William Still (1821-1902) was a central figure in the Underground Railroad, both as an antebellum vigilance leader based in Philadelphia and as a historian of the network following the Civil War. Still was born free in New Jersey to parents who had been enslaved in Maryland. He came to Philadelphia in the 1840s, securing clerical work with the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. During the 1850s, Still served as operational leader of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee, keeping detailed records which later became the basis for his groundbreaking memoir, The Underground Railroad (1872). When he died in 1902, the New York Times labeled him, “Father of the Underground Railroad.”
ESSAYS: Barker // Bordewich // Crew // Foner // Harrold // Larson // Newby-Alexander // Pinsker
ROLES: UGRR Operative