The
UndergroUnd
railroad
in leroy
The
UndergroUnd
railroad
in leroy
The Story of the Underground Railroad is one of
intrigue, mystery, and the
perilous journey to freedom during the years before the Civil war. It is a
story of slaves, freemen,
bounty hunters, abolitionists, men and women caught in a moral dilemma that forced many
to take drastic measures that often had serious or fatal consequences. The events of the Underground were so shrouded in secrecy that it is often difficult to sort fact from fiction and to verify
the truth. However, there is sufficient evidence to document the
part that LeRoy played in helping escaped slaves find freedom.
Two of the best sources of information are two booklets written
by Elijah Huftelen who admitted to helping escaped slaves. The
booklets were published in LeRoy between 1900 and 1903. But
as Huftelen points out: “A full history of the Underground Railroad will never be written. It cannot be for it was a spontaneous
organization of such nature that no records were kept. The few
who may be left, bound by the force of habit, still keep their
secrets and will probably take them to the grave.” Nevertheless,
Huftelen gives several accounts of activities in LeRoy, and includes a letter from George Tomlinson that substantiates many
of the events. The following route of the Underground Railroad,
has been reconstructed from events found in these two booklets,
as well as several other secondary sources.
The entire trip is 17 miles. The first stop is at LeRoy
House. You may stop and tour the exhibits.
LeRoy Historical Society
23 East Main Street
LeRoy, New York 14482
585.768.7433
LE ROY HOUSE (1) Although this house is never mentioned
in any of the documented accounts of the Underground movement, it was the home of one of the most outspoken abolitionists in the United States, Rev. Samuel Hansen Cox. He was born
in New Jersey in 1793 and abandoned the study of law for the
ministry. He was the minister of the First Presbyterian Church of
Brooklyn and in 1834, his church and home in Brooklyn were
ransacked because of his strong words against slavery. His reputation spread throughout the country and
he was hung in effigy in Charleston. In
1854 he retired, but in 1856 he came
to LeRoy after being appointed
Chancellor of Ingham University
for women. He moved his family
into the LeRoy House, where he
lived for several years, until the
death of his wife. Although he was
a staunch abolitionist, he and Frederick Douglass were not on friendly
terms. Did Cox help runaway slaves?
Were slaves hidden in LeRoy House?
No one knows for sure.
Rev. Samuel Hansen Cox
Now proceed west on Main Street, and turn left immediately before the bridge onto Wolcott Street.
SITE OF STORE WHERE SETH GATES ARGUED
THE CAUSE OF ABOLITION (2) Seth Gates was one
of LeRoy’s most outspoken abolitionists during the 1830s and
1840s. As a young man he worked in the store that stood next to
the creek on the corner of Wolcott and Main. The building was
torn down about 150 years ago to create a more scenic view of
the campus of Ingham University which stood where the LeRoy
Central School is located now. A description of Gates was written by George Tomlinson who remembered an event at the store:
“Mr. Gates was in the midst of an animated discussion upon the
slavery question. He seemed to be alone on the abolition side,
and handled his half a dozen opponents in such a way as to impress me that he was enough for all of them. Scores of times in
imagination have I seen him with the powder canister in hand,
his right arm raised as if to smite his opponent to the earth, and
heard him say: ‘Slavery is a condition of warfare supported by
the tyrant’s argument, might makes right.’”
Proceed down Wolcott Street to Route 19 and turn left.
Drive 3.4 miles and turn right on Junction Road. Continue on Junction Road to the first stop sign. To the left
is Creek Road and to the right is Bernd Road. Turn
right onto Bernd Road.
TRAIL OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD (3)
Escaped slaves followed many routes north to Canada, but one
route known as the Covington Route, came from Pennsylvania
into New York, through Friendship, north to Covington and Pavilion Center and to this sparsely settled area on the east side of
Oatka Creek. There were few houses along this route and the
terrain was low and swampy. If the land was cleared it may have
been planted with corn and this provided the runaways with good
protection. This route along the Bernd Road, was mentioned by
several people who knew about the Underground Railroad.
JUG CITY As you come over the rise on Bernd Road, you
will notice an old house on the left. This is the old Gallup home
that was mentioned by George Tomlinson: “At that time the track
of the Underground Railroad ran past my father’s house in Jug
City. It came from Pavilion to South LeRoy, past Jacob Gallup’s
to the LeRoy and East Bethany Road.” As you travel north from
the Gallup house you will notice that the creek comes closer to
the road. At certain times of the year, it was low enough to cross
here and avoid the bridge at Jug City. George Tomlinson lived on
the other side of the creek, so the crossing was probably made
south of the bridge.
Turn left at the end of Bernd Road and cross the
creek. Turn right on the East Bethany-LeRoy Road
and continue to Route 5.
This part of the route was also mentioned by George Tomlinson
who stated: “Thence toward the Village of LeRoy to a crossroad
that led to the Batavia Road, starting in the west line of Martin
Coe’s farm and coming out on the main road in the neighborhood
of Keeney’s and Chester Wait’s.” This route follows almost exactly the present day East Bethany-LeRoy Road.
You will have to turn left on Route 5 and take an immediate right onto Keeney Road continue north on
Keeney Road.
THE KEENEY ROAD A historic marker is located near the
site of where the Underground Railroad crossed the old State
Road (now Route 5). There were few families living on Keeney
Road in the 1850s and as you travel north about 2 miles, you will
notice very few old homes.
As you approach the corner of Keeney Road and the
Randall Road, you will notice a small cemetery on the
right side of the road.
LANGWORTHY CEMETERY (4) Slavery was legal in
New York until 1827. Some early settlers brought slaves with
them to the frontier. One of those men was David Kneeland
who settled northwest of LeRoy, near Randall and Keeney
Road. Kneeland came from Connecticut and was “subject to
fits of temper.” One day Kneeland and his slave were bringing
in hay and putting it into the barn. A rainstorm was coming
and Kneeland was in a hurry. “Though the colored man was
doing all that was possible for any man, Kneeland said something that the black man answered.” Kneeland struck the black
man in the head, and by nighttime, the slave was dead. The
Langworthys, who were neighbors, heard the argument and the
screams of the unfortunate black slave. Later, Kneeland came
to the Langworthys and asked if they could help bury the body
of the slave on the north side of the wall of the cemetery. It
appears that the north wall of the cemetery, near the creek, has
washed away, but as you pause to look at this serene setting,
think of a poor black slave, whose name we shall never know,
and remember that he lies in an unmarked grave. David Kneeland was never prosecuted for the murder. In the front row of
graves, to the right of the steps, you will notice the gravestone
of Elijah Huftelen, the man who recorded many of the stories of
the Underground Railroad.
Continue to the intersection of Keeney and Randall
Road and turn right. Stop in front of the stone house
on the right.
MACDONALD’S STATION ON THE UNDERGROUND (5) Somewhere in this vicinity lived LeRoy’s Un-
derground Railroad Stationmaster, Daniel MacDonald. He did
not remain in this area long, but while he was here, he enlisted
the help of a young boy, Elijah Huftelen, who lived in this stone
house. The written accounts of Elijah Huftelen are the most detailed records of the LeRoy route. MacDonald was described
as a tall Scotsman, six feet tall with piercing black eyes and
boundless energy. He set up a small medicine business and used
it as a front for his real mission, helping runaway slaves escape
to Canada. He was called “the medicine man.” Young Huftelen
took care of MacDonald’s horses and noticed that the horses
were used only at night. MacDonald never owned any gray or
white horses.
One day Huftelen saw MacDonald talking with four Negroes
and they all got into a large wagon and took off. MacDonald did
not return for two days but before he left, he confided in young
Huftelen, that he was indeed helping the Negroes to escape.
From this place, the route traveled to Morganville, past Horseshoe Lake to Elba and then to the Niagara River and Canada.
In 1856, the secrecy of the Covington route
was jeopardized by an incident near
Elba. After that, MacDonald decided
to move west to Bowmansville and
take young Huftelen with him to
help with his undercover work. Later, Huftelen returned to LeRoy and
continued to live in this stone house,
raising lilies and writing articles for
the LeRoy Gazette.
Continue down the road. You will
pass a large brick house on the left with
two front doors. Legends persist that
this house was part of the Underground Elijah Huftelen
Railroad. The discovery of an underground room added to the credibility of the story, but there are
no written records that confirm the legends.
At the corner of Randall Road and the West Bergen
Road, turn left and proceed to the Selden Road. Turn
Toeast
Pavilion
right and continue
about 2 miles. Just past the
gravel pit on the left is the Selden Homestead.
SELDEN HOMESTEAD (6) One day in the late 1850’s
Richard Lord Selden was working near his barn when a frightened Negro came up to him and asked if Selden would direct him
north. Selden was not involved with
the Underground
Railroad
“Follow
the North Star”
but he pointed toward a swamp
ledStar
to Griswold
Road. The
Thethat
North
was the guiding
man headed off in that direction.
minutes twoRailroad
U. S. Marlight forWithin
the Underground
shals drove up to the Selden barn and asked if Selden has seen
a fugitive slave. Selden admitted that he had seen the slave. The
Marshals ordered him into their wagon and took off down a dead
end road. They all got out and began to run after the fleeing man,
but Selden ran faster and caught up with the slave, over a hill and
out of sight of the lawmen. He told the Negro to follow a brook
into the swamp until he reached a large pool and to wait for him
until dark.
Then Selden ran back to the Marshals and pointed them in another direction. He never saw them again. That night he took
food, clothes and shoes to
the man cowering beside the pool in the
swamp, and then
drove him to Elba
to make connections with the stationmaster.
But the story continues. After the
war, Richard Selden
was on a business trip to
Baltimore. While having dinner in a restaurant, a black waiter
approached him and asked if Selden recognized him. “No,” he
didn’t. The waiter proceeded to tell Selden that he was the slave
that he had rescued twenty years before. He had reached safety
in Canada, and when war broke out, he joined a black regiment.
The unit was surrendered to the Confederates who proceeded to
mercilessly slaughter the black soldiers. He was one of only fourteen to survive. This story was recounted in the 1970s by Richard
Selden’s grandson.
Continue on the Selden Road to Route 19 south and turn
right. Immediately past the large Village of LeRoy sign,
pause by the first house on the right.
J.R. ANDERSON HOUSE (7) One night in 1858 three escaped slaves, unable to find their way on the Underground Railroad,
found themselves in the middle of LeRoy. Huftelen writes: “The
people were sorry for them but dare not feed or give them lodgings,
being church members and law abiding citizens. (The 1850 Escaped Slave law punished people who fed or helped fugitive slaves
with fines of $1000 and imprisonment.) At last they found a colored individual, an ex-slave who had been emancipated by the act
of 1827. They knew they were off the route but nobody could tell
them, for it was one of the best, if not the very best guarded routes
in the whole system. However, the ex-slave was in the employ of
our venerable townsmen, J. R. Anderson, and told them that he
thought Mr. Anderson would help them. He led them to the house
where they were provided with a good breakfast, after which the
sleigh was brought ‘round. Those who knew Mr. Anderson in those
far away years will remember that he had a vast amount of energy
in his manner and the men were nervous about trusting themselves
with him. But he said: “Pile in boys, all hell can’t get you now.’ ”
They were taken to Bergen and then to Rochester where they made
contact with Frederick Douglass.
Continue into LeRoy and turn left at the intersection of
Route 19 and Route 5.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (8) In August 1835, the Presbyterian Church was the site of an anti-slavery meeting, but abolition was not popular with many people. At that time there were four
avowed abolitionists in LeRoy: Seth Gates, Samuel Grannis, Deacon Comstock and Judge Brewster. They organized the meeting at
the Presbyterian Church and advertised that an escaped slave would
address the crowd. Dr. Reed, a physician from Rochester, and the
Rev. A.A. Phelps of Massachusetts addressed the crowd. The room
was filled to capacity. A large crowd gathered outside and began
food, clothes and shoes to
the man cowering beside the pool in the
swamp, and then
drove him to Elba
to make connections with the stationmaster.
tofood,
shoutclothes
obscenities.
Windows
and shoes
to were smashed and wood and stones
were
at the speaker’s
the hurled
man cowering
be- platform. Judge Hascall tried to break
upside
the the
crowd
poolandin was
the stoned for his efforts. The windows in the
home
of
Seth
Gates
swamp, and thenwere smashed and his wife and children had to
take
refuge
inner room.
drove
himintoanElba
to make connecContinue
down
tions
with the
sta-Main Street. On the left, at the edge of the
bridge
is
the
Post
Office.
tionmaster.
But the story continues. After the
war, Richard Selden
was on a business trip to
Baltimore. While having dinner in a restaurant, a black waiter
approached him and asked if Selden recognized him. “No,” he
didn’t. The waiter proceeded to tell Selden that he was the slave
that he had rescued twenty years before. He had reached safety
in Canada, and when war broke out, he joined a black regiment.
The unit was surrendered to the Confederates who proceeded to
mercilessly slaughter the black soldiers. He was one of only fourteen to survive. This story was recounted in the 1970s by Richard
Selden’s grandson.
Continue on the Selden Road to Route 19 south and turn
right. Immediately past the large Village of LeRoy sign,
pause by the first house on the right.
J.R. ANDERSON HOUSE (7) One night in 1858 three escaped slaves, unable to find their way on the Underground Railroad,
found themselves in the middle of LeRoy. Huftelen writes: “The
people were sorry for them but dare not feed or give them lodgings,
being church members and law abiding citizens. (The 1850 Escaped Slave law punished people who fed or helped fugitive slaves
with fines of $1000 and imprisonment.) At last they found a colored individual, an ex-slave who had been emancipated by the act
of 1827. They knew they were off the route but nobody could tell
them, for it was one of the best, if not the very best guarded routes
in the whole system. However, the ex-slave was in the employ of
our venerable townsmen, J. R. Anderson, and told them that he
thought Mr. Anderson would help them. He led them to the house
where they were provided with a good breakfast, after which the
Pavilion
sleigh was brought ‘round. To
Those
who knew Mr. Anderson in those
far away years will remember that he had a vast amount of energy
in his manner and the men were nervous about trusting themselves
with him. But he said: “Pile in boys, all hell can’t get you now.’ ”
They were taken to Bergen and then to Rochester where they made
contact with Frederick Douglass.
“Follow the North Star”
Continue into LeRoy and turn
leftNorth
at theStar
intersection
of
The
was the guiding
Route 19 and Route 5. light for the Underground Railroad
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (8) In August 1835, the Presbyterian Church was the site of an anti-slavery meeting, but abolition was not popular with many people. At that time there were four
avowed abolitionists in LeRoy: Seth Gates, Samuel Grannis, Deacon Comstock and Judge Brewster. They organized the meeting at
the Presbyterian Church and advertised that an escaped slave would
address the crowd. Dr. Reed, a physician from Rochester, and the
Rev. A.A. Phelps of Massachusetts addressed the crowd. The room
was filled to capacity. A large crowd gathered outside and began
THE
DOCK
(9) On the site of the present post office there was
But the
story con-
a tinues.
large building
Afterknown
the as the “Dock.” It housed stores and various
other
shops.
In
1878,
Samuel Grannis, a former resident of LeRoy,
war, Richard Selden
told the LeRoy Gazette that he had been a station agent on the Unwas on a business trip to
derground Railroad and he kept his “office” in the old stone building
Baltimore. While having dinner in a restaurant, a black waiter
then owned by Elijah Gray. Grannis also stated that “Fred” Douapproached him and asked if Selden recognized him. “No,” he
glass was a passenger on the Grannis Railroad in 1850. Frederick
didn’t. The waiter proceeded to tell Selden that he was the slave
Douglass did not escape to freedom through Western New York,
thatthehedate
haddoes
rescued
twenty years
before.
He hadevents,
reached
and
not coincide
with the
documented
butsafety
it is
in
Canada,
and
when
war
broke
out,
he
joined
a
black
regiment.
possible that Douglass was helping runaway slaves and stayed at the
The unit
was surrendered
to the
whoofproceeded
Grannis
“office”.
However, this
is Confederates
a typical example
the vagueto
mercilessly
slaughter
the
black
soldiers.
He
was
one
of
only fourevidence that exists.
teen to survive. This story was recounted in the 1970s by Richard
Selden’s there
grandson.
Probably,
are many stories of the Underground Railroad that
have gone unrecorded – names have been forgotten and events unContinue
onof
thethe
Selden
Road to Railroad
Route 19remains
south and
told, yet
the story
Underground
an turn
epic of
right.
Immediately
past
the
large
Village
of
LeRoy
sign,
American heroism. Of the many gospel songs, these words
have
by the first house on the right.
specialpause
meaning:
J.R. ANDERSON
HOUSE
(7) did
OneI night
I looked over Jordan,
and what
see in 1858 three escaped slaves,
unable
find their
way on the Underground Railroad,
Coming
for totocarry
me home!
found themselves
in the coming
middle after
of LeRoy.
A band of angels
me Huftelen writes: “The
people were
sorry
not feed or give them lodgings,
Coming
forfor
to them
carrybut
me dare
home.
being church members and law abiding citizens. (The 1850 Escaped Slave
people
If youlaw
getpunished
there before
I do,who fed or helped fugitive slaves
with fines
of $1000
imprisonment.)
At last they found a colComing
for toand
carry
me home,
ored individual,
whocoming
had been
Tell all ofan
myex-slave
friends I’m
too,emancipated by the act
of 1827.Coming
They knew
off the route but nobody could tell
for tothey
carrywere
me home.
them, for it was one of the best, if not the very best guarded routes
in the whole system. However, the ex-slave was in the employ of
our venerable townsmen, J. R. Anderson, and told them that he
thought Mr. Anderson would help them. He led them to the house
where they were provided with a good breakfast, after which the
sleigh was brought ‘round. Those who knew Mr. Anderson in those
far away years will remember that he had a vast amount of energy
in his manner and the men were nervous about trusting themselves
with him. But he said: “Pile in boys, all hell can’t get you now.’ ”
They were taken to Bergen and then to Rochester where they made
contact with Frederick Douglass.
Continue into LeRoy and turn left at the intersection of
Route 19 and Route 5.
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (8) In August 1835, the Presbyterian Church was the site of an anti-slavery meeting, but abolition was not popular with many people. At that time there were four
avowed abolitionists in LeRoy: Seth Gates, Samuel Grannis, Deacon Comstock and Judge Brewster. They organized the meeting at
the Presbyterian Church and advertised that an escaped slave would
address
the crowd.
Dr.“The
Reed,
a physician
fromforRochester,
and the
This
building
know as
Dock”
was razed
the Post Office.
Rev.
A.A.
Phelps
of
Massachusetts
addressed
the
crowd.
The
Samuel Grannis wrote that this building was his “office” on the room
Unwas filledRailroad.
to capacity. A large crowd gathered outside and began
derground