William Still: Father of the Underground Railroad
William Still (1819-1902) was an African American abolitionist known as the "Father of the Underground Railroad" for his efforts in helping to free between 600 to 800 people from slavery. Born the son of formerly enslaved parents, Still devoted his life to the cause of civil rights and liberty for all in the United States.
As a member of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society/Vigilant Association of Philadelphia (which he was later chairman of), Still helped orchestrate escapes, organized assistance for fugitives once they arrived in Pennsylvania, welcomed them to his home, hid them, and paid for their passage north to Boston, New York, or Canada.
He kept careful records of every freedom seeker who passed through his house in the hope these could be used to reunite them with their families someday, but also as written testimony to their courage and the efforts of the abolitionists. These were published as The Underground Railroad Records (1872), a significant primary document on slavery in the United States, those who escaped, where they came from, and where they traveled to.
After the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, abolishing slavery, rendering the Underground Railroad no longer necessary, Still continued his work in civil rights, supported various causes financially, helped desegregate public transportation in his city, and established the first YMCA for African Americans in Philadelphia. In the 2019 Hollywood film Harriet, on the life of Harriet Tubman, Still is ably portrayed by Leslie Odom Jr. and is recognized today as one of the leading figures in the struggle against slavery and a great American hero.
Family & Early Life
William Still's parents, Levin and Sidney (later known as Charity) Steel, were slaves in Caroline County, Maryland. Levin purchased his freedom in 1798 and established a home in New Jersey. Sidney tried to follow him with their four children, but they were caught. She tried again in 1806, taking only her two daughters, and escaped, reuniting with Levin, but had to leave behind their two sons, Levin Jr. and Peter.
In New Jersey, they changed the family name to "Still" in honor of friends of that name in Burlington County. To further mask her identity, Sidney changed her name to Charity. The Stills would have 18 children; William was the youngest, born on 7 October 1819. Although born in a free state, all these children were technically slaves because their mother was a fugitive slave.
William grew up hearing his parents talk about their lives as slaves and the two boys they had to leave behind. According to scholar Nick Sacco, his parents' stories, the knowledge that he was legally regarded as a slave, even though free, as well as an event in his childhood, directed Still toward the abolitionist movement:
Still also experienced the horrors of slavery as a youth in New Jersey. According to biographer James Boyd, in one instance, slave hunters arrived at a neighboring farm to capture a free Black farmer whom they claimed was an enslaved runaway. While a White Quaker named Thomas Wilkins fought off the assailants, Still and a brother-in-law helped the man travel twenty miles away to Egg Harbor on the Jersey shore. These harrowing experiences, combined with a love for reading and writing, inspired Still to take an active part in the abolitionist movement to eradicate slavery from the United States.
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In 1844, Still moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and, in 1847, he was working as a clerk for the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. He married Letitia George, and the couple would have four children. Their home became a center for the Underground Railroad and the first stop of hundreds of fugitive slaves on their way to freedom further north.
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⇒ William Still: Father of the Underground Railroad
