Eliza Harris
Slavery could be considered the worst atrocity in the history of the United States. The inhumane nature of the institution and the human reaction of Blacks to it are something that few of us, Black or White can comprehend in the twentieth century. Stories of suicide and even killing one's own children to save them from the shackles are not uncommon in North America. One such story occurred in Ohio with a woman who eventually made her way to Chatham, Ontario. Her name was Eliza Harris.
Eliza Harris was the slave of Thomas Davis who owned a plantation near Dover, Kentucky, about ten miles south of the Ohio River, and almost directly across from Ripley, Ohio. This female slave had learned that her master had arranged to sell her to another southern plantation. Some accounts of this slave say she was a mulatto, others state she was a quadroon, meaning she was one quarter Black, irregardless all accounts claim she was strikingly beautiful, with long flowing black hair, dark eyes and fair skin. An attractive, fair-skinned female slave was a prized commodity on southern plantations. She could be a housekeeper, a servant for the mistress and a concubine to the master.
One night in the year 1838 shortly before she was to be taken to jail to wait for the slave wagon to take her further south, she grabbed her youngest child and ran. She knew if she could get across the Ohio River her chances of escape would greatly increase. She thought the river would be frozen over but when she reached its bank at daybreak she found that the ice had broken up. Seeking refuge from the cold she took her chances and went to a nearby cabin, where she was provided with shelter and food by a sympathetic White man. After being there for a while she heard the baying of dogs, which she knew were on her trail. She grabbed her child and ran to the river, with the dogs and slave catchers close behind. In desperation she went onto the broken ice and jumped from ice flow to ice flow until exhausted she reached the other side. Out of nowhere came a hand that pulled her up the bank. The helping hand was that of Chance Shaw one of the Ohio Patrol. Chance Shaw helped her to her feet stating, "any woman who crossed that river carrying her baby has won her freedom." He then guided her to the house of John Rankin. It was decided it wasn't safe for her to stay there the night so after being provided with warm clothing and food she was transported from station to station until she reached the house of Levis Coffin in Newport, where she remained for several days. Coffin sent her to the Black settlement near Greenville and from there she was transported to Sandusky, Ohio. In the meantime to elude slave catchers, her hair had been cut and she was dressed as a man and her young son had been dressed as a girl. They successfully boarded a steamboat in Sandusky and were transported across Lake Erie to Canada. Her first landing on Canadian soil was on Pelee Island and she eventually settled in Chatham, Ontario. About fifteen years later Levi Coffin and his wife were visiting Chatham Canada West and while attending a Black church meeting they ran into Eliza. They visited her at her house in Chatham and found her comfortable and contented.
This is just one story of the many, about fugitive slaves who found freedom and dignity in Canada. Eliza Harris had obtained a one way ticket aboard the Underground Railroad by way of the Great Lakes.
Submitted by Spencer Alexander
Research Sources:
His Promised Land - Stuart Seely Sprague
The Mysteries of Ohio's Underground Railroad - Wilbur Henry Siebert
The Underground Railroad - Blockson Prince Hall Press 1987
Goodbye to Uncle Tom - J.C. Furnas
Seek the Truth - Gwendolyn Robinson and John Robinson
From Slavery to Freedom - John Hope Franklin