The story was reported in the Cecil Democrat, July 25, 1857.
One story that was not included with the railroad series was an especially risky attempt to use the railroad steam ferry at Havre de Grace to cross the Susquehanna in 1857. The young woman attempting the escape was enslaved by Captain Galloway of Havre de Grace. Galloway was the captain of the steam ferry she intended to use for her escape. A New Jersey man and his wife had persuaded her to run away from the captain and instructed her to steal money from the captain’s home when she made the escape. This instruction clouds the motive of the couple. Were they abolitionists, or con artists, or both? Was the money simply get-away money to finance the woman’s escape? The man bought the train ticket for the three of them. The freedom seeker used two veils to disguise herself, well aware that that the plan would fail if the captain spotted her on the ferry. But the plan failed before they boarded the boat when a black man either recognized the young woman despite the disguise or was simply suspicious and called out to a white passer-by who arrested her. The couple was released on bail. The story stops there, but the chances are the couple headed back to New Jersey before their trial date.
The story was reported in the Cecil Democrat, July 25, 1857.
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Freedom Seekers and Freedom Stealers along the Mason - Dixon LineAuthorMilt Diggins, M. ed., an independent scholar, author, public historian, and public speaker. Archives
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