Matthews Reveals Local Links to Underground Railroad

By SARAH ROBERTS
OTSEGO COUNTY

The South Central Regional Library Council recently hosted a webinar by Harry Bradshaw Matthews focusing on the role of Cooperstown, Norwich, and Oneonta in the Underground Railroad and the flight of runaway enslaved persons seeking freedom.

The webinar was one of three which, along with a traveling exhibit and a live guide, has been paid for by a grant from Humanities New York. Matthews spoke for about an hour on the role of villages and towns in Otsego and Delaware counties in the Underground Railroad in the mid-1800s.

“We were very happy to see a blend of attendees, including library staff who want to know more about the topic as they plan their own programming and displays, historians who are researching this topic and have a deep existing knowledge, and members of the public who were interested in the fascinating stories Mr. Matthews shared,” said Mary-Carol Lindbloom, executive director of the SCRLC.

“In all, we had 40 attendees for the live webinar, and we expect the recording on YouTube to garner many views in the coming months and years, especially as the traveling exhibit visits members throughout the region.”

Matthews spoke at length about the Otsego County Anti-Slavery Society which, in an 1837 article from the abolitionist newspaper “Friend of Man,” announced to its membership:

“At a recent meeting of the executive committee of the Otsego County Anti-Slavery Society, it was resolved that the annual meeting of the society be postponed…to the 29 [th of June]…then to be [held] at Gilbertsville…at nine o’clock…the friends of the cause are requested to make every effort to insure a full attendance at the meeting.”

The group was said to have nearly three dozen members.

Matthews also quoted the “Colored American” newspaper article that stated, “Otsego- There are also hearts that feel, and tongues that speak, and hands that act on behalf of the oppressed.”

He concluded that this was code—the hearts that feel were those sympathetic to the cause of abolition, tongues that speak were advocates, and hands that act were active participants in the Underground Railroad— and said “it was being pointed out there were individuals in all three categories in Otsego County.”

Matthews also spoke about the Franckean Synod, “a radical Lutheran abolition group organized in Otsego County,” which remained close to the Hartwick Lutheran Seminary and Academy near Cooperstown for its lifespan, and the role of Presbyterian and free-will Baptists in the abolitionist movement, including a Presbyterian church that requested funds from Gerrit Smith, a major funder of the Underground Railroad, for help with raising money to repair the church. Matthews sees this request as evidence of a connection between the congregation and the Underground Railroad.

“It was almost like these individuals had organized themselves into an army,” Matthews said of the abolitionists. “They were ready to fight—head on—those that were supporting the slavery system.”

And, he posited, our region’s connection to the Underground Railroad was “clearly” known by the likes of Fredrick Douglass, famed abolitionist.

“There’s no question that Frederick Douglass knew something was happening in Oneonta…a very secretive station of the Underground Railroad,” Matthews said, referring to Douglass’ planned speech in Oneonta in 1857 and a myriad of primary sources citing both Otsego and Delaware counties as having significant abolitionist presences.

In 1860, the “Oneonta Herald” reported on a family of eight fleeing to Canada through Oneonta. The newspaper’s support for the escaping family was made quite clear:

“A family of eight fugitive slaves, a mother with six children, and a half sister were passed from this place, on the underground railroad toward Canada…on Thursday night last, by some of our philanthropist citizens,” the article reads, “They arrived in this village, on the Saturday before, completely destitute and weary, having traveled from Virginia.”

The article continues: “We are glad we have in our vicinity persons who feel it their duty to be benevolent to all classes of humanity… After stopping here for a few days, and being clothed up and the ‘needful’ furnished, they went on their way rejoicing, and leaving their blessing on the good people of Oneonta…What an idea! Persons escaping from a country, which boasts of freedom and free institutions, to a land ruled by a Monarch, in order that they may enjoy their freedom. Shame to America!”

Not all from Otsego and Delaware counties fought for abolition. In fact, according to Matthews, Judge Samuel Nelson of Cooperstown voted with the majority in the Dred Scott case, in which a Black man sued for his freedom and ultimately lost his case 7-2. This decision enraged Douglass and prompted a speaking tour across New York State to voice opposition to the ruling, including his aforementioned speech in Oneonta.

Though the public was encouraged to attend in large numbers to support Douglass, newspapers did not give a time or place of the speech.

Matthews said, “Those in the know at the time apparently made the decision to be quite discreet as a means of protection for Douglass, but also for those local citizens aligned with him.”

“I never had any idea this kind of history happened in our own back yard and found it extremely interesting,” said webinar attendee and SCRLC member Matt Roslund. “This information does not appear in most of the important books on the Underground Railroad.”

“2027 is the bicentennial of the end of legal slavery in New York State,” said Lindbloom. “We hope to see our finished exhibit panels traveling around the region for public display to mark the anniversary.”

Matthews’ webinar can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shuySP-NEdY.