John Hossack
Encyclopedia
John Hossack House
The John Hossack House is a historic house in Ottawa, Illinois, USA. It was built in 1854–55 and was a "station" on the Underground Railroad. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.-History:...
, was a "station" 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,...
. He gained notoriety in 1860 when he was tried and convicted for violating the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers. This was one of the most controversial acts of the 1850 compromise and heightened...
by helping Jim Gray, an African American, avoid slave catchers.
Background, 1806-1838
Born in ElginElgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1806, Hossack immigrated to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
at the age of twelve when he traveled to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to work in an uncle's confectionery store. Upon becoming an adult, he set up his own confectionery store. He married Martha Lens in 1833; the couple would eventually have eleven children together. Soon after his marriage, Hossack left the confectionery business to become a contractor
Government contractor
A government contractor is a private company that produces goods or services under contract for the government. Often the terms of the contract specify cost plus – i.e., the contractor gets paid for its costs, plus a specified profit margin. Laws often require governments to award contracts...
on the Long Sault
Long Sault
This article refers to the rapid on the St. Lawrence River, for the once named Long Sault Rapids on the Ottawa River which was involved in the Battle of Long Sault and the Beaver War, please see Carillon, Quebec or Carillon Canal...
canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
being built on the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
.
Early involvement with abolitionism, 1838-1859
In 1838, Hossack moved to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to become a contractor on the Illinois and Michigan Canal
Illinois and Michigan Canal
The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from the Great...
. When funding for the canal dried up however, Hossack, having all of his capital tied up in the canal, was forced to seek other work, and opened up a prairie farm, known as "Hossack's Grove", in Cook County
Cook County, Illinois
Cook County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, with its county seat in Chicago. It is the second most populous county in the United States after Los Angeles County. The county has 5,194,675 residents, which is 40.5 percent of all Illinois residents. Cook County's population is larger than...
. It was during this time that Hossack first became involved in the abolitionist cause, and Hossack's Grove became a refuge for runaway slaves.
In 1849, Hossack moved to Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 18,786...
to engage in the lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
trade. He soon became involved in the business of buying and shipping grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
to Chicago. Within a few years, Hossack was one of the largest dealers in lumber and grain in the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
.
As a prominent Ottawa citizen, Hossack played a large role in having a bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
erected over the Illinois River
Illinois River
The Illinois River is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the State of Illinois. The river drains a large section of central Illinois, with a drainage basin of . This river was important among Native Americans and early French traders as the principal water route...
. In 1854, Hossack built John Hossack House
John Hossack House
The John Hossack House is a historic house in Ottawa, Illinois, USA. It was built in 1854–55 and was a "station" on the Underground Railroad. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.-History:...
on the banks of the Illinois River. During this period, Hossack deepened his connection with the Underground Railroad, and as many as thirteen fugitive slaves were quartered at John Hossack House at any one time. Hossack was outspoken in his denunciation of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers. This was one of the most controversial acts of the 1850 compromise and heightened...
, calling it infamous and contrary to the laws of God. During this time, Hossack became a friend and associate of William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
, Owen Lovejoy
Owen Lovejoy
Owen Lovejoy was an American lawyer, Congregational minister, abolitionist, and Republican congressman from Illinois. He was also a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad...
, Gerrit Smith
Gerrit Smith
Gerrit Smith was a leading United States social reformer, abolitionist, politician, and philanthropist...
, John Wentworth
John Wentworth (mayor)
"Long" John Wentworth was the editor of the Chicago Democrat, a two-term mayor of Chicago, and a six-term member of the United States House of Representatives....
, and other abolitionists.
John Hossack was among the dignitaries on the platform for the first of the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858
Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858
The Lincoln–Douglas Debates of 1858 were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for Senate in Illinois, and the incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. At the time, U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures; thus Lincoln and...
, which took place in Ottawa in August of 1858.
The Jim Gray Case, 1859-1860
In 1859, three slaves owned by Richard Phillips, fled from Phillips' plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
in New Madrid County, Missouri
New Madrid County, Missouri
New Madrid County is a county located in the Bootheel of southeast Missouri in the United States. As of the 2000 Census, the county's population was 19,760. A 2008 estimate, however, showed the population to be 17,589. The largest city and county seat is New Madrid...
. One of those slaves, Jim Gray, was captured by slave catchers in Union County, Illinois on September 4, 1859, and imprisoned in accordance with a state law about runaway slaves. The slave catchers were noticed by abolitionist Benajah G. Roots, who demanded that Gray be taken before the county judge in Jonesboro, Illinois
Jonesboro, Illinois
Jonesboro is a city in Union County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,853 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union County, and was the location of the third of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, on 15 September 1858.-Geography:...
. The county judge denied the slave cathchers' request that they be allowed to return Gray to Missouri, but he also refused to release Gray, because he did not possess "freedom papers". Roots therefore filed a habeas petition with John D. Caton, Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Supreme Court of Illinois
Supreme Court of Illinois
The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five appellate judicial districts of the state: Three justices from the First District and...
, who was stationed in Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 18,786...
. Chief Justice Caton agreed that the state law by which Gray was being held was unconstitutional, but nevertheless ordered the Jonesboro sheriff to turn Gray over to the U.S. Commissioner in Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
so that the federal government could determine how to proceed under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers. This was one of the most controversial acts of the 1850 compromise and heightened...
. A number of abolitionists, including Hossack, attended the court that day, and, upon hearing Chief Justice Caton's decision, they yelled at Gray to run, Hossack saying "If you want your liberty, come." Other abolitionists then blocked the way of law enforcement officials as Hossack ushered Gray into a waiting carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
. Gray escaped to Chicago, and, eventually, 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...
and freedom.
Hossack was subsequently indicted for violation the Fugitive Slave Law, and tried in Chicago before Judge Thomas Drummond
Thomas Drummond (judge)
Thomas Drummond , was a United States federal judge.Born in Bristol Mills, Maine, Drummond graduated from Bowdoin College in 1830, and read law to enter the Bar in Philadelphia in 1833. He had a private practice in Galena, Illinois, from 1835 to 1850...
of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois is the trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois....
. The jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
convicted Hossack, but recommended mercy, and Judge Drummond sentenced Hossack to only ten days in the Cook County jail and fined him $100.
Hossack addressed the court prior to his sentencing, in a speech subsequently published by the American Anti-Slavery Society
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass was a key leader of this society and often spoke at its meetings. William Wells Brown was another freed slave who often spoke at meetings. By 1838, the society had...
. Hossack began "I am found guilty of a violation of the Fugitive Slave law, and it may appear strange to your honor that I have no sense of guilt" and then concluded
During his ten days in prison, Hossack was taken out and banqueted by John Wentworth
John Wentworth (mayor)
"Long" John Wentworth was the editor of the Chicago Democrat, a two-term mayor of Chicago, and a six-term member of the United States House of Representatives....
, mayor of Chicago
Mayor of Chicago
The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of Chicago, Illinois, the third largest city in the United States. He or she is charged with directing city departments and agencies, and with the advice and consent of the Chicago City Council, appoints department and agency leaders.-Appointment...
, and greatly acclaimed by the people.
Later years, 1860-1891
During the American Civil WarAmerican 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...
, Hossack was active in the Soldiers' Aid Societies.
In 1873, Hossack became totally blind
Blindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and therefore retired from his lumber and grain business. He died in Ottawa in 1891.