Mapping Origins of Escape from Slavery on the Underground Railroad: The Records of Black Abolitionist William Still, 1853–1861

This research investigates the geographic distribution of the place origins and modes of travel of Blacks escaping slavery from the US South on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania branch of the Underground Railroad between 1853 and 1861. We use digital data abstracted from nearly 1,000 narrative accounts of escape as originally recorded, and ultimately published as a book, by Black abolitionist William Still. We employ geographic information systems (GIS) to map the historic towns and counties from which individuals escaped to Philadelphia. Notable counties include Norfolk and Henrico Counties in Virginia (122 and 61 escapes, respectively), Dorchester and Baltimore Counties in Maryland (84 and 79 escapes, respectively), and Sussex County in Delaware (48 escapes). Travel by steamship and schooner were most common for escapes originating from the southern Chesapeake Bay. Travel by road and on foot were more common from origins nearer to Philadelphia. The total number of escapes increased from 1853 through 1857 before declining precipitously thereafter. Norfolk County emerged as a key origin of escape in the mid-1850s before rapidly declining, likely due to subsequent political organizing by enslavers. Dorchester County emerged as a key escape origin in 1857, likely due to the activities of Harriet Tubman.