This journal article describes how an African male came to be sold into slavery in America and how he became a member of the Moravian church community in Bethlehem , Pa. Also included is the autobiography of this man named Andrew which as a member of the church he was required to write. While he remained in slave status, his membership in the church provided him a life more normal than a slave would ordinarily endure.
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. Volume 112, number 3 (July 1988), p. 433-451Lancaster History Library - Periodical Article905.748 HSP v.112
Includes bibliographical references (pages 149-155) and index.
Contents
Lives on the frontier -- The Quaker colony -- Slavery and the Rise of South Central Pennyslvania -- Revolutionary Times -- Defying abolition -- "The General pressure of the Times" -- "No Doubt She Is Somewhere in Adams County" -- Sons of the Revolution, Fathers of Abolition -- "Come in and Take Thy Breakfast" -- Confederate Invasion -- "God Plead My Cause"
Summary
"Much like the rest of the nation, South Central Pennsyvlania struggled with slavery. The institution lingered locally for more than fifty years, although it was virtually extinct everywhere else within Pennsylvania. Gradually, antislavery views prevailed. The Appalachian Mountains and the Susquehanna River provided natural cover for fleeing slaves, causing an influx of travel along the Underground Railraod. Locals like WIlliam Wright and James McAllister assisted these runaways while publically advocating to abolish slavery." -- page [4] of cover.
"A relationship between [Thaddeus] Stevens and...[Robert Boston] is an important counter narrative. Most traditional accounts of the local Underground Railroad activity emphasize the actions of white stationmasters such as William Wright in Columbia or Daniel Gibbons in Bird-in-Hand. African-American involvement while not ignored is generally presented as being of secondary importance. Each demonstrable piece of evidence of Black involvement in effort to combat slavery strengthens arguments for a tradition of Black agency and necessitates a reassessment of the lives and experiences of African Americans in the Antebellum Era."
