The Underground Railroad in the Adirondack Region

The success of the Underground Railroad depended on the participation of sympathizers in hundreds of areas throughout the country, each operating independently. Each area was distinctive both geographically and societally. This work focuses on the contributions of people in the Adirondack region, including their collaboration with operatives from Albany to New York City.
With more than 10 years of research, the author has been able to take what for years in northern New York was considered akin to legend and transform it into history. Abolitionist newspapers—such as Friend of Man, Liberator, Pennsylvania Freeman, Emancipator, National Anti-Slavery Standard, and the little known Albany Patriot—that were published weekly from 1841 to 1848, as well as materials from local archives, were utilized.
The book has extensive maps, photographs and appendices; key contributors to the cause are identified, abolition meetings and conventions are described, and maps of the Underground Railroad stations by county are provided.

Tom Calarco is a professional writer whose antislavery research is widely recognized. He was awarded the 2008 Underground Railroad Free Press Prize for advancing the knowledge and study of the Underground Railroad. He lives in Ohio.

Tom Calarco
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 303
Bibliographic Info: 94 photos, maps, notes, bibliography, appendices, index
Copyright Date: 2011 [2004]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6416-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8740-0
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments      v

Preface      1

PART I: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN NORTHERN NEW YORK AND ITS ROLE IN THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY

Introduction      3

1. The Legend      5

2. Roots      17

3. The Higher Law      23

4. Jehovah Has Decreed It!      30

5. The Sword Is Now Drawn      36

6. On Account of Color      44

7. The Byway to Freedom      51

8. Establishing Outposts      57

9. Another Strategy      62

10. The Forgotten Abolitionist      68

11. Heard It Through the Grapevine      76

12. Roll It Along      83

13. Death and Transfiguration      89

14. A Breach Has Been Made      94

15. Fat of the Land      101

16. Exodus      109

17. In Search of the Promised Land      119

18. Voices Crying in the Wilderness      126

19. To the Rescue      132

20. Family Matters      140

21. Go West, Young Abolitionist      148

22. Never Half What It Is Now      154

23. All Aboard!      160

24. Marching to Immortality      166

PART II: THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD STOPS IN EASTERN NEW YORK FROM NEW YORK CITY TO CANADA

Introduction      173

25. Stops in New York City      177

26. Stops in the Mid-Hudson Region      182

27. Stops in Albany County      188

28. Stops in Rensselaer County      194

29. Stops in Washington County      200

30. Stops in Clinton County      209

31. Stops in Saratoga County      215

32. Stops in Warren County      220

33. Stops in Essex and Franklin Counties      226

34. Stops in St. Lawrence County      230

APPENDICES

I: Delegates to the Organizational Meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society, Utica (October 21, 1835)      237

II: Anti-Slavery Societies in Northeastern New York (Before 1840)      241

III: Fugitives from Slavery Who Passed Through Albany      243

IV: Leadership of the Orthodox Congregational Church, Union Village      247

V: Statistics on the Black Population in the Town of Greenwich, 1840 to 1860      248

VI: Homes with Probable Abolitionist Sympathizers Described in Everest’s Pioneer Homes      251

VII: Possible Participants in Eastern New York’s Underground Railroad      253

Works Cited      270

Index      281

“presented in an engaging manner…clearly organized chapters…Calarco’s exhaustive research, coupled with inspired selections from period source material, help bring these fearless ‘Conductors’ to life”—Lake Champlain Weekly; “comprehensive”—Adirondack Life.