More on The
Wagon
Rear of our
Wagon
There is probably only one vehicle left in North Carolina that was used
to transport runaway slaves in the days before the Civil War. That vehicle is
now the property of the Historic Jamestown Society and is on display at the
Mendenhall Plantation located on West Main Street in Jamestown, North Carolina,
opposite the High Point City Lake Park. There is a second wagon, almost
identical, in the Levi Coffin House and Museum located in Fountain City,
Indiana, on U.S. 27.
The story of the North Carolina wagon is a fascinating one, because it is
part of the story of the Underground Railroad.
The Underground Railroad was a system for helping black slaves to escape
to the northern states and to Canada. It was called "underground"
because fleeing slaves who seemed to mysteriously disappear from sight were in
fact hiding in the homes of people who were opposed to slavery.
The Underground Railroad was active in the years before the Civil War,
especially from 1830 to 1860. Possibly as many as 50,000 slaves in the South
were helped to escape to free territory beyond the Ohio River and often on into
Canada.
Assisting runaway slaves was against the law and so it was done with as
much secrecy as possible and no records of any kind were kept for fear they
might serve as incriminating evidence. A new vocabulary was developed to
conceal operations and protect individuals. Cooperating homes in the network
were called "stations," the vehicles were called "trains,"
the drivers were known as "conductors," the fugitives were referred
to as "baggage" or "cargo." The movement of
"passengers" was mostly at night; they traveled in small groups
numbering from two or three to seldom more than a dozen. Movement was slow. The
"stations" were ten to twenty miles apart and transportation was
mainly by horseback, in carriages or wagons, and often on foot.
Fugitive slave laws provided severe penalties of stiff fines and
imprisonment. (See Fugitive Slave Law of 1797.) To interfere with the recovery
of an owner's slaves was considered a serious crime. But many Quakers and some
members of other religious groups preferred to live by the words of the Bible:
"Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the
servant which is escaped from his master unto thee." (Deuteronomy 23:15)
To these abolitionists and others, the laws of God superseded the laws of man.
Levi and Catherine Coffin
In North Carolina, one of the leaders in giving assistance to fugitive
slaves was Levi Coffin, Jr. (1798-1877). Levi was born at New Garden, now
Guilford College. As a boy he saw numerous occasions when slaves were badly
abused.' He resolved that when he grew up he was going to do something about
these matters. As he grew through the adolescent years he became acquainted
with a young Quaker girl, Catherine White of Randolph County, who shared his
convictions regarding slavery. They were married in 1824. During their
courtship and early years of marriage they felt ever more strongly that the
Lord was calling them to some special service on behalf of the slaves but they
were still unclear in their minds as to where and just how they could help.
However, since both sets of parents and their brothers and sisters had now
moved to Indiana along with many other relatives and friends, they felt that
their futures lay there. Early in the autumn of 1826, they, with their year-old
son, packed all their household belongings on a wagon and headed for the West.
They decided to settle in Newport (now Fountain City) just over the
Indiana line, where two- or three-dozen Quaker families had already settled.
The community needed a general store, and Levi and "Katie" provided
it, showing themselves over many years to be good merchandisers. They built a
large house in 1839, providing hiding places for fugitive slaves. Levi afterward
estimated that in Indiana they probably assisted more than 2,000 slaves to
freedom, and helped another thousand after they moved to Cincinnati in their
later years. So successful was he that Levi came to be called the President of
the Underground Railroad. To Levi and Katie these runaways were "Precious
Cargo," many of whom kept in contact with the Coffins until death became
the gateway to a larger and better life.
In 1967 their house, still in good repair, was purchased by the State of
Indiana, and is now under the care of the Wayne County Historical Society. One
of the most treasured items in the house and museum is the wagon which
transported hundreds of runaway slaves, with its secret hiding place for the
Precious Cargo.
When Levi and Catherine Coffin moved to Indiana they left behind them
many friends and relatives who chose to remain in North Carolina and to do what
they could for the anti-slavery movement here. One such couple was Joshua
Stanley (1785-1855) and his wife, Abigail Hunt Stanley (1791-1874). Abigail and
Levi Coffin grew up together in the New Garden community. The Stanley home was
in the Centre community of southern Guilford County, and stood until recent
years on Old U.S. 220 some 500 yards toward Greensboro from the intersection with
N.C. 62. The Stanley house was a station on the Underground Railroad and Joshua
was the station master. Significantly, they had a wagon with a false bottom for
the purpose of hiding runaway slaves, which was identical to the wagon in the
Levi Coffin Museum in Indiana.
1. Coffin, Levi Sr. Reminiscences, pp. 12-31.
Joshua and Abigail Hunt Stanley
They left their farm in Centre Community for a five-year period,
1842-1847, to serve as superintendent and matron of the struggling New Garden
Friends Boarding School, now Guilford College.
We believe they were the original owners of "our wagon.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Coffin, Levi. Reminiscences. Cincinnati; Clark, 1800.
Ludwig, Chas. Leui Coffin and the Underground
Railroad, Scottsdale,
Pa.: Herald Press, 1975.
Ritterhouse, Jack D. American Horse-Drawn Vehicles New
York:
Bonanza Books.
Walton, Aldren A. The Village Blacksmith, New
York: Thomas Y.
Crowell Co.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the writing of even this small leaflet there are many people who
helped. First among these are the members of the Murrow
family who recalled family names and whose memories are still fresh with the
inimitable storytelling of their patriarch, Joshua Edgar Murrow.
Their names are recorded elsewhere in this leaflet.
When we were floundering a bit in the earliest days of our own study,
Robert and Janice McQuire offered great
encouragement. Bob is currently the President of the Levi Coffin House
Association, Fountain City, Indiana. They, with many others over a period of
time, were instrumental in having the Coffin House purchased by the State of
Indiana and leased to the Wayne County Historical Society. It was later declared
a National Historic Landmark, and was restored and provided with appropriate
furnishings. Among them is an old wagon "like the one Levi Coffin used to
transport fugitive slaves in the Underground Railroad." This model has
helped us in the restoration of our wagon - which we believe WAS used to
transport fleeing slaves. The Levi Coffin House Association has published
several booklets about Levi and Catherine Coffin. The address: Box 48, Fountain
City, IN 47341. The sketch of their wagon was done by Jack Phelps, a local
artist. The portrait of the Coffins was done by Doris Phelps. and both are used
in this leaflet by permission.
A key figure in the restoration of our wagon is John Braxton, Route 1,
Graham, NC. John is a master riflesmith whose
handcrafted rifles have won many prizes. He is a Federally-licensed machinist,
and owns a lumber mill, now operated by his son, which makes available to him
most any kind of lumber he needs. Our wagon got his immediate attention because
of its Quaker connections since his ancestors were among the earliest Quaker
immigrants from Pennsylvania and other points north. They settled in the Cane
Creek Valley, probably in the 1750s. A good historical background of the Braxtons and other early Quaker families in the Spring Friends
Meeting will be found in Algie Newlins'
recent book, Friends "at the Spring" So John and Judy Braxton were
just the people we needed and he has done a masterful job of rebuilding the
ancient vehicle. Judy painted the wagon as the final step.
As always, the staff of the Friends Historical Collection in the Guilford
College Library has been most helpful. Damon Hickey, Curator, and Carole Treadway. Bibliographer, helped us to secure the picture of
the first owners of our wagon, Joshua and Abigail Hunt Stanley, which we
greatly appreciate.
There are others to whom we are indebted. Mary A. Browning of Jamestown
made helpful suggestions regarding the text of this leaflet, and prepared the
copy for the printer. Don Grison of Jamestown Graphics did the attractive
artwork for us. Lastly, I appreciate the fact that my son, Howard Haworth of
Morganton, has underwritten the cost of the renovation of the wagon and related
expenses.
Thanks is also expressed for the many others who have been helpful in
this most interesting undertaking.
- Cecil E. Haworth
Mendenhall
Plantation - 603 W
Main St - Jamestown, NC 27282