Missed my stop...

One or two centuries too far...
Jan 24 '12
On January 24th 1861, Lucy Bagby Johnson became the last slave returned to their owner under the US Fugitive Slave Law.  The 18-year-old Johnson escaped from what is now Wheeling, W.V. She made her way north to Cleveland, OH by night through the Underground Railroad. The area was known for its abolitionist leanings. She took a job as a domestic servant in the home of A. G. Riddle, a Republican Congressman-elect, then working for jeweler L. A. Benton. Unknown to Ms. Johnson, her owner, William S. Goshorn, had followed her to Cleveland. She was arrested Jan. 19, 1861, and tried later in the month. Johnson lost her argument for freedom after Goshorn presented the court with papers showing he had paid $600 for her. She was sent back to slavery accompanied by five federal marshals on a morning train to Wheeling. Soon, the Civil War began, and she was rescued by a Union captain in Fayetteville, Tenn. and set free. She eventually married former Union soldier, F. George Johnson, and the couple resided in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, where abolition leaders held a Grand Jubilee for her on May 6, 1863. She lived out her life working in homes and occasionally speaking to local groups about her experiences. She died of septicemia, caused by a fall down the stairs in a home where she worked. 

On January 24th 1861, Lucy Bagby Johnson became the last slave returned to their owner under the US Fugitive Slave Law.

 The 18-year-old Johnson escaped from what is now Wheeling, W.V. She made her way north to Cleveland, OH by night through the Underground Railroad. The area was known for its abolitionist leanings. She took a job as a domestic servant in the home of A. G. Riddle, a Republican Congressman-elect, then working for jeweler L. A. Benton. Unknown to Ms. Johnson, her owner, William S. Goshorn, had followed her to Cleveland. She was arrested Jan. 19, 1861, and tried later in the month. Johnson lost her argument for freedom after Goshorn presented the court with papers showing he had paid $600 for her. She was sent back to slavery accompanied by five federal marshals on a morning train to Wheeling. Soon, the Civil War began, and she was rescued by a Union captain in Fayetteville, Tenn. and set free. She eventually married former Union soldier, F. George Johnson, and the couple resided in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, where abolition leaders held a Grand Jubilee for her on May 6, 1863. She lived out her life working in homes and occasionally speaking to local groups about her experiences. She died of septicemia, caused by a fall down the stairs in a home where she worked. 

19 notes Tags: slavery civil war us history emancipation fugitive slave law african-american history

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