GDG- Underground Railroad Locations

[Marc Ferguson]

"My take on this is that the underground RR was not a railroad with
stops. It was a network of people who, occasionally or often, helped
move slaves from the south to safe havens in the North."

I agree with this statement. Considering the novelty and significance of the 
railroads during the antebellum period, it is not surprising that this 
metaphor caught on. But it was, after all, only a metaphor. The actual 
"UGRR" was really a constantly changing network of relationships. After the 
war the idea of the Underground Railroad was much romanticized. Many people 
made claims for their participation, or especially for their parents' 
involvement in this activity. Many of these claims must be taken with at 
least a grain of salt. Most slaves who fled did so on their own, and what 
aid they received was generally given by other blacks. While there are 
undoubtedly cases of "secret rooms," this is a wildly exaggerated element of 
the "railroad." Once fugitive slaves were able to cross the border from a 
slave state into a free state, their protection was primarily due to the 
solidarity of the communities, mostly black, that harbored them, as well as 
the refusal of the larger white community to aid slave-hunters. There was a 
fugitive slave named Basil Dorsey who settled in a community, Florence, 
Massachusetts, close to where I live who apparently passed through 
Gettysburg on his flight from slavery in Frederick County, Maryland. An 
account of Dorsey's life in the Hampshire Gazette from April 2, 1867 
reports: "On the 14th of May 1836, before anti-slavery became very popular, 
even in Massachusetts, Dorsey, in company with two other slaves, turned his 
back upon his master and set out for the land of freedom. They traveled in 
the night and reached Gettysburg to safety. From thence they went to 
Harrisburg and then to Reading." Unfortunately this account doesn't give any 
details as to whether anyone in Gettysburg aided them. My guess is that 
there were free blacks in the area who sheltered them, which was often the 
pattern. Dorsey was later assisted by the famous abolitionist Robert Purvis, 
went on to New York where he was apparently assisted by David Ruggles, and 
then on to Western Massachusetts. Notably, Dorsey affixed his name as one of 
ten "fugitives from Southern Slavery" to a public notice in the _Northampton 
Courier_ of 10/22/1850, calling for a public meeting to "express their 
opinions and adopt such measures as they deem proper to prevent 
Massachusetts from being made slave hunting ground."

Marc Ferguson

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <jlawrence at kc.rr.com>
To: "GDG" <gettysburg at arthes.com>
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 2:51 PM
Subject: Re: GDG- Underground Railroad Locations


> Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>
>
> There is a place up on Culp's hill that has been referred to as a "man
> made cave".
>
> You can see it from the tower up there when the undergrowth is gone.
>
> There was a group at the college that was called the "black ducks"
> that was supposed to be active in moving slaves.
>
> The janitor at the college was supposed to be active in the movement.
> Jack something (there is a marker outside his house).
>
> Finally, I have seen the Dobbin's house listed on at least one list as
> being a stoip for escaped slaves.
>
> The Dobbins family did own slaves, but no longer owned Dobbins when
> the railroad was at its Zenith. Send me a private E-Mail and I'll get
> you some references.
>
> My take on this is that the underground RR was not a railroad with
> stops. It was a network of people who, occaisionally or often, helped
> move slaves from the south to safe havens in the North.
>
> Gettysburg was more of a place they were routed through and any so
> called "stops" were more like temporary respites. I imagine, using
> that definition, there were many such places in the area.
>
> If you are looking for places of refuge, Yellow Hill and Quaker valley
> would be a good guess, I believe.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jack