Study Areas:

Slavery

Anti-Slavery

Free Persons of Color

Underground Railroad

The Violent Decade

US Colored Troops

Civil War

Year of Jubilee (1863)

Underground Railroad Chronology

August 1850:  Harrisburg African American Residents Disrupt Capture of Fugitive Slaves

Joseph Popel's heroic charge into the anteroom of the prison resulted in a melee and enough chaos that one of the three men held as fugitive slaves was able to free himself from his captors and make his escape.  Numerous members of the African American community were indicted by a grand jury and charged with riot, and the resulting trial finally came about in January 1851.

The Black community, however, was not entirely unsupported in its resistance to slave hunters.  Several members of Harrisburg's white community signed a petition to free the persons held as rioters.  Many of the signers were members of socially prominent families, and in signing this petition signaled their willingness to stand up for a locally unpopular cause.

Anti-slavery activity, though generally supported by Harrisburg's African American community, was not widely popular among white residents.  Few stood publicly against slavery, and in support of resistance to slave hunters.  This issue would result in social rifts that affected families and even entire church congregations in this town.

The petition, signed by the following persons, was successful, and the African American residents held for trial were released.  The signers were:

F. K. Boas
R. J. Fleming
L. Reily
R. A. Lamberton
J. W. Wiestling
George P. Wiestling
John A. Weir ¹
George H. Small
J. W. Weir
John H. Berryhill
William Allison
Theodore Fenn ²
John C. Kunkel
D. Fleming
George Z. Kunkel
John H. Briggs
James McCormick

Notes

1.  John Andrew Weir (1802-1881) was identified by historian Luther Reily Kelker as "one of the first, firmest and most influential friends of the anti-slavery cause in Dauphin county, and lived to witness the complete triumph of his principles, unpopular as they were at that time." (Luther Reily Kelker, History of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Vol. III (New York, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907) p. 214.)
2. Theophilus Fenn, editor of the Telegraph.  Fenn would take a definite stance opposing the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law in the columns of his newspaper, following abuses in Harrisburg by the federal slave commissioner, Richard McAllister.
3.  Rudolph F. Kelker, whose home at 9 Front Street adjoined the home of William W. Rutherford.  Like Rutherford, Kelker was believed to be actively involved with the Underground Railroad in Harrisburg.
4.  David R. Porter was governor of Pennsylvania, 1839-1845.
5.  Rev. William R. DeWitt was pastor of Market Street Presbyterian Church.  Despite signing this petition, Rev. DeWitt steadfastly refused to take a public stand against slavery for fear of dividing his congregation.  He was bitterly denounced by anti-slavery advocates and his church did experience a split in 1858 with the creation of Pine Street Presbyterian and Capital Presbyterian.  Slavery was cited as one of several issues causing the rift.
6.  Samuel S. Rutherford, whose farm in Paxtang was an Underground Railroad station.

The Year of Jubilee

Vol. 1: Men of God and Vol. 2: Men of Muscle

by George Nagle

  Both volumes of the Afrolumens book are now on Amazon and in local bookstores

The Year of Jubilee is the story of Harrisburg'g free African American community, from the era of colonialism and slavery to hard-won freedom.

Volume One, Men of God, covers the turbulent beginnings of this community, from Hercules and the first slaves, the growth of slavery in central Pennsylvania, the Harrisburg area slave plantations, early runaway slaves, to the birth of a free black community. Men of God is a detailed history of Harrisburg's first black entrepreneurs, the early black churches, the first black neighborhoods, and the maturing of the social institutions that supported this vibrant community.

It includes an extensive examination of state and federal laws governing slave ownership and the recovery of runaway slaves, the growth of the colonization movement, anti-colonization efforts, anti-slavery, abolitionism and radical abolitionism. It concludes with the complex relationship between Harrisburg's black and white abolitionists, and details the efforts and activities of each group as they worked separately at first, then learned to cooperate in fighting against slavery. More here

Non-fiction, history. 607 pages, softcover.

Volume Two, Men of Muscle takes the story from 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, through the explosive 1850s to the coming of Civil War to central Pennsylvania. In this volume, Harrisburg's African American community weathers kidnappings, raids, riots, plots, murders, intimidation, and the coming of war. Caught between hostile Union soldiers and deadly Confederate soldiers, they ultimately had to choose between fleeing or fighting. This is the story of that choice.

Non-fiction, history. 630 pages, softcover.

Volume One and Two Available now at Amazon, and at:
Civil War and More Books
Midtown Scholar Bookstore