Record #84 from Abstracts from William Still's Underground Railroad - Enduring Connections

Traveler's Names	Oliver Purnell
Age	26
Description	chestnut color, wide awake, and a man of promise
Alias	–
Origin- Town/City	Berlin
Origin- County	Worcester
Origin- State	Maryland
Destination	Canada
Birthplace	–
Slaveowner's Name	Mose Purnell
Chapter Title	Part of the arrivals in December, 1855
Page Number	342
Other Travelers	Thomas Jervis Gooseberry and William Thomas Freeman,Ezekiel Chambers, Henry Hooper, Jacob Hall and wife Henrietta and child, two men from near Chestertown, Md, Fenton Jones, Mary Curtis, William Brown, Charles Henry Brown, Oliver Purnell , Isaac Fidget
Other Conductors	–
Additional Names	–
Method of Travel	–
Additional Resources	–
Items in Possession	–
Full Narrative	OLIVER PURNELL and ISAAC FIDGET arrived from Berlin, Md. Each had different owners. Oliver stated that Mose Purnell had owned him, and that he was a tolerably moderate kind of a slave-holder, although he was occasionally subject to fractious turns. Oliver simply gave as his reason for leaving in the manner that he did, that he wanted his " own earnings." He felt that he had as good a right to the fruit of his labor as anybody else. Despite all the pro-slavery teachings he had listened to all his life, he was far from siding with the pro-slavery doctrines. He was about twenty-six years of age, chestnut color, wide awake and a man of promise ; yet it was sadly obvious that he had been blighted and cursed by slavery even in its mildest forms He left his parents, two brothers and three sisters all slaves in the hands of Purnell, the master whom he deserted.

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[Author (if known)], Abstracts from William Still's Underground Railroad, [Date (if known)], Enduring Connections: Exploring Delmarva’s Black History, Nabb Research Center, Salisbury University.

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Traveler's Names Thomas Jervis Gooseberry

Age 19

Alias –

Origin- Town/City Chestertown

Origin- State Maryland

Destination Canada

Birthplace –

Slaveowner's Name Sarah Maria Perkins

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Traveler's Names Thomas Jervis Gooseberry

Age 19

Description Quite dark, and stammered somewhat

Alias –

Origin- Town/City Chestertown

Origin- County Kent

Origin- State Maryland

Destination Canada

Birthplace –

Slaveowner's Name Sarah Maria Perkins

Chapter Title Part of the arrivals in December, 1855

Page Number 339

Other Travelers Thomas Jervis Gooseberry and William Thomas Freeman,Ezekiel Chambers, Henry Hooper, Jacob Hall and wife Henrietta and child, two men from near Chestertown, Md, Fenton Jones, Mary Curtis, William Brown, Charles Henry Brown, Oliver Purnell , Isaac Fidget

Other Conductors –

Additional Names –

Method of Travel Carriages

Additional Resources letter

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Full Narrative SCHUYLKILL, llth Mo., 29th, 1855.

WILLIAM STILL : DEAR FRIEND : ? Those boys will be along by the last Norristown
train to-morrow evening. I think the train leaves Norristown at 6 o'clock, but of this
inform thyself. The boys will be sent to a friend at Norristown, with instructions to assist them in getting seats in the last train that leaves Norristown to-morrow evening. They are two of the eleven who left some time since, and took with them some of their master's horses ; I have told them to remain in the cars at Green street until somebody meets them. E. F. PENNYPACKER.

Having arrived safely, by the way and manner indicated in E. F. Pennypacker's note, as they were found to be only sixteen and seventeen years of age, considerable interest was felt by the Acting Committee to hear their story. They were closely questioned in the usual manner. They proved to be quite intelligent, considering how young they were, and how the harrow of Slavery had been upon them from infancy.

They escaped from Chestertown, Md., in company with nine others (they being a portion of the eleven who arrived in Wilmington, with two carriages, etc., noticed on page 302), but, for prudential reasons they were separated while traveling. Some were sent on, but the boys had to be
retained with friends in the country. Many such separations were inevitable. In this respect a great deal of care and trouble had to be endured for the sake of the cause. THOMAS JERVIS, the elder boy, was quite dark, and stammered somewhat, yet he was active and smart. ?He stated that Sarah Maria Perkins was his mistress in Maryland. He was disposed to speak rather favorably of her, at least he said that she was "tolerably kind" to her servants. She,
however, was in the habit of hiring out, to reap a greater revenue for them, and did not always get them places where they were treated as well as she herself treated them. Tom left his father, Thomas Gooseberry, and three sisters, Julia Ann, Mary Ellen, and Katie Bright, all slaves.

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Traveler's Names Charles Henry Brown

Age 27

Alias –

Origin- Town/City Cambridge

Origin- State Maryland

Destination Canada

Birthplace –

Slaveowner's Name Dr. Richard Dorsey

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Traveler's Names Charles Henry Brown

Age 27

Description not quite medium size with marked features of mind and character

Alias –

Origin- Town/City Cambridge

Origin- County Dorchester

Origin- State Maryland

Destination Canada

Birthplace –

Slaveowner's Name Dr. Richard Dorsey

Chapter Title Part of the arrivals in December, 1855

Page Number 342

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Full Narrative CHARLES HENRY BROWN. This " chattel " was owned by Dr. Richard Dorsey, of Cambridge, Maryland. Up to twenty.-seven years of age, he had experienced and observed how slaves were treated in his neighborhood, and he made up his mind that he was not in favor of 'the Institution in any
form whatever. Indeed he felt, that for a man to put his hand in his neighbor's pocket and rob him, was nothing compared to the taking of a man's
hard earnings from year to year. Really Charles reasoned the case so well, in his uncultured country phrases, that the Committee was rather surprised,
and admired his spirit in escaping. He was a man of not quite medium size, with marked features of mind and character.

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Traveler's Names isaac Fidget

Age 30

Alias –

Origin- Town/City Berlin

Origin- State Maryland

Destination Canada

Birthplace –

Slaveowner's Name Mrs. Fidget

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Traveler's Names isaac Fidget

Age 30

Description dark and in intellect about equal to the average passengers on the Underground Railroad

Alias –

Origin- Town/City Berlin

Origin- County Worcester

Origin- State Maryland

Destination Canada

Birthplace –

Slaveowner's Name Mrs. Fidget

Chapter Title Part of the arrivals in December, 1855

Page Number 342

Other Conductors –

Additional Names –

Method of Travel –

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Items in Possession –

Full Narrative OLIVER PURNELL and ISAAC FIDGET arrived from Berlin, Md. Each had different owners. Oliver stated that Mose Purnell had owned him, and that he was a tolerably moderate kind of a slave-holder, although he was occasionally subject to fractious turns. Oliver simply gave as his reason for leaving in the manner that he did, that he wanted his " own earnings." He felt that he had as good a right to the fruit of his labor as anybody else. Despite all the pro-slavery teachings he had listened to all his life, he was far from siding with the pro-slavery doctrines. He was about twenty-six years of age, chestnut color, wide awake and a man of promise ; yet it was sadly obvious that he had been blighted and cursed by slavery even in its mildest forms He left his parents, two brothers and three sisters all
slaves in the hands of Purnell, the master whom he deserted. ISAAC, his companion, was about thirty years of age, dark, and in intellect
about equal to the average passengers on the Underground Rail Road. He had a very lively hope of finding his wife in freedom, she having escaped the previous Spring; but of her whereabouts he was ignorant, as he had had no tidings of her since her departure. A lady by the name of Mrs. Fidget held the deed for Isaac. He spoke kindly of her, as he thought she treated her slaves quite as well at least as the best of slave-holders in his neighbor-

THE FUGITIVE SLA VE BILL OF 1850. 343

hood. His view was a superficial one, it meant only that they had not been
beaten and starved half to death.

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