There is Canton folklore about safe houses, shelters and communities that may have been part of the Underground Railroad. The trail to find proof sources, however, grows cold rather fast. Neither the Farmington, Simsbury nor Salmon Book Historical Societies nor the Canton Historical Museum or area libraries have documentary evidence that Canton was part of that safety net which offered refuge to runaway slaves, from the 1780s until the 1860s.
Were there opportunities in Canton to offer safe passage? In the 1856 book, ‘The Genealogical Sketches of the Early Settlers of West Simsbury,’ author Abiel Brown spoke of a community in northwestern Simsbury known then as, “Negrotown.” In the 1790’s, this community was a place where families could stop as they transitioned through the area. The northwestern territory of Simsbury would become Canton.
Was there an atmosphere that could have promoted assistance to escaping slaves? Slavery was outlawed in Connecticut in 1848; 15 years before the Emancipation Proclamation and 17 years before the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
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Locally, some prominent families in Canton who owned slaves, provided them with liberties, homes and land. Early Canton records also indicate that the town provided financial support for at least one indigent, infirmed slave, later in his life. The last documented slave in Canton passed away in 1828. His given name was Neptune.
Were there any escapes by slaves in Canton, who could have been assisted by town advocates? Yes and maybe. For $.25, a Canton slave owner ran the following ad in the Hartford Courant, sometime between 1764 and the early 1800s:
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Runaway from the subscriber on the 26th ….an indented boy by the name of George Morgan , seventeen years of age. He is about five feet six or seven inches high, is stout built, light complexion, light eyes, and very curly hair. Took with him two hats, three coats, two vests, two shirts, two pair pantaloons, one pair stockings, and two pair of shoes. Whoever will take up said boy and return him to his master, shall have very little reward and no charges paid. All persons are for bid harbouring or trusting him on penalty of the law.
Dots, but no connections yet. So, the search for evidence continues.
Here’s the Deal
Mary Ellen Cosker; ongoing thanks for her diligent and dedicated archiving of Canton history.
African-Americans in Simsbury, 1725-1925, Mary L. Hanson.
Genealogical Sketches of the Early Settlers of West Simsbury, Abiel Brown, Esq.
Hartford Courant, July 4, 2000; Courant Complicity In An Old Wrong: pp. A1 & A5.
