The Underground Railroad
Mr. Garrett continued his interest in every reform up to his
last illness, and probably his last appearance in any public
capacity, was as president of a Woman Suffrage meeting, in the
City Hall, a few months ago, which was addressed by Julia Ward
Howe, Lucy Stone, and Henry B. Blackwell.
He lived to see the realization of his hopes for Universal
Freedom, and in April last on the occasion of the great parade
of the colored people in this city, he was carried through our
streets in an open barouche, surrounded by the men in whose
behalf he had labored so faithfully, and the guards around his
carriage carrying banners, with the inscription, "Our Moses."
A Moses he was to their race; but unto him it was given to enter
into the promised land toward which he had set his face
persistently and almost alone for more than half a century.
He was beloved almost to adoration by his dusky-hued friends,
and in the dark days of the beginning of the war, which every
Wilmingtonian will remember with a shudder, in those days of
doubt, confusion, and suspicion, without his knowledge or
consent, Thomas Garrett's house was constantly surrounded and
watched by faithful black men, resolved that, come weal come woe
to them, no harm should come to the benefactor of their race.
He was a hero in a life-time fight, an upright, honest man in
his dealings with men, a tender husband, a loving father, and
above all, a man who loved his neighbor as himself, and
righteousness and truth better than ease, safety, or worldly
goods, and who never let any fear of harm to person or property
sway him from doing his whole duty to the uttermost.
He was faithful among the faithless, upright and just in the
midst of a wicked and perverse generation, and lived to see his
labors rewarded and approved in his own life-time, and then with
joy that the Right had triumphed by mightier means than his own;
with thankfulness for the past, and with calm trust for the
future, he passed to the reward of the just. He has fought a
good fight, he has finished his course, he has kept the faith.
From the same paper, of January 30th, 1871, we extract an account of the
funeral obsequies which took place on Saturday, January 28th.
FUNERAL SERVICE ON SATURDAY.
The funeral of Thomas Garrett, which took place on Saturday,
partook almost of the character of a popular ovation to the
memory of the deceased, though it was conducted with the
plainness of form which characterizes the society of which he
was a member.
There was no display, no organization, nothing whatever to
distinguish this from ordinary funerals, except the outpouring
of people of every creed, condition, and color, to follow the
remains to their last resting-place.
There was for an hour or two before the procession started, a
constant living stream of humanity passing into the house,
around the coffin, and out at another door, to take a last look
at the face of the deceased, the features of which displayed a
sweetness and serenity which occasioned general remark. A smile
seemed to play upon the dead lips.
Shortly after three o'clock the funeral procession started, the
plain coffin, containing the remains, being carried by the
stalwart arms of a delegation of colored men, and the family and
friends of the deceased following in carriages with a large
procession on foot, while the sidewalks along the line, from the
house to the meeting-house, more than six squares, were densely
crowded with spectators.
The Friends' Meeting House was already crowded, except the place
reserved for the relatives of the deceased, and, though probably
fifteen hundred people crowded into the capacious building, a
greater number still were unable to gain admission.
The crowd inside was composed of all kinds and conditions of
men, white and black, all uniting to do honor to the character
and works of the deceased.
The coffin was laid in the open space in front of the gallery of
ministers and elders, and the lid removed from it, after which
there was a period of silence.
Presently the venerable Lucretia Mott arose and said that,
seeing the gathering of the multitude there and thronging along
the streets, as she had passed on her way to the meeting-house,
she had thought of the multitude which gathered after the death
of Jesus, and of the remark of the Centurion, who, seeing the
people, said: "Certainly this was a righteous man." Looking at
this multitude she would say surely this also was a righteous
man. She was not one of those who thought it best always on
occasions like this, to speak in eulogy of the dead, but this
was not an ordinary case, and seeing the crowd that had
gathered, and amongst it the large numbers of a once despised
and persecuted race, for which the deceased had done so much,
she felt that it was fit and proper that the good deeds of this
man's life should be remembered, for the encouragement of
others. She spoke of her long acquaintance with him, of his
cheerful and sunny disposition, and his firm devotion to the
truth as he saw it.
Aaron M. Powell, of New York, was the next speaker, and he spoke
at length with great earnestness of the life-long labor of his
departed friend in the abolition cause, of his cheerfulness, his
courage, and his perfect consecration to his work.
He alluded to the fact, that deceased was a member of the
Society of Friends, and held firmly to its faith that God leads
and inspires men to do the work He requires of them, that He
speaks within the soul of every man, and that all men are
equally His children, subject to His guidance, and that all
should be free to follow wherever the Spirit might lead. It was
Thomas Garrett's recognition of this sentiment that made him an
abolitionist, and inspired him with the courage to pursue his
great work. He cared little for the minor details of Quakerism,
but he was a true Quaker in his devotion to this great central
idea which is the basis on which it rests. He urged the Society
to take a lesson from the deceased, and recognizing the
responsibility of their position, to labor with earnestness, and
to consecrate their whole beings to the cause of right and
reform. It is impossible for us to give any fair abstract of Mr.
Powell's earnest and eloquent tribute to his friend, on whom he
had looked, he said, as "a Father in Israel" from his boyhood.
William Howard Day, then came forward, saying, he understood
that it would not be considered inappropriate for one of his
race to say a few words on this occasion, and make some attempt
to pay a fitting tribute to one to whom they owed so much. He
did not feel to-day like paying such a tribute, his grief was
too fresh upon him, his heart too bowed down, and he could do no
more, than in behalf of his race, not only those here, but the
host the deceased has befriended, and of the whole four millions
to whom he had been so true a friend, cast a tribute of praise
and thanks upon his grave.
Rev. Alfred Cookman, of Grace M.E. Church, next arose, and said
that he came there intending to say nothing, but the scene moved
him to a few words. He remembered once standing in front of St.
Paul's Cathedral, in London, and seeing therein the name of the
architect, Sir Christopher Wren, inscribed, and under it this
inscription: "Stranger, if you would see his monument look about
you." And the thought came to him that if you would see the
monument of him who lies there, look about you and see it built
in stones of living hearts. He thanked God for the works of this
man; he thanked Him especially for his noble character. He said
that he felt that that body had been the temple of a noble
spirit, aye the temple of God himself, and some day they would
meet the spirit in the heavenly land beyond the grave.
Lucretia Mott arose, and said she feared the claim might appear
to be made that Quakerism alone held the great central principle
which dominated this man's life; but she wished it understood
that they recognized this "voice within" as leading and guiding
all men, and they probably meant by it much the same as those
differing from them meant by the Third person in their Trinity.
She did not wish, even in appearance, to claim a belief in this
voice for her own sect alone.
T. Clarkson Taylor then said, that the time for closing the
services had arrived, and in a very few words commended the
lesson of his life to those present, after which the meeting
dissolved, and the body was carried to the grave-yard in the
rear of the meeting-house, and deposited in its last
resting-place.
THE TRIAL OF THE CASES, 1848.
To the Editor of the Commercial:
Your admirable and interesting sketch of the career of the late
Thomas Garrett contains one or two statements, which, according
to my recollection of the facts, are not entirely accurate, and
are perhaps of sufficient importance to be corrected.
The proceedings in the U.S. Circuit Court were not public
prosecutions or indictments, but civil suits instituted by the
owners of the runaway slaves, who employed and paid counsel to
conduct them. An act of Congress, then in force, imposed a
penalty of five hundred dollars on any person who should
knowingly harbor or conceal a fugitive from labor, to be
recovered by and for the benefit of the claimant of such
fugitive, in any Court proper to try the same; saving, moreover,
to the claimant his right of action for or on account of loss,
etc.; thus giving to the slave-owner two cases for action for
each fugitive, one of debt for the penalty, and one of trespass
for damages.
There were in all seven slaves, only the husband and father of
the family being free, who escaped under the friendly help and
guidance of Mr. Garrett, five of whom were claimed by E.N.
Turner, and the remaining two by C.T. Glanding, both claimants
being residents of Maryland.
In the suits for the penalties, Turner obtained judgment for
twenty-five hundred dollars, and Glanding, one for one thousand
dollars. In these cases the jury could give neither less nor
more than the amount of the penalties, on the proper proof being
made. Nor in the trespass case did the jury give "larger damages
than were claimed." A jury sometimes does queer things, but it
cannot make a verdict for a greater sum than the plaintiff
demands; in the trespass cases, Glanding had a verdict for one
thousand dollars damages, but in Turner's case only nine hundred
dollars were allowed, though the plaintiff sued for twenty-five
hundred.
It is hardly true to say that any one of the juries was
_packed_, indeed, it would have been a difficult matter in that
day for the Marshal to summon thirty sober, honest, and
judicious men, fairly and impartially chosen from the three
counties of Delaware, who would have found verdicts different
from those which were rendered. The jury must have been fixed
for the defendant to have secured any other result, on the
supposition that the testimony admitted of any doubt or
question, the anti-slavery men in the state being like Virgil's