Jonah Kelley (b. 1800 - d. 1873)
MSA SC 5496-13488
Accomplice to slave flight, Caroline County
Biography:
Jonah Kelley lived near Preston, Caroline County, along the border with Dorchester County. He and his wife Hester raised six children on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.1 Like his neighbors, the Levertons, Kelley was a member of the Marshy Creek Meeting House for area Quakers.2 This religious group had become known for their official opposition to slavery, which had resulted in hundreds of manumissions through the latter half of the 18th century. Members had been occasionally expelled for refusing to abide by these edicts, and many others had moved to newly-opened territory in the West so as to avoid the immoral institution.3
Particularly from the 1830's to 1850's, Eastern Shore Quakers could not help but involve themselves in the growing tide of fugitive slaves heading north. Despite the relatively small number of slaves in Caroline County, residents like Kelley were in the direct path of blacks fleeing from the lower counties into Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The adjoining properties of Jonah Kelley, fellow Quaker family the Levertons, and free black Daniel Hubbard formed a contiguous plot of over 1300 acres that became a valued destination for fleeing blacks.4 The immediate area, known as Linchester Mill, had a variety of homes and industrial structures that could serve as safe houses.5 Kelley was often suspected by local authorities, but never proven to have been an accomplice to the efforts of these enslaved African-Americans. In Wilbur H. Siebert's 1898 publication, The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom, he listed these Caroline County individuals as operators in the secret network.6 It has even been speculated that perhaps Hester Trice Kelley was the local white woman who assisted Harriet Tubman in her initial flight from Maryland in 1849. Tubman's father, Ben Ross, who lived in nearby Poplar Neck, was certainly familiar with the Quaker families and their opposition to slavery.7
Writing for the Friends' Intelligencer in 1898, William T. Kelley fondly recollected his father's abolitionist activities, saying "Some fugitives coming to the home of my father, Jonah Kelley ... were directed to Daniel's house."8 Though he refers to no specific instances or fugitive names, this is a reliable assertion considering that William was 22 years old in 1850 as such escapes were becoming common on the Eastern Shore. However, it was Kelley's neighbor and friend Arthur W. Leverton, who was ultimately identified as the main perpretator by angry white slaveholders.9 Leverton was chased out of the area by a mob after an 1858 escape plot was foiled; Hubbard fled soon after as he was similarly suspected of being an accomplice. Kelley's son in law, John R. Stack, was actually contracted to deal with Leverton's property as he hastily vacated the area.10
Jonah Kelley had to consider himself lucky that he was never targeted for retribution throughout the turbulent decade that preceded the Civil War. Eastern Shore whites continually showed that they were willing to utilize intimidation and violence, as well as the legal system, to punish anyone who might threaten the institution of slavery. Kelley remained in the area until his death in 1873, by which time Hester had passed on and he had remarried to a much younger woman named Mary Lydia.11 The 1870 Census indicates that he is surrounded by African-American families, many of whom own their own property, some of which Jonah had sold to them years earlier.12 He even employed at least two black Hubbards, who may have been descendants of his former neighbor Daniel. Kelley was also able to accumulate some considerable wealth, his real estate being valued at over $5000 shortly before his death.13 Jonah Kelley proved himself to be a devout Quaker, and friend to the African-Americans of Caroline and Dorchester County. He was also one of the fortunate few abolitionists of that period to avoid suspicion, and manage to reside in his native Maryland until death.
Researched and Written by David Armenti, 2012.
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