The Underground Railroad
Arrival from Maryland, 1858
JOHN WESLEY COMBASH, JACOB TAYLOR, AND THOMAS EDWARD SKINNER.
The revelations made by these passengers were painful to listen to, and would not have been credited if any room had existed for doubt.
John Wesley was thirty-two years of age, of a lively turn, pleasant countenance, dark color, and ordinary size. In unburdening his mind to the Committee the all-absorbing theme related to the manner in which he had been treated as a slave, and the character of those who had oppressed him. He stated that he had been the victim of a man or party, named Johnson, in whose family John had been a witness to some of the most high-handed phases of barbarism; said he, “these Johnsons were notorious for abusing their servants. A few years back one of their slaves, a coachman, was kept on the coach box one cold night when they were out at a ball until he became almost frozen to death, in fact he did die in the infirmary from the effects of the frost about one week afterwards.”
“Another case was that of a slave woman in a very delicate state, who was one day knocked down stairs by Mrs. Johnson herself, and in a few weeks after, the poor woman died from the effects of the injury thus received. The doctor who attended the injured creature in this case was simply told that she slipped and fell down stairs as she was coming down. Colored witnesses had no right to testify, and the doctor was mute, consequently the guilty escaped wholly unpunished.” “Another case,” said John Wesley, “was a little girl, half-grown, who was washing windows up stairs one day, and unluckily fell asleep in the window, and in this position was found by her mistress; in a rage the mistress hit her a heavy slap, knocked her out of the window, and she fell to the pavement, and died in a few hours from the effects thereof. The mistress professed to know nothing about it, simply said, ‘she went to sleep and fell out herself.’ As usual nothing was done in the way of punishment.”
These were specimens of the inner workings of the peculiar institution. John, however, had not only observed Slavery from a domestic stand-point, he had also watched master and mistress abroad as visitors and guests in other people’s houses, noticed not only how they treated white people, but also how they treated black people. “These Johnsons thought that they were first-rate to their servants. When visiting among their friends they were usually very polite, would bow and scrape more than a little, even to colored people, knowing that their names were in bad odor, on account of their cruelty, for they had been in the papers twice about how they abused their colored people.”
As to advertising him, John gave it as his opinion that they would be ashamed to do it from the fact that they had already rendered themselves more notorious than they had bargained for, on account of their cruelty towards their slaves; they were wealthy, and courted the good opinion of society. Besides they were members of the Presbyterian Church, and John thought that they were very willing that people should believe that they were great saints. On the score of feeding and clothing John gave them credit, saying that “the clothing was good enough, they liked to see the house servants dressed;” he spoke too of the eating as being all right, but added, that “very often time was not allowed them to finish their meals.” Respecting work, John bore witness that they were very sharp.
With John’s intelligence, large observation, good memory, and excellent natural abilities, with the amount of detail that he possessed, nothing more would have been needed for a thrilling book than the facts and incidents of slave life, as he had been conversant with it under the Johnsons in Maryland.
As the other two companions of John Wesley were advertised in the Baltimore Sun, we avail ourselves of the light thus publicly afforded:
$2000 REWARD.—Ran away from the subscriber, living on the York Turnpike, eight miles from Baltimore city, on Sunday, April 11th, my negro man, JACOB, aged 20 years: 5 feet 10 inches high; chestnut color; spare made; good features. I will give $50 reward if taken in Baltimore city or county, and $200 if taken out of the State and secured in jail so that I get him again.
WM. J.B. PARLETT.
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“Jacob,” answering to the description in Mr. Wm. J.B. Parlett’s advertisement, gave his views of the man who had enslaved him. His statement is here transferred from the record book: “My master,” said Jacob, “was a farmer, a very rough man, hard to satisfy. I never knew of but one man who could ever please him. He worked me very hard; he wanted to be beating me all the time.” This was a luxury which Jacob had no appetite for, consequently he could not resist signifying his unwillingness to yield, although resistance had to be made at some personal risk, as his master had “no more regard for a colored man than he had for a stone under his feet.” With him the following expression was common: “The niggers are not worth a d——n.” Nor was his wife any better, in Jacob’s opinion. “She was a cross woman, and as much of a boss as he was.” “She would take a club and with both hands would whack away as long as you would stand it.” “She was a large, homely woman; they were common white people, with no reputation in the community.” Substantially this was Jacob’s unvarnished description of his master and mistress.
As to his age, and also the name of his master, Jacob’s statement varied somewhat from the advertisement. For instance, Jacob Taylor was noticed on the record book as being twenty-three years of age, and the name of his master was entered as “William Pollit;” but as Jacob had never been allowed to learn to read, he might have failed in giving a correct pronunciation of the name.
When asked what first prompted him to seek his freedom, he replied, “Oh my senses! I always had it in my mind to leave, but I was ‘jubus’, (dubious?) of starting. I didn’t know the way to come. I was afraid of being overtaken on the way.” He fled from near Baltimore, where he left brothers and other relatives in chains.
$20 REWARD.—Ran way at the same time and in company with the above negro man, a bright mulatto boy named THOMAS SKINNER, about 18 years old, 5 feet 8 inches high and tolerable stout made; he only has a term of years to serve. I will pay $20 reward if delivered to me or lodged in jail so I can get him again.
GEO. H. CARMAN,
Towsontown, Baltimore county, Md.
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About the same time that this advertisement came to hand a certain young aspirant for Canada was entered on the Underground Rail Road Book thus: “THOMAS EDWARD SKINNER, a bright mulatto, age eighteen years, well formed, good-looking, and wide awake; says, that he fled from one G.H. Carman, Esq., head Clerk of the County Court.” He bore voluntary testimony to Carman in the following words: “He was a very good man; he fed and clothed well and gave some money too occasionally.” Yet Thomas had no idea of remaining in Slavery under any circumstances. He hated everything like Slavery, and as young as he was, he had already made five attempts to escape. On this occasion, with older and wiser heads, he succeeded.