Jerry Rescue
Encyclopedia
The Jerry Rescue, on October 1, 1851, involved the daring, public rescue of a fugitive slave who had been arrested the same day, in Syracuse
, New York
, during the anti-slavery
Liberty Party
's state convention. The escaped slave was William Henry, a 40-year-old cooper
from Missouri
who called himself "Jerry."
and the Finger Lakes
region and the desire to help escaped slaves occurred because New York State was a free state and a number of well positioned citizens who were sympathetic to the slaves lived in the area. The central location of Syracuse
meant that many slaves passed through the area "on their way to freedom" in Canada
.
was holding its state convention in the city, and when word of the arrest spread, several hundred abolitionists including Charles Augustus Wheaton
broke into the city jail and freed Jerry. The event came to be widely known as the Jerry Rescue. In the aftermath, the Congregationalist minister Samuel Ringgold Ward
had to flee to Canada
to escape persecution because of his participation
Earlier in 1851, Secretary of State
Daniel Webster
had warned that the law would be enforced even "here in Syracuse in the midst of the next Anti-Slavery Convention." The arrest was considered a message that the locally unpopular law would be seriously enforced by federal authorities.
Following his escape and subsequent rescue, Henry was hidden in Syracuse
for several days until he was taken first to the Orson Ames House
at Mexico, New York
and then to Oswego
where he crossed Lake Ontario
into Canada
.
A total of 26 of the rescuers were tried for their actions but only one conviction resulted. The suspects were bailed out by a number of people including U.S. Senator
and former governor of New York
, William H. Seward
. Nine others, including Rev. J. W. Loguen
, himself a fugitive slave, were charged but fled to Canada
.
Syracuse
became an active center for the abolitionist movement, due in large part to the influence of Gerrit Smith
and a group allied with him, mostly associated with the Unitarian Church
and their pastor, Reverend Samuel May in Syracuse
, as well as with Quakers in nearby Skaneateles
, supported as well by abolitionists in many other religious congregations. Prior to the Civil War
, due to the work of Jermain Wesley Loguen
and others in defiance of federal law, Syracuse
was known as the "great central depot on the Underground Railroad
."
Some of the others involved from the area were Frederick Douglass
, Millard Fillmore
, Matilda Joslyn Gage
, John W. Jones
, William Marks and Harriet Tubman
.
The event is now memorialized with a monument in Clinton Square, Syracuse.
Chemung County:
Onondaga County:
Seneca County
:
Yates County:
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, during the anti-slavery
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
Liberty Party
Liberty Party (1840s)
The Liberty Party was a minor political party in the United States in the 1840s . The party was an early advocate of the abolitionist cause...
's state convention. The escaped slave was William Henry, a 40-year-old cooper
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
who called himself "Jerry."
History
The fight against slavery in Central New YorkCentral New York
Central New York is a term used to broadly describe the central region of New York State, roughly including the following counties and cities:...
and the Finger Lakes
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
region and the desire to help escaped slaves occurred because New York State was a free state and a number of well positioned citizens who were sympathetic to the slaves lived in the area. The central location of Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
meant that many slaves passed through the area "on their way to freedom" in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Fugitive slave law
On October 1. 1851, William Henry was arrested in Syracuse under the Fugitive Slave Law. The anti-slavery Liberty PartyLiberty Party (1840s)
The Liberty Party was a minor political party in the United States in the 1840s . The party was an early advocate of the abolitionist cause...
was holding its state convention in the city, and when word of the arrest spread, several hundred abolitionists including Charles Augustus Wheaton
Charles Augustus Wheaton
Charles Augustus Wheaton was a businessman and major figure in the central New York state abolitionist movement and Underground Railroad, as well as other progressive causes...
broke into the city jail and freed Jerry. The event came to be widely known as the Jerry Rescue. In the aftermath, the Congregationalist minister Samuel Ringgold Ward
Samuel Ringgold Ward
Samuel Ringgold Ward was an African American who escaped enslavement to become an abolitionist, newspaper editor and Congregational minister....
had to flee to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to escape persecution because of his participation
Earlier in 1851, Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
had warned that the law would be enforced even "here in Syracuse in the midst of the next Anti-Slavery Convention." The arrest was considered a message that the locally unpopular law would be seriously enforced by federal authorities.
Trial and freedom
The trial took place that same day in the Townsend Building located in Clinton Square in the second floor office of the U.S. Commissioner Sabine who tried the case. It was his first trial. Jerry escaped during the afternoon session and Sabine's office was wrecked. Abolitionists offered to pay, however, by then, Sabine had already resigned.Underground railroad
Following his escape and subsequent rescue, Henry was hidden in Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
for several days until he was taken first to the Orson Ames House
Orson Ames House
Orson Ames House is a historic home located at Mexico in Oswego County, New York, USA. It was built about 1830 and is a single story frame structure with a heavy timber post and beam frame and plank walls. The main block is 36 feet wide and 24 feet deep. A major alteration occurred about 1930 and...
at Mexico, New York
Mexico (town), New York
Mexico is a town in the northeast part of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 5,181 at the 2000 census. The town contains a village, also called Mexico. NY 104/Main Street passes through the village. NY 69 passes through the town of Mexico and comes to an end in the village,...
and then to Oswego
Oswego, New York
Oswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,142 at the 2010 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...
where he crossed Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
into Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
A total of 26 of the rescuers were tried for their actions but only one conviction resulted. The suspects were bailed out by a number of people including U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
and former governor of New York
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
, William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
. Nine others, including Rev. J. W. Loguen
Jermain Wesley Loguen
Jermain Wesley Loguen , born Jarm Logue, in slavery, was an African American abolitionist and bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church....
, himself a fugitive slave, were charged but fled to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
became an active center for the abolitionist movement, due in large part to the influence of Gerrit Smith
Gerrit Smith
Gerrit Smith was a leading United States social reformer, abolitionist, politician, and philanthropist...
and a group allied with him, mostly associated with the Unitarian Church
American Unitarian Association
The American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it merged with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association.According to Mortimer Rowe, the Secretary...
and their pastor, Reverend Samuel May in Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, as well as with Quakers in nearby Skaneateles
Skaneateles (town), New York
Skaneateles is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,323 at the 2000 census. The name is from the Iroquois "Indian" tribe term for the adjacent lake: "long lake." The town is on the western border of the county and includes a village, also called Skaneateles...
, supported as well by abolitionists in many other religious congregations. Prior to the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, due to the work of Jermain Wesley Loguen
Jermain Wesley Loguen
Jermain Wesley Loguen , born Jarm Logue, in slavery, was an African American abolitionist and bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church....
and others in defiance of federal law, Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
was known as the "great central depot on the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
."
Some of the others involved from the area were Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...
, Matilda Joslyn Gage
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Matilda Electa Joslyn Gage was a suffragist, a Native American activist, an abolitionist, a freethinker, and a prolific author, who was "born with a hatred of oppression".-Early activities:...
, John W. Jones
John W. Jones (ex-slave)
John W. Jones was born in 1817 on a plantation in Leesburg, Virginia as a slave to the Elzy family. On June 3, 1844, fearing he would be sold to another plantation, as his owner grew old and near death, Jones and four others fled north...
, William Marks and Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
.
Jerry Rescue building
The event was commemorated in the 1850s with the renaming of the Townsend Block to the Jerry Rescue Building which is no longer standing. The building, constructed in 1829, was located on the southside of Clinton Square at the corner of Water and Clinton Streets.The event is now memorialized with a monument in Clinton Square, Syracuse.
Underground railroad homes
Cayuga County:- William H. Seward House - 33 South Street, Auburn, New YorkAuburn, New YorkAuburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
- Harriet Tubman Home - 180 South Street, Auburn, New YorkAuburn, New YorkAuburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 27,687...
Chemung County:
- John W. Jones House - 1250 Davis Street, Elmira, New YorkElmira, New YorkElmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
Onondaga County:
- Harriet May Mills House - 1074 West Genesee Street, Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
- James Canning Fuller and Lydia Charleton Fuller House - 98 West Genesee Street, Skaneateles, New YorkSkaneateles (village), New YorkSkaneateles is a village in the town of Skaneateles, Onondaga County, New York, United States. The village is named from and located on the shores of Skaneateles Lake, one of the Finger Lakes. The village, as of the 2000 census, has a population of 2,616 residents. The main highway through the...
- Matilda Joslyn Gage House - 210 East Genesee Street, Fayetteville, New YorkFayetteville, New YorkFayetteville is a village located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the village had a population of 4,190. The village is named after Lafayette, a national hero of both France and the United States...
Seneca County
Seneca County
Seneca County is the name of two counties in the United States:* Seneca County, New York* Seneca County, Ohio...
:
- Hunt House - 401 East Main Street, Waterloo, New York
- M'Clintock House - 14 East William Street, Waterloo, New York
- Rose Hill Mansion - State Route 96A, Hamlet of Rose Hill, Fayette, New YorkFayette, New YorkFayette is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 3,643 at the 2000 census.The Town of Fayette is on the western border of the county and is southeast of Geneva, New York.- History :...
Yates County:
- Esperanza Mansion - 3456 State Route 54A, Keuka Park, New York