The Underground Railroad by William Still, 1872

This book features the stories of approximately 846 freedom seekers. William Still encountered many people while working as a clerk and later chairman of the Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. In 1879, Still published a revised edition with new Preface, which can be accessed by clicking on the image above.

Courtesy of The New York Public Library Digital Collections.

Title: The Underground Railroad by William Still, 1872
Date: 1872 (1879, Revised Edition)
Location: 244 S. 12th Street, Philadelphia, Pennysylvania
Object Information: Printed book, 780 pages
Repository: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, New York Public Library Digital Collection, https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47db-bd22-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99;(Title page & Frontispiece); African American Perspectives: Materials Selected from the Rare Book Collection (906), Library of Congress, https://lccn.loc.gov/31024984 (Book, 1879 revised edition).

Description:
In 1872, William Still, a prominent African American abolitionist, wrote The Underground Railroad: A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters, &c. while residing at 244 S. 12th Street in the city. William Still documented personal information and testimonies from those who either escaped or assisted freedom seekers in the Underground Railroad. He included the accounts of famous escapes such as Henry “Box” Brown, William and Ellen Craft, several accounts from Harriet Tubman, and lesser-known accounts such as by Anna Maria Weems. Still was inspired to document their experiences after being reunited with his older brother, Peter Still, who had remained enslaved in Alabama until he walked into the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery office for assistance. In the Preface, Still stated, “These facts must never be lost sight of. The race must not forget the rock from whence they were hewn, nor the pit from whence, they were digged.”