A Final River to Cross The Underground Railroad at Youngstown, NY.

532 Pages·2021·28.314 MB·English

by  Gretchen Duling

Second Edition
A
AFinalRivertoCross
offers further proof of the existence of, support for, and operation of
the Underground Railroad in Western New York. The second edition contains newly discovered primary
A
Second Edition
source materials and includes an extensive bibliography and a comprehensive index. It clearly demonstrates
the connection of Youngstown, NY to local, regional and national UGRR networks, and tells the compelling
F
stories of the Village and its citizens—an agent, boaters, ferrymen—who were linked with other persons
and villages in a broader network. Seven accounts document eighteen fugitive slaves who made the perilous i
n Final River
crossing to freedom in Canada from Youngstown. The final chapter presents an Underground Railroad
a
database based on the Wellman Scale. This thoroughly documented book is exactly the kind of local and
l
regional study that UGRR experts currently recommend and fi lls a gap in research on the Underground
R
Railroad in New York State.
i
v
e The
Thoroughly researched, with solid information, this book explores the fascinating people, places, and stories relating to
r
to Cross
the Underground Railroad in Youngstown, New York, an important crossing point into Canada. It is a very welcome Underground
t
addition to Underground Railroad literature.
o Railroad at
Judith Wellman, Ph.D.
Historian and Principal Investigator, Historical New York Research Associates C
Youngstown, NY
Professor Emerita, State University of New York at Oswego
r
Intricately researched, A Final River to Cross offers as many questions as answers, not about whether or not there were any
o
crossings from Youngstown to Canada, but about the full extent of the role played by the men and women of Youngstown, s
New York, in this amazing, international movement. The Dulings’ research suggests that there is far more to the story. s
Their work will continue to inform and inspire additional investigation for decades.
Bill Bradberry, Chair
Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Area Commission SaT
eth
c Ye
Wow!! This is an incredible piece of scholarship and a great contribution to the history of the vital and active Underground onou U
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Railroad networks of Youngstown and the neighboring region. Congratulations! This book deserves a wide readership! Egd
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Kate Clifford Larson, Ph.D. ititorg
Historian and Author of Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero onwro
nu
, Nnd
Gretchen and Dennis Duling have fi lled a void in Youngstown history with their book on the Underground Railroad. Y R
What’s most amazing is that they didn’t listen to those who said there’s no evidence of such activity, but instead diligently a
i
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searched across New York State, visiting libraries, churches, and historical societies. In doing so, they uncovered a rich ro
a
treasure trove of information. d

Karen Noonan, Ph.D.
Youngstown, New York local historian
U.S. $49.95
A CITY OF LIGHT IMPRINT
[email protected]
www.CityofLightPublishing.com
Gretchen Duling, Ph.D. and Dennis Duling, Ph.D.

A
Second Edition
Final River
The
to Cross
Underground
Railroad at
Youngstown, NY
Gretchen Duling, Ph.D. and Dennis Duling, Ph.D.
A CITY OF LIGHT IMPRINT
© 2021 by Gretchen and Dennis Duling
First edition published by Buffalo Heritage Press in 2017
Second edition published by City of Light Publishing in 2021
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For
information, address Buffalo Heritage Press
City of Light Publishing
266 Elmwood Avenue, #407
Buffalo, NY 14222
A CITY OF LIGHT IMPRINT www.CityofLightPublishing.com
Chapter heading images are from E. T. Foote’s Antislavery Scrapbook. We are grateful to John Paul Wolfe,
Curator of the Chautauqua County Historical Museum, for finding them and for permission from the New
York Chautauqua County Historical Society to use them.
Book design by Dennis Duling & Goulah Design Group, Inc.
Cover image: A Horse Boat at Empy’s Ferry, Osnabruck, Ontario, 1898 (see Image 4.8, p. 93)
First edition ISBN: 978-1-942483-40-3 (softcover)
Second edition ISBN: 978-1-952536-01-4 (softcover)
Library of Congress control number available upon request.
Printed in the U.S.A.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Duling, Gretchen A., author. | Duling, Dennis C., author.
Title: A final river to cross : the Underground Railroad at Youngstown, New York / Gretchen Duling, Ph.D. and Dennis Duling, Ph.D.
Other titles: Underground Railroad at Youngstown, New York
Description: Second edition. | Buffalo, NY : New Idea Press, a City of Light imprint, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and
index. | Summary: "The second edition of A Final River to Cross: The Underground Railroad at Youngstown, New York offers
further proof of the existence of, support for, and operation of the Underground Railroad in Western New York. The revised and
enhanced second edition contains newly discovered primary source materials and includes an extensive bibliography and a
comprehensive index. It clearly demonstrates the connection of Youngstown, New York to regional and national UGRR networks,
and tells the compelling stories of the Village and its citizens-an agent, boaters, ferrymen-who were linked with other persons and
villages in a broader network. Seven accounts document eighteen fugitive slaves who made the perilous crossing to freedom in
Canada from Youngstown. The final chapter is an Underground Railroad database based on the Wellman Scale. This thoroughly
documented book is exactly the kind of local and regional study that UGRR experts currently recommend and fills a gap in research
on the Underground Railroad in New York State. "Thoroughly researched, with solid information, this book explores the
fascinating people, places, and stories relating to the Underground Railroad in Youngstown, NY." -- Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020047279 (print) | LCCN 2020047280 (ebook) | ISBN 9781952536014 (paperback) | ISBN 9781952536021
(epub) | ISBN 9781952536021 (kindle edition) | ISBN 9781952536021 (mobi) | ISBN 9781952536021 (pdf)
Subjects: LCSH: Underground Railroad--New York (State)--Youngstown. | African Americans--New York (State)--Youngstown--
History--19th century. | Fugitive slaves--New York (State)--Youngstown--History--19th century. | Youngstown (N.Y.)--History--19th
century.
Classification: LCC E450 .D84 2021 (print) | LCC E450 (ebook) | DDC 974.7/980496073--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047279
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020047280
Image 0.1
Away to Canada1
I’ve served my master all my days
Without a dime’s reward,
And now I’m forced to run away
To flee the lash abhored.
The hounds are baying on my track—
The master’s just behind,
Resolved that he will bring me back
Before I cross the line.
Farewell old master,
Don’t come after me,
I’m on my way to Canada
Where colored men are free!
1“Away to Canada,” a slave song. Library of the University of Michigan: Henry Bibb’s paper, “The Voice of the
Fugitive,” file of 1851—1852; Dalhousie Review (January, 1926) 531. Quoted by Wilbur H. Siebert, “The
Underground Railroad in Massachusetts,” The New England Quarterly 9/3 (1936) 448 (Online at JSTOR).
i
DDeeddiiccaattiioonn
This book was researched and written
to honor the memory of the
freedom seekers and free colored people
who lived in or passed through nineteenth-century
Youngstown, New York,
and to its local people, most especially the ferrymen who helped keep
them safe, guided them further, and ferried many of them across the
Niagara River to freedom in Canada.

Youngstown, New York, early 1900s
(Courtesy of the Town of Porter Historical Society)
Image 0.2

ii A Final River to Cross
CONTENTS
IMAGES ................................................................................................................................ v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................. xiii
PREFACE ............................................................................................................................ xxiii

PART I: Contexts ........................................................................................................................ 1
ONE Slavery, Fugitive Slaves, and the Underground Railroad:
Canada and the United States ................................................................................ 3
TWO The Anti-Slavery Society and the Abolitionists in Niagara County
and Youngstown, New York .................................................................................. 29
THREE African Americans in the Town of Porter ............................................................. 53
FOUR Crossing the Niagara River: The Boats .................................................................. 83
FIVE Crossing the Niagara River: Bridges, Trains, and the Youngstown Trains ........... 109
SIX Youngstown: Ferries and Ferrymen—and a Ferrywoman .................................. 127

PART II: Seven Accounts ...................................................................................................... 171
SEVEN Youngstown’s Olaf Hathaway Ferried Fugitive Slave Thomas James
to Niagara, Canada, 1821 ................................................................................... 173
EIGHT Samuel Ringgold Ward, a Youngstown Ferryman,
and a Fugitive Slave, 1853 .................................................................................. 193
NINE The Ben Hockley Saga, 1853 ............................................................................... 209
TEN A Young Fugitive Slave James and his Father Daniel Sent to UGRR Agent
“Mr. Pardee” of Youngstown, 1855 .................................................................... 235
iii
ELEVEN Two Fugitive Slaves Rowed to Canada by a Youngstown
Farmer, 1856 or 1857 ......................................................................................... 267
TWELVE A Race to the Youngstown Ferry as a Diversion to Help
Cassey Escape from Slave Catchers, ca. 1860/1861 ........................................... 281
THIRTEEN Eleven Fugitive Slaves, ca. 1861/1862 ................................................................ 301

PART III: Speculations .......................................................................................................... 305
FOURTEEN Extended Networks. The Davis and Haskell Families, Austin McPherson,
John Carter, Jordan and Mary McClary Gaines ................................................... 307
FIFTEEN More Niagara County UGRR Network Possibilities ............................................. 329
SIXTEEN Youngstown Underground Railroad Site Possibilities ......................................... 355

PART IV: Evaluations and Conclusions ............................................................................ 389
SEVENTEEN Summary, Evaluations, and Conclusions: The Youngstown Underground
Railroad Network Database and the Wellman Scale .......................................... 391

PART V: Appendices, Bibliography, and Index .............................................................. 413
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................ 415
Appendix 1: Social Networks and Social Network Analysis ............................................ 418
Appendix 2: Timeline of Owners of the Ontario House Property, 1842-Present ........... 417
Appendix 3: Excerpts: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 .................................................... 421
Appendix 4: Eber M. Pettit Obituary .............................................................................. 424
Appendix 5: Excerpts: Wilbur H. Siebert’s The Underground Railroad (1898) ............... 427
Appendix 6: John P. VanDeusen ..................................................................................... 431
Appendix 7: Ferrymen, the Morgan Affair (1826),
and the Caroline Affair (1837/1838) ................................................................... 435
Appendix 8: Three Amendments to the U.S. Constitution ............................................. 444
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................ 445
INDEX ............................................................................................................................ 467
About the Authors ...................................................................................................................... 487
iv A Final River to Cross
Images

IMAGES
0.1 From E. T. Foote’s Antislavery Scrapbook
0.2 Youngstown, New York, early 1900s
0.3 The Wellman Scale
1.1 From E. T. Foote’s Antislavery Scrapbook
1.2 Chloe Cooley and the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada
1.3 William and Susannah Steward House (ca. 1835), Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
1.4a Negro Burial Ground, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario: Headstone
1.4b Negro Burial Ground, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario: Historical Marker, 1830
1.5 The “Great Fugitive Slave Law Convention,” Cazenovia, New York, August 22, 1850
1.6 Map: The Underground Railroad in the 19th Century
2.1 From E. T. Foote’s Antislavery Scrapbook
2.2 The “Broadside” (Poster) of Boston Abolitionist Theodore Parker, 1851
2.3 William Lloyd Garrison (1805 – 1879)
2.4 Illustrations from the American Anti-slavery Almanac for 1840
2.5 “Showing How Slavery Improves the Condition of the Female Sex” (Almanac)
2.6 “Hunting Slaves with Dogs and Guns. A Slave Drowned by the Dogs” (Almanac)
2.7 Frederick Douglass (1818 –1895)
2.8 Gerrit Smith (1797-1874)
2.9 Gerrit Smith’s Land Office on the Gerrit Smith Estate, Peterboro, New York
2.10 John Brown House and Grave, John Brown Farm, North Elba, NY, near Lake Placid
2.11 Map: Nineteen Anti-Slavery Society Counties in New York State, 1836
2.12 Map: Niagara County, New York
Images v
2.13 Theodore Dwight Weld (1803 – 1895)
2.14 Handbill Urging Anti-Abolitionists to Meet to Oppose Abolitionism, Lockport, 1836
2.15 William J. Watkins (1803 – 1858)
3.1 From E. T. Foote’s Antislavery Scrapbook
3.2 Manumission Certificate for a Slave named “George,” April 24, 1817
3.3 William Still (1821 – 1902)
3.4 Harriet Tubman (1822 – 1913)
3.5 John P. Parker (1827 – 1900)
4.1 From E. T. Foote’s Antislavery Scrapbook
4.2 Escaping from Norfolk in Capt. Lee’s Skiff (C. H. Reed, 1872)
4.3 Engraving of a “Durham (Schnectedy) Boat” (with sails)
4.4 John Young’s Red Store (Jean Stratton)
4.5 Geil’s “View from the Ferry”
4.6 The Burlington Bay Horse Ferry Deck Construction and Inboard Profile
4.7 A Sternwheel Horse Ferry Operating at St. Mary’s, Missouri, ca.1900
4.8 A Horse Boat at Empy’s Ferry, Osnabruck, Ontario, 1898
4.9 A Two-Horse Ferry at Lewiston, New York
4.10 A Small Two-Mast Schooner with Gaff Rigging
4.11 Newspaper Report: A Man Overboard, Auburn Daily Union, November 19, 1860
4.12 Wood Engraving of the Ontario (1847, departed 1848) (based on James Van Cleve)
4.13 A Steamer Passes Fort Niagara Just North of Youngstown
4.14 The Ontario (1817—1831)
4.15 From an Ad in The New York Spectator, June 7, 1827
4.16 The Martha Ogden (launched 1824), which ran from Youngstown to York (Toronto)
5.1 From E. T. Foote’s Antislavery Scrapbook
5.2 James Van Cleve, “Suspension Bridge at Lewiston and Queenston” (1851—1864)
5.3 Newspaper Report: The Dangers of Crossing the Suspension Bridge
5.4 Bellevue (Niagara City) & Niagara Falls, Farmland Between (Tobias Witmer 1854)
5.5 Newspaper Report: The Locomotive Pluto Crosses the Suspension Bridge (1855)
vi A Final River to Cross