'Record Of Fugitive Slaves' Dec 1855, by Sydney Howard Gay

"Record Of Fugitives", December, 1855, from the papers of Sydney Howard Gay.

Read by Frank Blissett.

From the ledger of Underground Railroad facilitator Sydney Howard Gay. Covering the years 1855 & 1856, "Record Of Fugitives" offers a glimpse into the struggle for freedom that was waged before the American Civil War.

"Record Of Fugitives" provides information on ~200 fugitives that Sydney Gay and Louis Napoleon aided, though it is thought they may have actually assisted upwards of 3,000 former slaves. He worked closely with William Still, of Philadelphia, and many of the fugitive slaves aided by Still are encountered in Gay's records as well. These fugitive slaves were fed through Gay's New York City office, mostly to upstate New York, and often from there to Canada.

Note that the Underground Railroad often used railway terms for their slang. Thus, references to a "conductor" or "baggage handler", for instance, most often refer to particular jobs within the organization.