-
Period: to
Escape of Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and, during the American Civil War, a Union spy. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved families and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She later helped abolitionist John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry. -
Hired out of household
1825 – Young Araminta was hired out to other households. Her first outside job was as a nursemaid where she was violently and frequently beaten when she let the baby cry. She was then hired to set muskrat traps. Because of the nature of the job she fell ill and was sent back to Brodess -
Harriett married
1844 – Araminta married a free black man, John Tubman -
The Escape
Minty gathered her brothers, Harry and Ben, and convinced them to escape with her. On Monday, September 17, 1849 they escaped the Poplar Neck Plantation but Harry and Ben changed their minds and decided to return. Harriet had already resolved to free herself and after making sure her brothers were safe, she parted north. Later she would come for the rest of her family and bring them to freedom. -
The Escape
At the time of her escape she had been hired out to Anthony Thompson and her owner, Eliza Brodess, did not know of her escape until about two weeks later. A notice of their escape was published in the Cambridge Democrat on October 3, 1849, offering a $300 reward for their return. -
Underground Railroad
December 1850 – Using her connections in the Underground Railroad, Harriet took her first trip to guide a family in their journey to freedom. Her niece, Kessiah, her husband, John Bowley, and their two children were freed from the bondage of slavery. -
Harriet Died
1913 – Harriet Tubman died of pneumonia, she was 93. She was buried with military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, New York
