1810-1850 Underground Railway Operators

Published in 1898 The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom by Wilbur Siebert has chapters identifying operators of the underground railroad. We have index the 2,000 plus names in the book in the dataset below.

“Upon the general question of the political effects of the Underground Railroad, the book adds much to our information, by its discussion of the probable numbers of fugitives, and of the alarm caused in the slave states by their departure. The census figures of 1850 and 1860 are shown to be willfully false; and the escape of thousands of persons seems established beyond cavil. Into the constitutional question of the right to take fugitives, the book goes with less minuteness, since it is intended to be a contribution to knowledge, and not an addition to the abundant literature on the legal side of slavery. 
It has been the effort of Professor Siebert to furnish the means for settling the following questions : the origin of the system of aid to the fugitives, popularly called the Underground Railroad ; the degree of formal organization ; methods of procedure ; geographical extent and relations ; the leaders and heroes of the movement; the behavior of the fugitives on their way ; the effectiveness of the settlement in Canada ; the numbers of fugitives; and the attitude of courts and communities. On all these questions he furnishes new light ; and he appears to prove his concluding statement that the Underground Railroad was one of the greatest forces which brought on the Civil War and thus destroyed slavery.” [ Source introduction xiii]

How to search: Enter a Surname, or partial Surname in the box below and press enter. If any matches are found a list will be presented. Simply click on the name to bring up the page in the old digital book which is hosted by Archive.org.

Alternatively, if you would like to browse the book on Archive.org follow this link to the cover page or this link to the appendix.