The second instalment of a four-part series from the article “A Brief Black History of Woodstock” that was edited and appeared in the What’s On Woodstock Magazine in the January/February 2021 issue.
The first major wave of fugitive slaves to Canada occurred between 1817 to 1820 and the choice of refuge was Essex County as it was the easiest and fastest to reach from the United States. About 20 terminals were set up in Ontario dotting along the shores of Lake Erie and the Niagara River, as well as Amhertsburg, Sandwich, Windsor, Owen Sound, Hamilton, St Catharine's, Toronto, Kingston, Brantford, Collingwood and Prescott. Many Great Lakes ships would carry runaways without charge and drop them on Canadian soil. Ships such as Bay City, United States, Arrow, Mayflower, Forest Queen, May Queen, Morning Star, and Phoebus. Areas in Oxford County that both escaped slaves and free Blacks settled included, Ingersoll, Woodstock, Blenheim, Norwich, Summerville and Otterville.
About 20 terminals were set up in Canada along the Lake Erie shore.
Escaping slaves usually travelled at night on foot through swamps, bayous, forests and waterways guided north by the stars and hid at stations or ports, during the day. Slaves passed information on escape by songs like “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” “Wade in the Water,” “Steal Away, or "Sweet Chariot”.
The most northerly terminus of the Underground Railroad was the former Wesleyan Methodist Church in Ingersoll. Led by Quakers by the way of St. Thomas, slaves escaping bondage from their plantations from Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana and even as far as New Orleans, were smuggled into the attic of the Ingersoll Church during the night. Anti-slavery supporters would try to find work for them on neighbouring farms throughout Oxford County or would transport them to other areas to work, to enable them to safely reach their destinations.
A legendary conductor on the Underground Railroad was Harriet Ross Tubman. Known as the “Black Moses” of her people, Tubman was born into slavery around 1820 on Edward Brodess plantation in Maryland, Ohio. One of 9 children, her parents Harriet (Rit) Green and Benjamin Ross named her Araminta or “Minty” Ross. Harriett grew up with the harsh realities of bondage. From the young age of 5, she was hired out to care for a baby. At nighttime she had to constantly rock the baby, if he cried, Harriett would be whipped. She received such beatings that Harriet bore scars. As an adolescent, Harriet tried to protect another slave and suffered a head injury after an overseer throw a two-pound weight aimed for a slave she helped escape. This incident left Harriet with a scar in her forehead. She suffered from terrible headaches and endured sudden loss of consciousness throughout her life.
The most northerly terminus of the Underground Railroad was the former Wesleyan Methodist Church in Ingersoll. Led by Quakers by the way of St. Thomas, slaves escaping bondage from their plantations from Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana and even as far as New Orleans, were smuggled into the attic of the Ingersoll Church during the night. Anti-slavery supporters would try to find work for them on neighbouring farms throughout Oxford County or would transport them to other areas to work, to enable them to safely reach their destinations.
A legendary conductor on the Underground Railroad was Harriet Ross Tubman. Known as the “Black Moses” of her people, Tubman was born into slavery around 1820 on Edward Brodess plantation in Maryland, Ohio. One of 9 children, her parents Harriet (Rit) Green and Benjamin Ross named her Araminta or “Minty” Ross. Harriett grew up with the harsh realities of bondage. From the young age of 5, she was hired out to care for a baby. At nighttime she had to constantly rock the baby, if he cried, Harriett would be whipped. She received such beatings that Harriet bore scars. As an adolescent, Harriet tried to protect another slave and suffered a head injury after an overseer throw a two-pound weight aimed for a slave she helped escape. This incident left Harriet with a scar in her forehead. She suffered from terrible headaches and endured sudden loss of consciousness throughout her life.
In 1848, she married a free Black man, John Tubman. Harriet told her husband of her wish to escape but aborted it when John threatened to tell her master. After the death of Edward Brodess, the estate was divided, and Harriet’s sisters were sold. After a failed attempt to escape with her brothers, Harriett found out she and her brothers would be sold and sent to Georgia in a chain gang.
In 1849 Tubman escaped on her own foraging through the woods at night, she found shelter and was helped by free Blacks and Quakers. She eventually reached freedom in Philadelphia. There, Harriet met with the prominent abolitionist and civil rights activist William Still. Like him, she too became a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Tubman quickly gained respect among both the slaves and abolitionists. Abolitionist John Brown called her “General Tubman”.
Despite a $40,000 price on her head by a group of slave-owners, Harriett Tubman continued to lead escaping slaves to freedom. She brilliantly used disguises—sometimes posing as a deranged old man and at other times, as an old woman—to avoid suspicion when travelling in slave states. During her expeditions, Tubman carried sleeping powder to stop babies from crying and a pistol to prevent her charges from backing out once their journey began. However, Harriett never lost a passenger, although threatened, she never had to use her gun.
In 1849 Tubman escaped on her own foraging through the woods at night, she found shelter and was helped by free Blacks and Quakers. She eventually reached freedom in Philadelphia. There, Harriet met with the prominent abolitionist and civil rights activist William Still. Like him, she too became a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Tubman quickly gained respect among both the slaves and abolitionists. Abolitionist John Brown called her “General Tubman”.
Despite a $40,000 price on her head by a group of slave-owners, Harriett Tubman continued to lead escaping slaves to freedom. She brilliantly used disguises—sometimes posing as a deranged old man and at other times, as an old woman—to avoid suspicion when travelling in slave states. During her expeditions, Tubman carried sleeping powder to stop babies from crying and a pistol to prevent her charges from backing out once their journey began. However, Harriett never lost a passenger, although threatened, she never had to use her gun.
Over a period of ten years, Tubman made an estimated 19 expeditions into the Southern States and personally escorted about 300 slaves out of bondage to become free in Canada, including some of her siblings and her aged parents. She lived in St. Catharine’s, Ontario for ten years before returning to the United States to serve the Union Army during the American Civil War in 1861 in South Carolina. While there she served as a nurse, a scout and a spy. Harriett Tubman is still considered the first and only woman to led American troops into war. She also helped prepare food for the 54th Massachusetts Regiment—composed entirely of Black soldiers.
Following the war, Harriet continued to be a champion helping the poor newly freed slaves, raising money for clothes and adequate educational facilities. She also became a strong supporter of woman suffrage. Tubman was not able to read or write, but in 1869, her friend Sarah Bradford helped her publish her biography, Scenes from the Life of Harriet Tubman, so that her achievements could be an inspiration to others. Harriet Tubman died on March 10, 1913 at the age of 93. This extraordinary woman was buried with military rights at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn New York.
Quote: "Slavery is the next thing to hell." ~ Harriet Tubman to Benjamin Drew [author of The Narratives of Fugitive Slaves] St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 1855 ~
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