Wayne County Anti-Slavery Society

See also: Underground Railroad (List of abolitionists can be found there)

The Wayne County Anti-Slavery Society was established in 1836, under the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. Forming a year after the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, it was one of its 120 branches, with a goal of strengthening communication among all parts of the state. There were Underground Railroad routes between Holmesville (Holmes County) and Millbrook (Wayne County). Wayne County also served as a stop before Oberlin- a large underground railroad station in Lorain County, Ohio. These connections lead to a need of secure communication with the other counties, as well as between the people in Wayne County itself.

There are records of members of the Wayne County Anti-Slavery Society attending the annual meetings of Ohio Anti-Slavery Society in 1837. The people listed as Wayne County representatives were J. S. Farr and R. Babcock from Congress (formerly known as Waynesburg). There are articles found containing transcriptions of the annual Wayne County Anti-Slavery Society meetings held in Wooster up to 1843.

The Abolitionist Mission

Many abolitionists believed in freedom for all. According to the Wayne County Anti-Slavery Society meeting briefs, the members defined slavery as a “moral evil”. As many of the abolitionists were Quakers, Wesleyans, Methodists, and other religious groups- many viewed slavery from a religious and humanitarian point of view, and deemed it as wrong as a result. In Wayne County, the Myers were a Mennonite family who were well-known abolitionists. Three of Joseph Myers’ sons broke their Mennonite vows to join the Union Army in the Civil War, with the drive to abide by their morals of anti-slavery. The abolitionists played many different roles in the Underground Railroad to fulfill the mission of seeking justice for the African American community. Many of them played the role of conductors where they were directly involved with transporting the fugitives, while others helped with food, shelter, medical treatment, etc.

Although Ohio was a free state during the pre-civil war era, pro-slavery still existed along with abolitionism. There are records of slavery as we see mentioned in a 1920 article. Elijah Pocock had freed his slave Joshua from captivity on February 24^th, 1823, resulting in him becoming a free person. This indicates that there were still illegal slave trading going on at that time in Ohio, and many Ohioans believed in pro-slavery or even participated in the slave trade. These people would often clash with the abolitionists, as they did not approve of their beliefs, or the Anti-Slavery Society. As the Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850, the underground railroads became more restrictive than ever. Those violators assisting runaway slaves were subject to fines up to $1,000. In addition, slave groups offered rewards for the assassination of those active in helping slaves find freedom. This created an even bigger tension between the pro-slavery people and abolitionists.

Abrupt Ending of Anti-Slavery Meetings

As there are no articles relating to the annual Wayne County Anti-Slavery Society meetings to be found after 1843, it is uncertain what happened next. It is difficult to say whether the members continued their operations in the 1840’s and onwards, as there are barely any records of such after 1843. There is one article written by Dr. W. S. Battles recollecting a fugitive experience in 1845, which leads to the possibility that the operations might have gone up to 1850. As the Underground Railroad was proving to be successful and many fugitive African Americans found freedom by crossing the border, it was getting more difficult to keep the operation discreet. Along with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 making Underground Railroad operations more risky, the conductors might have gone very “underground” from the 1840’s and onwards, and many might have stopped participating due to the increased risk of getting caught the longer they were involved. Charity Bell, one of the main contributors to the operation had her farmhouse serve as a station. However, there are advertisements of her farmhouse on sale found in 1843. As she got married to John M. Stout and might have moved out of Millbrook in 1846- this leads to the assumption that Bell might have changed the station location to decrease suspicion, and eventually stopped participating completely after she moved to Medina.

Abolitionist Experiences

Several experiences of the conductors participating in the Underground Railroad have been recorded. Many have had heartbreaking experiences while helping the fugitives, recollections of which have been passed down to generations. One experience of Dr. James Martin, a doctor in Fredericksburg was mentioned in the Hauenstein article. Dr. Martin had to treat a fugitive girl, who was severely injured by the slavecatcher dogs, resulting in one of her breasts being nearly ripped off.

One of the prominent families in Shreve involved with the Underground were the Battles family. Both Thomas S. Battles and his son, Dr. W. S. Battles, were highly involved with conducting. They had built a chain of network with other Shreve-Millbrook abolitionists such as Charity Bell, Absolom Swords, Samuel Seibert, and others. There is one article written by Dr. Battles himself recollecting a memory while his father was alive. It was a thrilling moment of transporting a fugitive family to a safe place as the slavecatchers were approaching soon, and they received help from Charity Bell and others. Dr. Battles often used to treat injured fugitives, and transport them in horse-carts at night while keeping them hidden under the hay. Being discreet around the slavecatchers, as well as preventing non-ally neighbors from getting suspicious of their activities- operating the Underground Railroad was an extremely difficult task for many.

Civil-War Aftermath and the Growing Black Community

The story continues after the Civil War as many African Americans start moving into Wooster and adjacent places in Wayne County. The economic opportunities available in Wayne County for Black citizens, as well as a good number of anti-racist people who were accepting of their arrival- diversified the Wayne County area as early as in the 1880’s. Richard Morrison Sr., the first black citizen of Wooster, was a slave plantation worker in Tennessee (some documents say Virginia). His barbershop in Wooster had been continued by the coming generations, and he was an influential member of the Wooster community. There were many other well-known Black families in the late 19th/early 20th century such as the Johnsons, the Berrys, the Follis' (see Charles Follis and Laura (Follis) Jackson), and more. Furthermore, A 1935 Wooster Daily Record contained an interview of an individual named Mr. Dickerson. He was a former slave who migrated to Wooster from Virginia. Similar to these families, many other African Americans moved from the South and called Wayne County their home, in search for better opportunities and humane treatment.

Gallery

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  A meeting transcription of the Wayne County Anti-Slavery Society meeting held in Wooster on July 22nd, 1837.

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  A meeting transcription of the Wayne County Anti-Slavery Society meeting held in Wooster on July 4th, 1843.

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  A list of representatives attending the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society annual meetings from 1836-1839.