0:02

You're listening to American Shadows,

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a production of I Heart Radio and Grim

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and Mild from Aaron Banky. The

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seaside town of Ipswich, Massachusetts,

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is a quaint place about an hour north

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of Boston. Today, tourists

0:24

flocked to the area to enjoy the famous

0:26

clams in Crane Beach in

0:29

the late sixteen and early seventeen hundreds,

0:31

though life there was very different.

0:34

Early settlers made a living farming, fishing,

0:37

and operating mills. Larger

0:39

ships that needed deeper ports passed

0:41

the town in favor of Boston, Salem,

0:43

and Plymouth, keeping ips which is

0:45

trade and population small. At

0:49

first, settlers struggled to survive.

0:51

The weather was less than hospitable and

0:54

winters proved to be brutal, but

0:57

the ocean brought fish, the marsh

0:59

was perfect for growing hey, and the

1:01

rivers supplied water for drinking and

1:03

running the mills, and

1:05

the effort and hard work were worth it. Starting

1:08

over in a new world was better than the

1:10

tyranny they had suffered in England. In

1:13

the America's settlers could almost

1:15

smell freedom in the salt air. Life

1:19

wouldn't be easy, but then one worth

1:21

living never was, and some people

1:23

took that saying the heart long before it

1:25

became mainstream.

1:28

Jenny Slew was born in Ipswich in

1:30

seventeen nineteen as the daughter of a

1:32

free white woman and an enslaved black

1:35

man. According to state law,

1:37

such children inherited their white mother's

1:39

status and were allowed to live as free

1:41

people. However, children

1:43

bor into enslaved women fathered by white

1:45

men did not inherit the same privilege.

1:49

Though the state didn't legally recognize

1:51

her parents union, Jenny insisted

1:53

her parents were married and they lived together.

1:56

When she herself became an adult, she married

1:59

twice, both times two enslaved men,

2:02

but Jenny remained free until

2:04

seventeen sixty two, when she was kidnapped

2:07

and forced into slavery. The

2:09

kidnapper was a prominent citizen within the

2:12

community. John Whipple Jr's

2:14

ancestors had been one of the town's founding

2:16

families, had been a respected

2:18

military officer. He was wealthy,

2:20

too, and with that wealth came

2:22

status and a large fourteen

2:25

room estate he had inherited from his father. He

2:28

already owned several enslaved people,

2:30

including a Native American boy he had kidnapped

2:33

during the genocide committed in King Philip's war.

2:36

He needed more servants for his large home

2:38

and happened upon Jenny walking along the road

2:40

one day. Being a woman,

2:43

and especially one of color, her legal

2:45

status was inconsequential. Not

2:48

willing to give up her freedom, forty three

2:50

year old Jenny sought out an attorney willing

2:52

to hear her case. Now,

2:55

in most of the colonies, enslaved people

2:57

had no right to counsel. Massachusett

3:00

was different, though, and permitted them to bring

3:02

civil suits to court. Despite

3:04

this, it still took her three years to

3:06

find an attorney willing to hear her out. Attorney

3:10

Benjamin Kent filed her case with the court

3:12

on January seventeen sixty

3:15

two. Whipple was

3:17

furious. He believed she had

3:19

no right to sue him for any reason. For

3:22

starters, she was married and being a

3:24

man's property, he argued that she had

3:26

no identity of her own, therefore,

3:29

without her husband's permission, she had no

3:31

right to sue, and the

3:33

courts agreed. They reasoned

3:35

that because she wasn't a spinstress,

3:38

she had no rights in court. In

3:40

short, enslaved people could bring a case

3:42

to court, but married women of any

3:44

color or status could not. The

3:47

judge didn't even address the kidnapping.

3:50

Kent was a shrewd lawyer, though, and

3:53

so he called into question the validity

3:55

of Jenny's marriages. You see,

3:57

he knew that the law provided an

4:00

fortunate loophole, since enslaved

4:02

people were not legally allowed to marry.

4:04

Both of her marriages were void on account

4:06

of her partner's status is no matter what her

4:09

own. It took another

4:11

four years before the Essex Superior

4:13

Court of Judicature in Salem agreed

4:15

to hear her case. Now Jenny

4:18

the spinstress had been granted a

4:20

trial by Jerry. Just

4:22

as Jenny couldn't provide a birth certificate,

4:24

Whipple couldn't provide a bill of sale. So

4:27

Kent reminded the court of the state's anti miscegenation

4:30

statute that made his client a free

4:32

woman by her white mother. In

4:34

closing, he told the court, I shall

4:36

not enter into the right of some men to slave

4:38

others. The judge

4:41

himself owned several enslaved people.

4:44

However, the jury ruled in Jenny's

4:46

favor, ordering her immediate release

4:48

and awarding her damages. Whipple

4:51

didn't face any charges of kidnapping. Jenny

4:54

became the first person in the colony's history

4:57

to be granted her freedom in a court March

5:00

five of seventeen sixty. She walked

5:02

out of the courtroom a free woman. Her

5:05

liberation came at a time when citizens

5:07

in Massachusetts began to rise up against

5:09

England for their own independence. A

5:12

close and prominent friend of Kent's who

5:14

had attended the trial, stated that liberty

5:17

had been restored to Jenny slu Kent

5:20

went on to represent other such cases over the next

5:22

several years. He encouraged

5:25

his high profile friend to include a declaration

5:27

in the Massachusetts state Constitution that

5:29

all men are born free and equal.

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That friend was John Adams. I'm

5:36

Lauren Bogelbaum. Welcome

5:39

to American Shadows. Records

5:47

don't show exactly where in Virginia

5:49

he was born. The births and deaths

5:51

of enslaved African or Native Americans

5:54

were rarely registered as of eighteen forty.

5:57

What the records do show is that as

5:59

an adult, Madison Washington appeared

6:01

to have been an enslaved cook who kept

6:03

his eyes on freedom for himself and his

6:06

wife, Susan. When

6:08

the opportunity presented itself one night, they

6:10

took the chance to slip away. Unfortunately,

6:13

while Washington escaped, his wife didn't

6:15

quite make it off the property. He

6:18

stuck to the plan, though, determined

6:20

that he'd eventually figure out how to free her. He

6:23

trusted the abolitionists who operated safe

6:25

houses to help him make a safe journey

6:27

north. They supplied him with forged

6:29

papers, and the occasional stranger provided

6:32

food and the place to sleep at night. Mostly,

6:35

though, he relied on luck, and

6:38

perhaps miraculously, he made it to

6:40

Canada, a Britain had abolished

6:43

slavery years before, and since

6:45

Canada was under British rule, Washington

6:47

became a freeman once he stepped foot across

6:49

the border. Before

6:52

he left Virginia, he and his wife had made

6:54

a pact if only one of them made

6:56

it to Canada, they'd work until they

6:58

had enough money to buy the other's freedom.

7:01

And so Washington found steady

7:03

work with a farmer called Mr. Dixon.

7:06

He earned a fair wage and saved what he could,

7:08

but the price set for his wife proved too high

7:11

for him to afford. At

7:13

his current pace, he figured it would take nearly

7:15

five years to save up the money. By

7:18

then, anything could happen. She might

7:20

be sold off, or fall ill, or be

7:22

killed before he could buy her. For

7:25

Washington, freedom meant nothing without

7:27

his Susan. Dixon

7:29

tried to talk him out of leaving. Had been

7:31

lucky to escape, luckier still to have

7:34

made it to Canada. He warned

7:36

Washington of the severe, if not fatal,

7:38

consequences if he were caught. Washington

7:41

thanked him for the job, but left in eighteen

7:43

forty one and headed back south. When

7:47

he reached Rochester, New York, he met with

7:49

one Lindley Murray Moore, the president

7:51

of the Rochester Anti Slavery Society.

7:54

The More family was also part of the Underground

7:56

Railroad, a network of paths

7:59

and safe houses foreign slaved African

8:01

Americans trying to escape. While

8:03

staying with the Moors, Washington tried

8:06

to hire a slave steeler to rescue

8:08

his wife, but none took the job.

8:11

Without another option, he'd have to risk returning

8:14

to Virginia to free her himself. With

8:16

donations from other abolitionists, Washington

8:19

collected enough money to help make his trip

8:21

easier. From New York, he

8:23

made it to Virginia, but that's

8:25

where his luck ran out. He

8:29

made it back to the plantation and was captured

8:32

and re enslaved. He expected

8:35

the usual violent physical punishment,

8:37

such as a whipping, but his owner decided

8:39

on a different path. He chose

8:41

to sell Washington. If he whipped

8:44

him, he'd leave scars, a telltale

8:46

signed future owners of a rebellious nature.

8:49

He sold Washington to a slave trader,

8:52

Thomas Macargo, frequently purchased

8:54

large numbers of enslaved people and sold

8:56

them to other parts of the country or as part of

8:59

the Atlantic Slave t aid the human

9:01

trafficking was of lucrative business,

9:03

and ma Cargo had plans to sell Washington

9:05

and twenty six others had purchased at the auction

9:08

blocks in New Orleans. In

9:10

late October of eighteen forty one, Washington

9:13

was loaded onto the ship Creole. The

9:16

ship, along with the one hundred and nine

9:18

enslaved people aboard, belonged

9:20

to the Johnston Epperson Company of Richmond,

9:22

Virginia. Along with

9:24

the human cargo, the ship carried tobacco,

9:27

plus eight additional enslaved persons belonging

9:29

to the traders, and a paid crew, ringing

9:32

the total to a hundred and thirty five people on

9:34

board. The captain,

9:37

Robert Answer, felt confident enough

9:39

that his human cargo was docile that

9:41

he brought along his wife, four year old daughter,

9:43

and fifteen year old niece. It

9:45

was a bold move, conditions

9:48

for even the paid sailors aboard such cargo

9:50

ships weren't exactly the best, and

9:53

the conditions the human cargo were subjected

9:55

to could understandably make them anything

9:58

but docile. Washington

10:01

was assigned to the job of head cook for the enslaved

10:03

persons, allowing him to stay on deck

10:05

most of the day while he

10:07

supervised his crew, He also had the opportunity

10:10

to talk to the sailors. He got

10:12

to know their routines and who was who in

10:14

the hierarchy. Slave

10:17

traders considered their cargo no better

10:19

than live stock. They'd been bought

10:21

as cheaply as possible, kept in crowded

10:23

conditions, and fed just enough to

10:25

insure top dollar the auction block. To

10:28

Washington's shock, he learned that his wife had

10:30

been sold too, and was in the cargo hold,

10:32

though he wasn't permitted to see her. Slave

10:36

ships, like the Creole were either built specifically

10:38

or converted for transporting human cargo,

10:41

and often referred to as guinea men. Such

10:44

a ship's worth was determined by how many

10:46

trafficked people it could carry. The

10:50

holes were divided into holes, one

10:52

for men and another for women. Transatlantic

10:55

ships usually shackled people to the hole's planks,

10:58

though the creole didn't chain it's human cargo.

11:01

The cell doors of the overcrowded hold

11:03

remained locked. The

11:06

conditions were unhygienic. Disease

11:09

was common, leading to a roughly fifteen

11:11

percent mortality rate. The

11:13

fasterest ship made it to its destination, the

11:15

better. At night,

11:17

some of the ship's officers selected women to take

11:19

to their quarters, returning them to the holding area

11:22

the next morning. Not all

11:24

enslaved people were kept in the holds, though

11:26

some, like Washington, were allowed above deck.

11:30

Being the cook, he and a handful of others

11:32

were permitted to move about the ship to perform their

11:35

duties. Usually they were watched

11:37

closely, but as he began to notice,

11:40

usually didn't mean always. Before

11:43

long, Washington had formed a dangerous

11:46

idea. He began to feel

11:48

out fellow captives who also had deck

11:50

privileges, and some of them he

11:52

had met before being sold. Others

11:54

were new to him, and

11:56

soon enough, nineteen others

11:59

agreed to his plan in a plan

12:02

for mutiny. It

12:12

almost didn't happen when

12:15

William Merritt, one of the slave traders,

12:17

went down into the hold where the women were kept

12:19

on November seven, eight forty one. He

12:22

was surprised to find Washington there. He

12:25

demanded the cook take himself above deck immediately.

12:28

Washington initially did as asked, but

12:31

he didn't disclose the weapon had confiscated

12:34

earlier. After the two men

12:36

reached the deck, Washington shoved

12:38

Merit to the ground. The two

12:40

struggled, and Washington managed to take the

12:42

slave trader's pistol from him.

12:44

At some point, another enslaved man, Elijah

12:46

Morris, joined the fray and

12:49

one. Another member of the crew saw what was going

12:51

on and raised the alarm. Morris

12:53

shot him.

12:55

When nut shot rang out, Washington

12:57

called out to the others that their mutiny had

12:59

begun, and the rest of the mutineers

13:02

throughout the ship extinguished all of the lamps,

13:04

throwing the decks below into darkness. They

13:07

surrounded the staterooms and overpowered the crewmen,

13:10

taking their weapons. A couple of

13:12

mutineers went after the slave traders, first

13:14

killing one by throwing him overboard. One

13:17

of the mutineers was seriously injured in the fight

13:20

and later died in

13:23

scuffle, the captain was wounded. His

13:25

wife, daughter, and niece remained unharmed

13:27

but kept under guard. A

13:30

couple of the mutineers were also injured but would

13:32

survive. Washington

13:35

called out to not kill anyone else, and

13:37

with the situation under control, the men

13:40

listened. During the confusion,

13:42

the first mate, Gifford and the wounded captain

13:45

had vanished. Eventually,

13:47

one of the mutineers found the two hiding on the

13:49

main masts platform.

13:52

One of the enslaved men shouted for them to come

13:54

down or had shoot them both. Gifford

13:56

descended, where one of the ringleaders

13:59

placed a musket to his chest. By

14:02

one am, Washington had control

14:04

of the Creole. They had gotten

14:06

this far, but had no idea what to do

14:08

next. One of the mutineers

14:10

suggested the Bahamas, since they were under

14:12

British rule and had outlawed slavery.

14:16

By morning, they forced first Mate Gifford

14:18

to steer toward Nassau. Early

14:22

on November ninety one, the

14:24

Creole sailed into Nassau Harbor.

14:28

When quarantine officers boarded, Gifford

14:30

reported the mutiny. Since

14:32

the captain was injured and Gifford had taken

14:34

over as acting commander. He requested

14:36

the ship be watched while the crew went ashore

14:39

for medical treatment. He

14:41

also asked for guards to prevent their human

14:43

cargo from leaving the ship. If

14:45

an enslaved person stepped on the shore, they'd

14:48

be free. The quarantine

14:50

officers obliged as a temporary measure,

14:53

and Gifford would need to speak with the proper authorities

14:55

before the ship would be allowed passage on to New

14:57

Orleans. The first

14:59

mate up with Counsel John Bacon. The

15:02

mutiny and the human cargo were

15:04

unusual circumstances, and the matter

15:06

was taken to Colonel Sir Francis Cockburn,

15:09

the governor. Instead of giving

15:11

an answer straight away, he required paperwork

15:13

and reports in order to proceed with an

15:16

investigation. Keeping

15:18

the ship just offshore meant wasted

15:20

time. The longer the ordeal took,

15:22

the more of the Creole's cargo would die,

15:24

and to Gifford that amounted to a

15:27

loss of money. He tried

15:29

a plea bargain. He asked that the

15:31

authorities detained the mutineers and allow

15:33

him to continue onward to New Orleans.

15:37

Cockburn refused. Nassau

15:39

had no jurisdiction regarding the mutiny.

15:42

And then he ordered everyone on the ship detained

15:44

until the Secretary of State in London weighed

15:46

in. Meanwhile, they would

15:48

proceed with their own investigation. The

15:51

hired crew of the Creole found themselves

15:53

unwelcome among the black population in Nassau.

15:56

Not surprising really, most have been

15:59

enslaved before it and outlawed it. Even

16:02

white members of the community would mutter under their

16:04

breath, there goes another one of the damned pirates

16:06

and slavers. Depositions

16:09

were set to start the following Monday, but

16:11

due to Captain Ensore's injuries, were called

16:14

off on Thursday. The Creole's

16:16

crew testified that the mutineers had acted

16:18

savagely, trying to kill any white

16:20

person they could. Meanwhile,

16:23

through all this, the ship remained guarded

16:26

more to prevent the crew from sailing off in the

16:28

middle of the night than to prevent anyone from

16:30

stepping ashore. No

16:32

matter how, Gifford and the others argued that

16:34

the people aboard were as much cargo

16:36

as the tobacco. The Nassau government

16:39

remained unmoved. Considering

16:41

the potential loss of the valuable cargo.

16:44

Gifford convinced his counsel Bacon, to

16:46

help him release the ship. The

16:49

plan entailed taking weapons from two other

16:51

American ships in the port and sneaking them

16:53

onto the Creole. Gifford

16:55

had already gained approval from one of the other ship's

16:58

captains. Once the weapons were

17:00

aboard, the Creole's crew would overpower

17:02

the Bahamian and British guards, forced

17:04

them off the ship, and the Creole would be

17:06

on her way. Of course,

17:08

the British soldiers would send a ship after them,

17:11

but Gifford knew the Creole was fast.

17:14

Slave ships had to quickly transport

17:16

their human cargo, not only to prevent disease

17:18

and death, but to avoid pirates. And

17:21

pirates sometimes freed enslaved people or

17:23

took them on his crew, and Gifford

17:26

knew that pirates who had once been enslaved

17:28

were bad news for traders. But

17:31

he thought that all the Creole had to do was

17:33

sail to the small island of Indian Key

17:36

off the coast of Florida, where he

17:38

hoped to find an American warship that would

17:40

protect them. A

17:42

suspicious Bahamian guard watched the

17:44

activity aboard the neighboring American ship.

17:47

Men loaded weapons onto a small boat and

17:49

concealed them in a flag. When

17:52

they headed toward the Creole, he alerted British

17:54

officers. Twenty four British

17:56

soldiers pointed their muskets at the approaching

17:58

boat and ordered them to turn back. A

18:02

major incident had been avoided. Had

18:04

the crew of the Creole used force against the

18:06

Bahamian and British guards, it could have

18:08

caused a diplomatic conflict between the United

18:10

States and Britain. Boards

18:13

spread throughout the island about the fate of

18:15

the people held aboard the Creole. Bahamians

18:18

freed during the eighteen thirty three British Abolition

18:20

Act took the small boats and surrounded

18:23

the ship. In protest. They

18:25

loudly demanded the men, women and children

18:27

held on board be released. As

18:30

soon as the crew of the Creole had maneuvered

18:32

out of one dangerous situation, they

18:34

found themselves dropped right into

18:36

another. The

18:42

attempted escape and the growing crowd

18:45

demanding the captive's freedom forced

18:47

the governor to make a quick decision. He

18:50

didn't want to risk dissent among his people

18:52

on top of the situation at hand with the Americans.

18:55

He canceled the remaining depositions and

18:57

ordered everyone removed from the Creole and

19:00

brought ashore for

19:02

Washington. The moment was bitter sweet,

19:05

and technically he and his cohorts were

19:07

free. His wife, if she

19:09

were still alive in the cargo hold, would live

19:11

as a free woman. For himself

19:14

and the other uprisers, however, there

19:16

was the matter of mutiny and murder.

19:20

Guards took Washington and eighteen of his

19:22

co conspirators into custody.

19:25

British soldiers began escorting those left

19:27

in the holds to shore, granting them their freedom.

19:30

Five turned down the offer, choosing

19:32

to stay aboard the ship, perhaps

19:35

fearing a trick or preferring the devil they

19:37

knew. With that

19:39

the ship's captain and his crew were finally

19:41

free to leave Nassau. The

19:44

Creole arrived in New Orleans on December

19:46

two. When financially

19:48

interested parties found out there were only

19:50

five trafficked people on board, they

19:52

were outraged and demanded the others

19:54

be returned to the States. The

19:57

tension between the United States and Britain

19:59

row The U s

20:01

Secretary of State at the time, Daniel Webster,

20:04

declared the Nassau Governor's act violation

20:07

of the Law of Nations and the

20:09

u s Minister to Great Britain contended that

20:11

per the Constitution, enslaved people

20:13

were the property of the United States, and

20:16

thus that Nassau authorities had seized

20:18

American property. British officials

20:20

disagreed, since they no longer

20:23

recognized slavery. They argued that the

20:25

US had no power to hold the formerly

20:27

enslaved people from the Creole without criminal

20:30

charges. Despite American

20:32

officials demand to return their cargo

20:34

and contended property, Nassau

20:37

refused. Britain

20:39

and America had no extradition treaties

20:41

between them. Southerners

20:43

called for Britain to compensate them for their losses.

20:46

When even that request was denied, relations

20:49

between America and Britain were further strained.

20:53

It's estimated that the average cost

20:55

for an enslaved person was between eight hundred

20:57

and fifteen hundred dollars, With

21:00

the number of people aboard, that was about a hundred

21:02

and fifty thousand dollars total, a

21:05

considerable amount of money for the time. Two

21:08

people who had been held aboard the Creole died

21:11

shortly after their release. Without

21:13

extradition laws, the rest of the men, women,

21:15

and children from the ship were welcome to stay

21:17

in Nassa or go wherever they wished.

21:21

Most chose to stay, though about

21:23

fifty set off for Jamaica. Either

21:26

way, they were free and no longer

21:28

in reach of the slave traders. Washington

21:32

and the other mutineers remained in jail

21:34

until the trial. The United

21:36

States claimed that because the crime had been

21:38

committed on an American ship, the trial

21:40

should take place in the States. London

21:44

saw it differently and stated that the trial

21:46

would be held in Nassau. In

21:49

response, American President John Tyler

21:51

released the Bahamian Council's deposition

21:53

to the newspapers. New

21:56

Orleans plantation owners raged that the

21:59

British had, in their eyes, robbed

22:01

them in their compatriots of US property.

22:04

Now they waited with anticipation for

22:07

what would become of the mutineers. The

22:10

Secretary of State Daniel Webster demanded

22:13

Nassau's government to return the men to the United

22:15

States on charges of mutiny and murder,

22:18

and he said the Bahamian government had no right

22:20

to interfere with an American ship, citizens,

22:23

or cargo. It

22:25

would have been a death sentence for Washington and the

22:27

others. Remember, in the States,

22:30

enslaved people weren't allowed to speak in their

22:32

own defense, to hire counsel or

22:35

to even be questioned. This naturally

22:37

limited their ability to tell their side of the

22:39

story. NASA,

22:42

though didn't have the same laws in place. Anyone

22:45

standing trial, was allowed to speak on their behalf

22:47

a question, accusers or witnesses, and

22:49

signed depositions before

22:52

the trial, which was scheduled for April, though

22:54

two of the collaborators died, one

22:57

from wounds sustained during the battle and

22:59

the other from natural causes. On

23:03

April sixteenth of eighteen forty two,

23:05

the Nassau Court debated the case of

23:07

the remaining seventeen mutineers. After

23:11

some discussion about jurisdiction and the

23:13

legal location of the events, Washington

23:15

and the others were informed of the court's decision.

23:19

It has pleased God, The Chief Justice

23:21

told them, to set you free from the bonds

23:23

of slavery. May you hereafter

23:25

lead lives of good and faithful subjects

23:28

of Her Majesty's government. The

23:30

men were free and could choose what to

23:32

do with their lives. All

23:34

seventeen stayed in Nassau. The

23:38

captives on the Creole hadn't been the first

23:40

the Bahamian government had freed from American

23:42

ships four slaving

23:45

brigs had found themselves shipwrecked in their territory.

23:48

However, the Creole contained the largest

23:50

number of trafficked people, and its

23:52

cruise mutiny had been the most successful

23:54

uprising among enslaved people in American

23:57

history. Back

23:59

in the States, insurance companies initially

24:01

refused to pay the claims that Louisiana

24:03

slave owners filed for lost property.

24:07

Several lawsuits emerged against the companies

24:09

over financial losses stemming from the revolt.

24:12

The majority of those cases were consolidated,

24:15

much like class action lawsuits of today.

24:18

Eventually that case went before the Louisiana

24:21

Supreme Court. The

24:24

two countries involved ultimately

24:26

reached an agreement in eighteen forty two.

24:29

The British repaid the losses the following

24:31

year, totaling roughly a hundred thousand

24:33

dollars. And

24:36

what happened to Washington? His

24:38

wife, Susan had stayed on the island

24:40

awaiting her husband's fate. While

24:43

no one really knows what became of them afterward,

24:46

some believed the couple was finally able

24:48

to live the free life they had always dreamed

24:50

of. It might

24:52

not have played out how they envisioned it. Back in

24:55

Virginia, but ultimately

24:57

their plan worked. He

25:06

was born on the eastern shore along the

25:08

Chesapeake Bay. There

25:11

were rumors that his father was the plantation

25:13

owner. As you might imagine,

25:15

this didn't go over well with the plantation owner's

25:17

wife, so Frederick

25:20

Augustus Washington Bailey was sent

25:22

to another plantation twelve miles away

25:24

to live with his maternal grandparents. Bailey's

25:28

mother was allowed to visit, but only on

25:30

rare occasions. She managed

25:33

to see her son just a handful of times

25:35

before her death when he was seven years old.

25:39

After that, his life took another turn

25:41

when his owner sold him to the Wye House

25:43

plantation. Then he

25:45

was sold again to the Old family, who

25:48

taught him to read and write. Unusual

25:50

for most enslaved people, this

25:53

didn't stop him from trying to escape.

25:55

Though considered too

25:57

defiant, the old sold him yet

26:00

again. Bailey's

26:02

continued efforts to free himself caused

26:04

him to be sold or even given away

26:06

several times more. When

26:08

he turned twenty one in eight thirty eight,

26:11

he ran again, hiding away on

26:13

a northbound train heading to New York City.

26:16

This time he was successful and found

26:18

his way to a safe house soon

26:21

afterward. Anna, a woman had known

26:23

while he was enslaved, followed his route

26:25

and the two married. Bailey

26:28

and his new wife moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts,

26:31

where he assisted in the abolitionist movement

26:33

prominent in the area. He

26:35

changed his name on the suggestion of a friend

26:37

who had read a novel by Sir Walter Scott.

26:41

He became a preacher and a writer, and used

26:43

his new professions to shed light on human

26:46

injustices. He believed

26:48

that all people, no matter their race,

26:50

color, sex, were equal, and

26:53

as an avid reader, he came across the

26:55

story of Madison Washington. During

26:59

a speech in Orc, Ireland in eighteen

27:01

forty five, he praised Washington for

27:03

his passion for freedom.

27:06

His words, writings, and speeches on slavery

27:09

caught the attention of the Rochester Ladies

27:11

Anti Slavery Society. They

27:13

planned on publishing a short story collection

27:16

entitled Autographs for Freedom and

27:18

asked if he would consider writing a piece for it.

27:21

The Adventures of Madison Washington would

27:24

be his only fictional work, although

27:26

he'd go on to write other biographical narratives.

27:30

The NAVELA was published in eighteen fifty

27:32

two, ten years after Washington

27:34

had won his freedom. The

27:36

story, although mostly true, had

27:38

an almost playlike quality to it, opening

27:41

with the scene that Washington might have had

27:43

with the Canadian farmer. Eventually,

27:46

the work found its way to the newspapers as a three

27:49

part serial, coming out shortly

27:51

after Harriet Beecher Stowe's uncle Tom's

27:53

cabin. The Navelo was met

27:55

with acclaim and people clamored for

27:57

more. Did have to wait,

27:59

though, as the preacher continued his work

28:01

for equality in freedom for a few more years.

28:06

Later, during the Civil War, he fought

28:08

for black men's rights to serve in combat,

28:11

and after the war ended, he wrote his autobiography,

28:14

which was published just three years before

28:16

his death. You've heard of

28:18

it, The Life and Times

28:20

of Frederick Douglas. There's

28:29

more to this story. Stick around after

28:31

this brief sponsor break to hear all about it.

28:40

He started young. By

28:42

the age of just thirteen, William

28:44

was being hired out, a common

28:46

experience for enslaved black people. As

28:48

of eight seven, and

28:51

most of William's work was aboard steamboats

28:53

on the Missouri River. His

28:56

owner was a St. Louis physician named

28:58

Dr. John Young, who also owned

29:00

the boy's mother, Elizabeth. William

29:03

had six brothers and sisters, but his

29:05

father had been white, and he had a lighter skin

29:08

color than his siblings. His father

29:10

was the cousin of Doctor Young. This

29:13

cousin was a planter on a nearby plantation.

29:16

The man acknowledged William as his son and asked

29:19

Young to never sell him.

29:21

In eighteen thirty two, William and his mother

29:23

tried to escape, only to be caught

29:25

and returned to doctor Young. So

29:28

seeing the pair is too much trouble and

29:31

believing he no longer needed their services,

29:33

doctor Young sold them,

29:35

but while Elizabeth was purchased by a

29:37

slave trader working out of New Orleans, William's

29:40

destination ended up being fairly local.

29:43

Not long after, he was sold again, this

29:46

time to a riverboat captain, but

29:48

on January one of eighteen thirty four,

29:51

he made a break for freedom while the boat was

29:53

docked in Cincinnati, Ohio. A

29:55

short while later, he found assistance through

29:58

a Quaker man by the name of Wells Brown.

30:01

Brown gave him clothes, money, and food,

30:03

and also eventually taught him to read

30:06

and write. Ever, thankful

30:08

for the Quaker's kindness, William added

30:10

the man's name to his own, and,

30:12

after moving on to make a life for himself.

30:15

He stuck with his writing, almost

30:17

as though trying to make up for all the years

30:19

he hadn't been able to. Later,

30:22

William found work on a steamboat on Lake

30:24

Erie, but when he wasn't working

30:27

he helped enslaved people as a member of the Underground

30:29

Railroad. By eighteen forty

30:31

two had helped sixty nine people reach

30:33

Canada, and that was

30:35

also how he met Elizabeth Schooner, and

30:38

the two soon married and started a family.

30:42

Over time, William became an avid

30:44

abolitionist and prolific writer, publishing

30:47

work on causes such as abolition, temperance,

30:49

women suffrage, and prison reform.

30:52

But part of his work involved giving speeches,

30:55

which meant a lot of travel. All

30:57

this time away took a toll on his marriage, and

30:59

by a forty seven it fell to

31:01

pieces. In the aftermath,

31:03

he gained custody of their two daughters, and

31:06

the three moved to Boston, where he continued

31:08

to write. His first

31:11

short story sold ten thousand copies

31:13

within just a couple of years, becoming

31:15

almost as popular as those written by Frederick

31:18

Douglas. By eighteen

31:20

forty nine, William and his daughters were living

31:22

in England. He spent most of

31:24

his time lecturing and writing, and remained

31:27

quite prolific during his time there. His

31:30

most famous, or perhaps most infamous

31:32

work, was the novel Clotel, which

31:34

was something of a scandal. The story

31:37

centered around two fictional daughters born

31:39

to Thomas Jefferson and a fictional woman

31:41

he enslaved. It was

31:43

inspired by the former president's real life

31:46

relationship with Sally Hemmings, whom

31:48

he owned. The Clotel is

31:50

considered the first full length novel

31:52

published by an African American, finding

31:54

success in Britain before being printed in America

31:58

in eighteen fifty The Fugitives a law

32:00

passed in the United States making it unsafe

32:02

for William to return. In

32:05

eighteen fifty three, a British couple paid

32:07

for his freedom, ensuring that whenever

32:09

he did return to the States he would be safe.

32:12

The couple had also purchased freedom for another

32:14

man a few years earlier, Frederick

32:16

Douglas. William

32:19

returned to the States in eighteen fifty four

32:21

and returned also to the tour circuit.

32:24

He finally found love again in eighteen sixty

32:26

at the age of forty four, marrying

32:28

twenty two year old Anna Elizabeth Gray.

32:31

The couple settled into a comfortable life

32:34

and welcomed to children of their own. Sadly,

32:37

cholera would take the life of their son just

32:39

a few years later, and their daughter

32:42

passed away due to typhoid fever. To

32:45

ease the pain from the losses, William found

32:47

time to help the Union recruit men for enlistment

32:49

during the Civil War, and

32:52

while the conflict raged, he published

32:54

another book on the history of black soldiers

32:56

and their fight to help the Union against the Confederacy.

33:00

Like Frederick Douglas, he also wrote about Madison

33:02

Washington, though his version was

33:04

more of a historic biography. Over

33:07

the years, William Brown wrote in multiple genres,

33:10

anything from travel articles to fiction,

33:12

to biographies to a play,

33:15

and it's clear from the life he lived that Brown,

33:18

just like Douglas and Washington before him,

33:21

understood the powerful thing about

33:23

freedom. It gave a person

33:25

the chance to make their own stories

33:27

heard. American

33:38

Shadows is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum.

33:41

This episode was written by Michelle Muto,

33:43

researched by Ali Steed, and produced

33:46

by Miranda Hawkins and Trevor Young, with

33:48

executive producers Aaron Mackey, Alex

33:51

Williams, and Matt Frederick To

33:53

learn more about the show, visit grim and mild

33:55

dot com. From more podcasts from

33:57

iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio

34:00

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

34:02

you get your podcasts. M