"Over the years Lloyd and Mabel [Heller] raised two sons of their own; in addition they adopted two children from the Lancaster Children's Bureau. They also raised four foster children and kept many other children from the Lancaster Children's Bureau for shorter periods of time ranging from six to eight months. They also kept approximately twenty children from the neighborhood for up to several months and at times as long as a year...In 1958, Mabel 'Mama' Heller was recognized by the Lancaster Children's Bureau of Lancaster County for her involvement with the Children's Bureau in the raising of forty children at the Heller farm in Narvon Pennsylvania." [from the introduction]
"A true story of the author and his family members, friends and neighbors circa 1942 to 1964. It also gives the reader a real and factual understanding of the life in that time period surrounding the area of Lancaster County called 'The Welsh Mountains'." [from the book jacket]
Appendix 1 : Founding members of the High German Church ; Appendix 2 : Members of the High German Church who were arrested for distrubing the peace during the riot on January 17, 1835. Charges were brought by Carl Schaeffer and George Milligsach, elders of the High German Church ; Appendix 3 : Pastors and members of the vestry of Zion Lutheran Church during its peak years in the late nineteenth century.
''Child Heroes of the Underground Railroad illuminates the vital contributions of specific, underappreciated child activists within the extremely local circumstances of their daily work. It also provides meaningful context to the actions of these young activists within the much broader social practice of resisting slavery, and offers fresh insight into the complicated question of who was responsible for ending slavery. Through a thorough examination of these subjects, author Jonathan Shectman proves his central thesis: in many specific cases, children were the essential lifeblood of the Underground Railroad's operational workforce." ( amazon.com )
Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-208) and index.
Contents
The dictates of humanity -- Knowledge unfits a child to be a slave -- Ran away from the subscriber -- Tell them I love them all -- Let not the sun go down on your anger, my boy -- Up like bucks: the Rankin boys -- States of matter divide the states -- Deeds of bold daring -- Many years under the yoke -- The conductor was, himself, presently enslaved.
Part I. Radical, young, and quaker: child pioneers of the underground -- Part II. Up like bucks: the line through Ripley -- Part III. Taking their freedom: young free blacks and fugitive children.
A railroad for the "Southern End" : Pictures, timetables, rare documents and all the news of the Little, Old & Slow, Pennsylvania's first narrow gauge railroad
A long time ago, a narrow gauge railroad was built through southern Lancaster and Chester Counties, in Pennsylvania, bringing an alternative to horses, buggies and ox carts, on muddy deeply rutted roads. "Ole Peachy," as many of the locals called it, served no major industries. Instead, it made do with poultry, eggs, butter, cattle, cream and passengers, becoming a vital link for the farmers of, and visitors to, the "Southern End ." This is the story of how , despite great odds against it, this short line managed to survive for 47 years. [from the book cover]