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The Underground Railroad in Connecticut
Sales Date: 1970-03-19
The story of a "railroad" shrouded in secrecy
Here are the engrossing facts about one of the least-known movements in Connecticut's history—the rise, organization, and operations of the Underground Railroad, over which fugitive slaves from the South found their way to freedom. Drawing his data from published sources and, perhaps more importantly, from the still-existing oral tradition of descendants of Underground agents, Horatio Strother tells the detailed story in this book, originally published in 1962. He traces the routes from entry points such as New Haven harbor and the New York state line, through important crossroads like Brooklyn and Farmington. Revealing the dangers fugitives faced, the author also identifies the high-minded lawbreakers who operated the system—farmers and merchants, local officials and judges, at least one United States Senator, and many dedicated ministers of the Gospel. These narratives are set against the larger background of the development of slavery and abolitionism in America— conversations still relevant today.
Preface
Introduction
Blazing the Trail
Thorny is the Pathway
Fugitives in Flight •The Captives of the Amistad
A House Divided
"This Pretended Law We Cannot Obey"
New Haven, Gateway from the Sea
West Haven Trunk Lines
East Connecticut Locals
Valley Line to Hartford
Middletown, a Way Station
Farmington, the Grand Central Station
The Road in Full Swing * Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index
HORATIO T. STOTHER was a professor of history at South Central Community College (now part of Gateway Community College) in New Haven, Connecticut. He was interested in the Underground Railroad since boyhood, when he envisioned it as "a big train roaring through a long tunnel."
"Mr. Strother's work is important for he has added to the knowledge of one facet of United States history about which the entire story will never be known because of the very nature of the movement."
~The Journal of Negro History (now the Journal of African American History)
""Strother was told by his college professors not to write his master's thesis about the [Underground Railroad], due to the lack of records. But he was determined, and his narrative, which includes many stories from descendants of the underground agents, is considered a definitive work on one of the least documented movements in the state's history.""
~Sarah Cody, Hartford Courant
""Mr. Strother's work is important for he has added to the knowledge of one facet of United States history about which the entire story will never be known because of the very nature of the movement.""
~The Journal of Negro History (now the Journal of African American History)
""Skillfully avoiding the expression of indignation and didacticism he allows events to provide the drama and the moral message.""
~Tilden G. Edelstein, The New England Quarterly
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