Oh Freedom! Sought Under the Fugitive Slave Act

William and Ellen Craft Background

William and Ellen Craft were enslaved in Macon, GA, but escaped from their respective owners in December 1848. Ellen, the daughter of an African-American woman and a White master, passed as White. She traveled disguised as a gentleman accompanied by a slave valet, William.

They made their way to Boston, MA, and the U.S. Census of 1850 shows them living in freedom at the home of Lewis Hayden.

After the the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in September of 1850, though, the Crafts’ owners tried to find and re-enslave them. A deputy U.S. Marshal sought them out at Hayden’s home. But Mr. Hayden denied that they were there and threatened violence, so the marshall departed.

Receipt for William Craft

Look at the next document: a receipt showing the ownership and enslavement of William Craft.

Warrant for William Craft

The next document is a warrant to apprehend William Craft.

Complaint against William Craft

The following document explained that William "owes service and labor" to Ira H. Taylor (his former owner) in Macon, GA.

John Knight's Affidavit about William Craft

A man named John Knight swore that he knew William Craft to be "in the service" of Ira Taylor in the following document.

John Knight's Affidavit about Ellen Craft

John Knight also knew Ellen Craft to be in service to Robert Collins.

Ellen Craft Description

In the next document, Ellen was described by her owner Mr. Collins:

"Robert Collins of the City of Macon...saith That he is the legal owner of a bright molatto woman by the name of Ellen, commonly Called Ellen Craft, and that he has been her legal owner for about thirteen years, that she was born and raised a Slave, and that she Escaped from his house in Macon in the latter part of December 1848, and that he now understands she is residing as a fugitive slave in the State of Massachusetts, said woman Ellen is of very high complexion, low and wxxxx heavy in stature, about 22 years of age Straight hair, brown eyes, and has had a Scrofulous effection on one of her arms."

(A "scrofulous effection" is a skin problem caused by tuberculosis. It is also the origin of the word "scruffy." Ellen later said she carried her arm in a sling to disguise that she couldn't write. The record also shows that she had a bad arm.)

Willis Hughes Description

The owners of Ellen and William hired Willis Hughes to act as their agent and claim their property in Boston. A deputy US Marshall sought them out at the home of Lewis Hayden, a former fugitive slave and abolition activist.

According to reports of the time, Hayden claimed they were not in his home, that he had placed gunpowder on his stoop, and that he would ignite it, if the marshall came in.

The U.S. Marshal Charles Devens filed a report, stating he had "made diligent search...and cannot find him within my precinct." (Devens later became an esteemed jurist, statesman, and Civil War general.)

William and Ellen Craft

The Crafts fled to Britain, where they lived for 20 years, raising their family, lecturing about the freedom movement, and writing their memoir Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom (1860). They returned to the U.S. and settled in Georgia.

Telling the Story

How would you tell this story?

Consider the variety of perspectives you could write from: the fugitives—Ellen or William, the owners of missing property, Lewis Hayden—who harbored and helped fugitives, the U.S. Marshall—who may have sympathized with the fugitives, the court—which had to follow the law.