As I write this, my region is feeling the effects of Winter Storm Gail. Jim Cantore, famous fan of "thunder snow" from The Weather Channel, has traveled over to Bethlehem to experience the storm firsthand. When he shows up, you know it's serious. I've got chili in the slow cooker and we're planning to basically just graze and try to relax. I hope everyone affected by the storm is warm and safe.
Before I get into today's quest, a quick word of thanks to everyone who has sent congratulatory messages on the publication of Laury's Island. The response has been more than slightly overwhelming - I was even interviewed by my local TV news station! (It will air next Monday, December 21st. Details are on this page down at the bottom.)
I had planned, as my last quest for 2020, to talk about the two historical markers dedicated to George Taylor. However, I seem to be missing a couple of the photographs I need for the post; I know I took them, but for the life of me I cannot find them. So we'll leave Mr. Taylor until the new year, by which time I should have either found or replaced the pictures, and today I'll add one more new guest photographer to this blog. My parents were in Harrisburg some weeks back, and while they were in the vicinity, they were kind enough to send me a few pictures of markers they encountered.
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The marker stands at the intersection of
Walnut Street and Commonwealth Avenue.
Image courtesy of Debra Shankar. |
As I mentioned last year when I wrote about the Bucks County marker for
Richard Moore, Pennsylvania was a key location during the struggle for emancipation before and during the Civil War. The city of Harrisburg in particular was very instrumental in the effort, being home as early as 1836 to a group which called themselves the Harrisburg Anti-Slavery Society. They were especially involved with giving safe harbor to escaped slaves making their way north, which is significant to the backstory of today's marker.
The HASS, as I'm going to call them for the sake of brevity, became such an influential part of the anti-slavery movement that famous abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass came to speak to them. The
Wesley Union AME Zion Church, situated near the location of the marker, hosted their speeches. I learned about Frederick Douglass in school, of course, as I'm sure many of you did as well; but the other gentleman's name was less familiar to me. Garrison was the publisher of an anti-slavery newspaper called
The Liberator, which was produced in Boston from 1831 until the repeal of slavery in 1865.
By the 1850s, the part of Harrisburg known as Tanner's Alley (between what are today Walnut and South Streets) had become a significant part of the efforts of the HASS. Harrisburg by that time had become home to approximately 900 free Blacks, which accounted for about 12% of the city's population; its relative closeness to the Mason-Dixon line made it an attractive goal for fugitive slaves, and most of those who remained there settled in the vicinity of Tanner's Alley. The street was home to some of the poorest people in the city, mostly unskilled laborers working to make ends meet while also combating racism. Despite the poverty, however, it was described as a vibrant quarter of the city; it had its own Black Masonic Temple, dance halls, churches (including Wesley Union AME), and restaurants and other businesses.
Some of the members of the HASS were located there as well. Two of these members were gentlemen named William Jones and Joseph Bustill. They were neighbors, living roughly a block away from one another, and between their houses a great many escaped slaves were given shelter, food, and clothing before they continued their trek north to the freedom of Canada.
Joseph Bustill, whose ancestry included African, English, and Lenape Native American lineages, and his brother Charles were both very active on the Underground Railroad. Charles was a prominent conductor, who operated out of their native Philadelphia where he worked as a plasterer. Joseph, on the other hand, was what was known as a "shipping agent" on the Railroad, using his assorted connections to arrange for the transport of escaped slaves. One of his contacts was a William Still in Philadelphia, and some of the letters sent to him by Joseph Bustill have survived. Bustill, a teacher, was clever in his use of language, and would openly describe the arrangements for the transport of escaped slaves by identifying them as things like "packages". One of his letters mentions sending "four large and two small hams," meaning that he arranged transport for four adults and two children.
His neighbor William "Pap" Jones, meanwhile, was a doctor. His home was, it is said, the "principal station" of the Railroad in Harrisburg, and he was extremely familiar with the different roads and routes that could take an escaped slave north. He was able to provide competent guides, but he also frequently drove them himself in his large covered wagon, sometimes as far as Wilkes-Barre or Pottsville. His wife, Mary, often assisted him in his efforts, according to her obituary. The Joneses would hide escaped slaves in their home and keep them safe and fed until they saw indications that they were no longer being actively pursued, then help them escape to the north.
As for Wesley Union AME Zion Church, they still have their doors open today. Both Bustill and Jones were members of its congregation back when it was in Tanner's Alley. The original church was a log building at the intersection of Third and Mulberry Streets, in 1829; the congregation moved in 1838 to a one-story brick church on Tanners Avenue at South Street. This building was demolished in 1915 for the expansion of Capitol Park (home of the state capitol building), but the congregation is still active today. Their church is now situated at Fifth and Camp Streets, and they still continue their long-standing traditions of outreach and service to the Harrisburg community. Another
historical marker, established by the Harrisburg History Project, shows a photograph of Tanner's Alley which includes the old one-story brick church.
And with that, it's time to wrap up this post and do some shoveling. Thank you for once again joining me for a year of history; I'll be back after Christmas with my annual retrospective post. Until then, I hope that whatever you celebrate, even if you can't celebrate it the same way you normally would, it brings you some measure of peace and joy as we bid farewell to this really weird year. Happy holidays!
Sources and Further Reading:
Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.
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