John Purnell (b. ? - d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-8740
Fled from Slavery, Worchester County, Maryland 1860
Biography:
In 1860, John Purnell successfully escaped from Kunkletown in Worcester County, Maryland. John fled with fellow slaves Henry Burkett, his wife Elizabeth Burkett, Thomas Sipple, his wife Mary Ann Sipple, and Hale Burton, holding a total of thirty dollars and looking to cross the Delaware Bay into freedom. The group purchased a small vessel for six dollars and began their journey up the coast on their way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. En route, they encountered a group of white men who attempted to overtake the slaves' boat. The fugitives, however, defended their vessel and continued on, despite injury to the passengers.
The group landed on a small island off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey, where the captain of an oyster boat offered to take them to Philadelphia for the remainder of their money. With the captain's help, John and the rest of the group arrived in Philadelphia, where they were forwarded to John W. Jones, an agent of the Underground Railroad in Elmira. A letter from John W. Jones to author and Underground Railroad historian William Still dated June 6, 1860, details the arrival of the fugitives from Worcester County.
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