3/5/2023 0 Comments Johnny works on railroad story![]() ![]() The station master concealed as many as 30 slaves at one time in his home, exactly where, he never told. Andrus John Selover Riggs Watrous and others. Other Underground leaders were Jervis Langdon Simeon Benjamin, the founder of Elmira College Thomas Stanley Day S. Jones worked closely with William Still, the chief Underground agent in Philadelphia, who forwarded parties of from six to 10 fugitives at a time to Elmira. It became the principal station on the 'railroad' between Philadelphia and the Canadian border. 18th, 1850, which consigns freemen of other States to that awful state of brutality which the fiendish slaveholders of the Southern States think desirable for their colored brethren, but are not willing to try it themselves.Īrch Merrill said in his book on the UGRR, "Jones quietly took command of the Underground in Elmira, a gateway between the South and the North. said: Resolved, That we, the colored citizens of Elmira, do hereby form ourselves into a society for the purpose of protecting ourselves against those persons, prowling through different parts of this and other States since the passing of the diabolical act of Sept. An article in The Liberator (Boston) signed JWJones, Sec. It you have ever seen the movie Glory, you know the story of this famous regiment.īy 1859, Jones was already very active in Underground Railroad work. Rachel's brother was Stephen Swails, a Lieutenant in the 54th Massachusetts regiment, an all black unit. Two years later, John Jones married Rachel Swails. In 1854 he bought the "yellow house next to the church" from an Ezra Canfield for $500. Jones was sexton of this second church building for the 42 years that it was in existence. The 1863 City Directory says this building was constructed of wood, stuccoed and cost $8000. The first building was a barn-like structure constructed at a cost of $954.īy 1848, 16 years later, the Baptists had outgrown that building and decided to build something larger. They were sold the piece of land where the Baptist Church still is today for $1.50 by Jeffrey and Elizabeth Wisner who were in-laws of the first pastor, Rev. By 1832, the membership had grown to the point where they decided to build their own church building. The first members gathered in homes, but as the membership grew they met in a schoolhouse in Southport. In October, 1847, he was appointed sexton or caretaker of the first church building of the First Baptist Church that had been constituted in 1829 under the name of the Baptist Church of Southport and Elmira. So John went to school in the winter and worked as janitor for Miss Clara Thurston's school for young ladies on Main Street. Judge Arial Standish Thurston befriended him, realized his potential and made it possible for him to receive an education - in fact, at the same school where before he had been turned down. ![]() John wanted to get an education, but was refused at first because he was black. Another early job he took was in a tallow and candle store working for Seth Kelly. John Culp, Colonel John Hendy's daughter. The first thing he did when he arrived in Elmira was to offer to cut wood in exchange for 50¢ for Mrs. John Jones was an ambitious man and never idle. After John Jones died, there were no more mysterious fresh flowers. Smith whose grave in Woodlawn Cemetery, just beyond the Langdon plot, always had fresh flowers on it and no one knew where they came from. Smith discovered them and cooked food and took it to them. Nathaniel Smith, where they crawled into the hay mow of his immense barn and went to sleep, more dead than alive. In South Creek they reached the farm of Dr. The route they followed was part of the Underground Railroad coming up through Pennsylvania and into New York by way of Williamsport, Canton, Alba and South Creek. On June 3, 1844, at the age of 27, John fled north to the place his mother had told him about "where there is no slavery." It took one month for John, his two half-brothers, George and Charles, and Jefferson Brown and John Smith from an adjoining estate to walk from Virginia to Elmira, New York, a distance of about 300 miles. ![]()
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