Still, William, Underground Rail Road:
A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters, Etc.

Porter & Coales, Publishers, Philadelphia, PA, 1872
Call Number: 1400, MSA L1117

MSA L1117, Image No: 781   Enlarge and print image (50K)

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Still, William, Underground Rail Road:
A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters, Etc.

Porter & Coales, Publishers, Philadelphia, PA, 1872
Call Number: 1400, MSA L1117

MSA L1117, Image No: 781   Enlarge and print image (50K)

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750 TBE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. Edwin Fussell, and their uncle, Dr. B. Fuseell, and, after him, his brother William, lived on farms adjoining theirs, and were their active helpers in this work. • The receiving and passing on of fugitives, was not all they had to do. Often it was necessary to fit out whole families with clothing suitable for the journey. In cases of emergency they would sometimes gather a sewing-circle from such neighboring families as conld be trusted; and, with its help, accomplish rapidly the needed work. One instance is remembered, of a woman, with her little boy, whom they put into girls' attire; and, changing also the woman's dress, sent both, by cars, to Canada, accompanied by a friend. In this kind of work, too, they had generous aid from friends at neighboring stations. From. Lawrenceville and Limerick, and Pottstown and Pughtown, came contributions of clothing; at one time a supply which filled compactly three three-bushel bag}, and of which a small remainder, still on hand when slavery was abolished, was sent South to the freed men. The prudence, skill, and watchful care with which the business was conducted, are well attested by the fact that, so far as can be remembered, during all the many vears of their connection with the Underground Rail Road, not a plan miscarried, and not a slave that reached their station was retaken ; although among their neighbors there were bitter adversaries of the Anti-slavery cause, eager to find occasion for hostile acts against any abolitionist; and, at times, especially vindictive against the noble sisters, because of their effective co-oj)eration with other friends of Temperance, in preventing the licensing of a liquor-selling' tavern in the neighborhood. On one occasion, when, within a week, they had passed on to freedom no less than forty-fugitives, eleven of whom had been in the house at once, they were amused at bearing a remark by some of their pro-slavery neighbors, to the effect that " there used to be a pretty brisk trade of running off niggers, but there was not much of it done now." Though parties of four, five or six sometimes arrived in open day, they seldom sent any awav till about nightfall or later, and, whenever the danger was greater than usual, the coming was also at night. The fugitives, in attempting to capture whom, Gorsuch was killed, near Christiana, were brought to them at midnight, by Dr. Fussell; and in this case such caution was observed, that not even the hired girl knew of the presence of persons not of the family. For one reason or another,—perhaps to let a hot pursuit go by; perhaps to allow opportunity for recovering from fatigue and recruiting exhausted strength, or for earning means to pursue the journey by the common railroads,— it was often thought advisable that passengers should remain •with them for a considerable period; and numbers of these were, at different times, employed as laborers in some capacity. Grace Anna testifies that some