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Pennsylvania’s Role In The
Abolitionist Movement
Pennsylvania has long been in the forefront of the Abolitionist movement.
The first recorded protest against slavery in the English Colonies came in
1688 from a group of Quakers in Germantown, PA. In 1711, the
Quakers formally asked the colonial legislature to ban slavery, which the
English Parliament vetoed.We who
live in the 21st Century now want to know all about those
perilous days; we want to know the people – white, black, Native American
men and women who were part of this great escape plan. How much of the
“facts” about the UGRR is actually true and how much is romantic fiction? We
will probably never know the entire story, but we do have tantalizing bits
and pieces.
A
Bend in the
Road
One of
the UGRR’s many routes in western PA, began in Uniontown, Fayette County,
traveled through Blairsville (along what is now Route 119) north to Black
Lick, Homer City and Indiana, and eventually to Mercer, Venango and Erie
counties ending in Canada.In the
Years preceding the Civil War, kidnapping of African-Americans was common
but not always successful. One such incident occurred in
Blairsville,
PA in the fall of 1858. It is the rising up of the citizens in defense of a
black man named “Newton” that is the core of this Project.
The Event
It was March 31 of 1858 when Robert Stump (slave catcher from Virginia) and
Peter Heck (his helper from Uniontown, PA) came to Blairsville. Stump
claimed to have a federal warrant for a fugitive slave named “Newton”
(unknown whether first or last name). Spying
Newton
at the door of a store, Stump sent Heck to capture him. Of course, Newton
strenuously objected, which attracted a group of town people. What ensued
was a riot! The citizens – both men and women – soundly beat up the two
slave catchers and sent them packing along the PA Canal towpath.
Newton
was saved and once again under the protection of Lewis Johnston.
Robert
Stump returned to Blairsville and attempted to capture a fugitive in 1860,
meeting with the same lack of success. And
Newton?
Was he a fugitive slave? Was he a free man who narrowly missed being
kidnapped? Did he travel to a safe place? There is no further record of
Newton after this incident
By
appointment, the Project provides walking tours of both the town and the
cemetery, showing the UGRR-related sites. The HSBA Museum at 116 E. Campbell St. is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM until 2PM.
The UGRR Museum at 214 S. East Lane is available by appointment. Both museums are in
Blairsville, Pa. 15717
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