[ back ]
Local connection found to Underground Railroad
(by Joan Demirjian - September 30, 2010)
Local connection found to Underground Railroad
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
There are many stories and legends concerning Underground Railroad activity in the Chagrin Valley, but actual documentation is sparse.
However, an unusual written documentation exists for Underground Railroad activity in Bainbridge Township.
Most of the activity for the Underground Railroad, which helped individuals seeking freedom from slavery escape from the South to Canada, took place between 1820 and 1865. Because it was against the law, those who assisted the slaves kept it secret, and there are few records.
However, a documented incident in Bainbridge relates to the Gamaliel H. Kent family, which was the third family to settle in the township in 1811. They settled on areas along what is now Taylor May Road.
The older sons, Elihu L. and Gamaliel Jr., cleared a few acres, according to the "Pioneer History of Geauga County."
In 1820, there is actual proof via a letter that son Elihu L. Kent, provided safe shelter for a runaway. The letter is part of the Rotch-Wales Collection in the Massillon Library, with other records pertaining to the underground activity.
Escaped slave George Duncan wrote to Thomas Rotch, who sheltered escaped slaves in a house now called Spring Hill in Massillon. Mr. Duncan thanked Mr. Rotch for assisting him on his journey to Canada and asked for help securing freedom for his wife, Edy.
The letter is called a rare example of writing by a fugitive slave and documents his passage on the Underground Railroad.
In the letter dated Aug. 14, 1820, Mr. Duncan wrote, "Sir, I arrived safe in Bainbridge Geauga County where I put up at a Mr. Kents where I reside now and I am treated extremely well by the people and I have just met with Thornton Taylor, and we shall start for Canada in about two weeks."
He asks Mr. Rotch to assist Edy in getting to Bainbridge as soon as possible. He said Elihu Kent would help her get on board a boat to Canada. She will stay with Mr. Kent until he can write from Canada.
Mr. Duncan wrote specifically to his wife, telling her, "I wish you to set out with Thomas A. Rotch and proceed to Bainbridge as soon as possible."
The mystery for Bainbridge history buffs now is finding exactly where Elihu Kent lived when he hid Mr. Duncan.
Elihu Kent owned separate parcels on Taylor May Road in 1820. He died in 1827 at age 37 and is buried in Fowler Cemetery on Haskins Road.
A century house at the northeast corner of Taylor May and Haskins roads is rumored to have been an Underground Railroad stop.
Bainbridge resident Ted Batchelor recently bought the house and has been renovating it. It is full of history, he said.
"When we took the walls out, the original ax head for hewing the beams was stashed there," he said. And a sickle was found in the walls, along with calendars from the 1890s.
The house is post-and-beam construction with wood pegs. The upright beams or columns are 9 by 7 inches. "When working on old houses, you imagine the men who worked on it years ago," he said.
A lot of people have heard stories about it being on the underground, Mr. Batchelor said. "But I have no evidence of that."
And it was built in the 1840s, after Elihu L. Kent's involvement with George Duncan and after his death.
Documentation such as that in Bainbridge is difficult to find, according to some historians. Bari Stith, former archivist for Geauga County, said very little was preserved concerning the underground in the county. "We know these houses exist, but we just don't know where," he said.
Elsewhere in Geauga County, a barn on the Isaac Rarick property on Bell Road in South Russell, and what was then part of Russell, was said to be used for the Underground Railroad. A hidden room in the barn was used to hide them.
South Russell resident Don Barriball said runaway slaves would be brought to the Muggleton farm, nearby on Bell Road. They were said to have been transported to stations in Newbury and then to Painesville or the Grand River.
Jean Fugman, whose family settled in Auburn, has done research on the township. She does not know of any houses or locations that were known or rumored to be safe houses. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were, but I haven't heard of any," Mrs. Fugman said.
In Chagrin Falls, historian Pat Zalba said little is passed down about helping the runaways because it was against the law and done so secretly. There are stories that runaways were hidden under what is now the Popcorn Shop in a cave. But there is no documentation and most likely rumors, Mrs. Zalba said.
However, a large house on Cleveland Street, known as the Vincent house, next to the entrance to Hamlet Hills, was said to be a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Best known in Chagrin Falls was the Henry Church Sr. house on West Orange Street, which does have documentation.
Resident Jane Babinsky and her grandmother, the late Miriam Church, wrote about Henry Church Sr. in their book, "The Works and Times of Henry Church Jr." The senior Mr. Church and his wife hid runaways in their home, which has since been torn down. It was located in the area what would now be behind Gamekeeper's Taverne.
Jane Church, daughter of Henry Church Sr., wrote in her diaries about runaways being brought to the house, nearly always at night. Austin Church, a son of Henry Church Sr., also wrote about the escapees in his memoirs.
The children knew when runaways were being hidden in the house. Their own dishes of mush and milk in the morning were small, they said, because they were sharing their food.
They also noted that the fugitives talked about "following the star," meaning the north star, to Canada.
Ms. Babinsky said she is planning a second edition of the book, which is available to read at the Chagrin Falls Historical Society Museum in the Shute Memorial Building.
[ back ]
