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October 1837: News Item -- Possible Freedom Seeker Drowns
Robbery and Death. -- A negro man was apprehended on Monday last by Mr. R. Colvin, on the supposition that he had robbed an acquaintance of Mr. C's. of the clothes which he then wore. On Monday last, about ten o'clock, Mr. Colvin's boat with the negro on board arrived in the Canal Basin at this place and "lay to" immediately below the out-let lock.
As soon as the boat touched the shore the negro sprang off and endeavored to escape, but being pursued, and the night very dark, he missed his footing and fell into one of the chambers of the lock, and although every effort was made to save him by throwing poles, &c. to him, he was drowned. His body was recovered the next morning. Among the articles found upon him was a bayonet ground down toward the point very keen and sharp, in the shape of a two edged blade, and admirably adapted for the purpose of dealing death. -- Columbia Spy.
Notes
Was the drowned man reported in the above news item a freedom seeker? Columbia's African American community, centered around the neighborhood known as Tow Hill, was rapidly increasing during this time. Many of its inhabitants were souther freedom seekers attempting to blend in and hide among Pennsylvania's free African American residents. Freedom seekers journeying into York and Lancaster counties from Maryland typically wore easily identifiable "negro clothing," making them more susceptible to recapture by slave hunters. Swapping out the cheaply produced pants and shirts of the Maryland and Virginia plantations for better quality clothing worn by Pennsylvania workers was an important way to better the chance of blending in.
Appropriate clothing was often supplied to freedom seekers by Underground Railroad activists in York and Lancaster counties, along with food, shelter and medical aid. But not all southern freedom seekers were fortunate enough to find a sympathetic family or Underground Railroad station. If this man was running from enslavement, perhaps he never found a friendly family and, knowing his clothing would give him away, stole clothing from a farm wife's laundry line. Of course he may also have been just a local man who stole clothing. It is unlikely his identity and story will ever be uncovered.
Sources
York Gazette, 31 October 1837.
Covering the history of African Americans in central Pennsylvania from the colonial era through the Civil War.
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