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Classic Histories of the Underground Railroad (Full Text)

Siebert, Wilbur Henry.  The Underground Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom.  New York: The Macmillan Company, 1898.


Smedley, Robert Clemens.  History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and the Neighboring Counties of Pennsylvania.  Lancaster, PA: Office of the Journal, 1883.


Still, William.  The Underground Rail Road.  Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1872.

 

Accounts of Specific Events  (Full Text)

Christiana
Forbes, David R.  A True Story of the Christiana Riot.  Quarryville, PA: The Sun Printing House, 1898.

Hensel, William Uhler.  The Christiana Riot and the Treason Trials of 1851: An Historical Sketch.  Lancaster, PA: The New Era Printing Company, 1911.

Robbins, James J. Report of the Trial of Castner Hanway for Treason, in the Resistance of the Execution of the Fugitive Slave Law of September, 1850. Philadelphia: King and Baird, 1852.

Harpers Ferry
Life, Trial and Execution of Captain John Brown; 1859.  New York: Robert DeWitt, 1859.   (Avalon Project)     (Google Books)

Hinton, Richard J.  John Brown and His Men; With Some Account of the Roads Traveled to Reach Harper's Ferry. New York: Funk & Wagnall's Company, 1894.

Others
Fetridge and Company.  The Boston Slave Riot, and Trial of Anthony Burns.  Boston: Fetridge and Company, 1854."

Griest, Ellwood.  John and Mary; or, The Fugitive Slaves.  A Tale of South-Eastern Pennsylvania.  Lancaster, PA: Inquirer Printing and Publish Co., 1873.

Williamson, Passmore. Case of Passmore Williamson. Report of the proceedings on the Writ of Habeas Corpus, Issued by the Hon. John K. Kane, Judge of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in the Case of the United States of America ex rel. John H. Wheeler vs. Passmore Williamson, Including the Several Opinions Delivered, and the Arguments of Counsel, Reported by Arthur Cannon, Esq., Phonographer.  Philadelphia: Uriah Hunt & Son, 1856.

 

Autobiographies and Biographies of Underground Railroad Figures (Full Text)

Austin Bearce
Bearse, Austin. Reminiscences of Fugitive Slave Days in Boston.  Boston: Warren Richardson, 1880.  (Google Books)

Henry "Box" Brown
Brown, Henry Box.  Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown, Written by Himself.  Manchester: Printed by Lee and Glynn, 1851.

John Brown

Hinton, Richard J.  John Brown and His Men; With Some Account of the Roads Traveled to Reach Harper's Ferry. New York: Funk & Wagnall's Company, 1894.

Redpath, James. The Public Life of Captain Brown.  Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, 1860.    (Google Books)

Sanborn, Franklin Benjamin.  The Life and Letters of John Brown: Liberator of Kansas, Martyr of Virginia.  Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1891.

Villard, Oswald Garrison. John Brown, 1800-1859: A Biography Fifty Years After.  New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1911   (Google Books)

William Wells Brown
Brown, William Wells.  Narrative of William Wells Brown, a Fugitive Slave.  Written by Himself.  Boston: The Anti-Slavery Office, 1847.

Levi Coffin
Coffin, Levi.  Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, the Reputed President of the Underground Railroad: Being a Brief History of the Labors of a Lifetime in Behalf of the Slave, with the Stories of Numerous Fugitives, Who Gained Their Freedom through His Instrumentality, and Many Other Incidents.  Cincinnati: Robert Clark & Co., 1880.

Moncure Daniel Conway
Conway, Moncure Daniel.  Autobiography, Memories and Experiences of Moncure Daniel Conway. 2 vols.  New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1904.

Frederick Douglass
Douglass, Frederick.  My Bondage and My Freedom. Part I. Life as a Slave. Part II. Life as a Freeman.  New York: Miller, Orton & Mulligan, 1855.

Frederick Douglass Papers Library of Congress

Josiah Henson
Bleby, Henry.  Josiah: The Maimed Fugitive. A True Tale.  London: Wesleyan Conference Office, 1873.

Henson, Josiah. Truth Stranger Than Fiction. Father Henson's Story of His Own Life.  Boston: John P. Jewett, 1858.

Jermain Loguen
Loguen, Jermain Wesley.  The Rev. J. W. Loguen, as a Slave and as a Freeman. A Narrative of Real Life.  Syracuse, N. Y.: J. G. K. Truair & Co., 1859.

John McClintock
Crooks, George R.  Life and Letters of the Reverend John McClintock. New York: Nelson & Phillips, 1876.


Solomon Northrup
Northup, Solomon.  TwelveYears a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853. Auburn [N.Y.]: Derby and Miller, 1853.

Henry Parker
Parker, Henry.  Autobiography of Henry Parker.  s. l.: s. n., 186?.

Harriet Tubman
Bradford, Sarah Hopkins.  Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman.  Auburn [N.Y.]: W.J. Moses, printer, 1869.

 

Other Resources

American Memory  Library of Congress

Ancestry Library Edition 
(subscription)  - Census & Slave Schedule record

The California Underground Railroad  California State University

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection  Cornell University

Historical Census Browser
  University of Virginia

Slavery & Abolition  Dickinson College and Millersville University

 

 

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