising chickens, pigs, etc. He don't like to see them hold up their
heads above their shoulders." Didn't he preach? she was asked. "Yes, but
I never heard him preach; I have heard him pray though. On Thursday
nights, when he would not want the servants to go into town to meeting,
he would keep up until it would be too late for them to go. He is now
carrying on the farm, and follows butchering. He has not yet sold any of
the slaves, but has threatened to sell all hands to the trader."
Jenny once had a husband, but he went to Canada, and that was all she
could tell about him, as she had never had a letter or any direct
information from him since he left. That she was childless, she regarded
as a matter of great satisfaction, considering all the circumstances.
* * * * *
ARRIVAL FROM BALTIMORE, 1860.
WILLIAM BROWN, AND JAMES HENSON
Considering themselves trampled upon by their fellow-men, unitedly
resolved to seek a better country.
William was pained with the idea that so much of his time had already
been used up, as he was then thirty-six years of age. Yet he thought
that it would do no good to mourn over the past, but do what he intended
to do quickly. The master whom he had served, he called, "Master
Lynchum." He was a farmer, and knew full well how to use severity with
the slaves; but had never practiced showing favors, or allowing
privileges of any kind. True he did not flog, but he resorted to other
means of punishment when he desired to make the slaves feel that he was
master. William left his mother, Harriet Brown, three sisters, and one
brother,--Francis, Mary, Eliza, and Robert. They were all free but
Eliza.
Seven weeks William and James were under the painful anxiety of trying
to escape, but conscious of the snares and dangers on the road, and
desirous of success, they did not feel at liberty to move, save as they
saw their way clear. This well-exercised sagacity was strongly marked in
the intellectual region of William's head.
James Henson was a man of rather slender build. From exposure in
traveling he took a severe cold and was suffering with sore throat. He
and Mrs. Maria Thomas disagreed. She set herself up to be "Jim's"
mistress and owner. For some cause or other Jim was unwilling to fill
this station longer. He had been hired out by his mistress, who received
one hundred dollars per annum; and, for aught Jim knew, she was pretty
well pleased with him and the money also. She coolly held eleven others
in the same predicament. While Jim found no fault with the treatment
received at the hands of his mistress, he went so far as to say that
"she was a right fine woman," yet, the longer he lived her slave, the
more unhappy he became. Therefore, he decided that he would try and do
better, and accordingly, in company with William he started, success
attending their efforts. James left three sisters and one brother,
Charlotte, Susan, Ellen and Johnson, all slaves.
* * * * *
ARRIVAL FROM MARYLAND.
PHILIP STANTON, RANDOLPH NICHOLS, AND THOMAS DOUGLASS.
Philip had a master by the name of John Smith, whom he was very anxious
to get rid of, but hardly knew how. For a long time, Philip was annoyed
in various ways. Being the only slave on the place, there was no rest
for him. Said Smith was a bachelor, and his mother, who kept house for
him, was quite aged; "she was worse than the old boy wanted her to be, a
more contrary woman never was; she was bad in this way, she was
quarrelsome, and then again she would not give you as much to eat as you
ought to have, and it was pretty rough; nothing but corn bread and the
fattest pork, that was about all. She was a Catholic, and was known by
the name of Mary Eliza Smith." This was Philip's testimony against his
master and mistress. Working on a farm, driving carriage, etc., had been