Biography of william still

On August 6, , Peter Freedman, an ex-slave who had recently purchased his freedom, arrived at the office of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society (PASS) in Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love was a nerve center of abolitionist activity due to its large Quaker and free black populations. There he met William Still, a free black abolitionist and director of Philadelphia's General Vigilance Committee (PVC). Freedman, worn down by years of hard labor, looked much older than his fifty years. For more than an hour, the former slave recounted his life's story explaining that he was searching for his mother from whom he had been separated some forty years earlier. Still sat and listened, transfixed by the tragic tale.

According to Freedman, he and his younger brother Levin were "kidnapped" from their mother, who he referred to as "Sidney." "Carried south," Levin died a slave in Alabama, but Peter earned the $ necessary to purchase his own "ransom" from his owner, a Jewish merchant named Joseph Friedman. With no knowledge of the last names of his mother and father, or where he was born, Peter set out to find his mother. His search took him to Philadelphia where he planned to have notices read in the African American churches of the city in the hope that some of the older members might recall his mother's circumstances.

As Still listened to the stranger's story, he was struck by the similarities to his own mother's past. Charity Still was born, raised and wed in slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore. She and her husband, Levin, were the young parents of four small children, two boys and two girls. Levin purchased his own freedom, resettled in Burlington County, New Jersey, and became a farmer, hoping to save enough money to secure the manumission of his wife and their children who remained in bondage. Charity and her two daughters rejoined Levin after a successful escape, but were forced to leave behind her two sons, eight-year-old Levin and six-year-ol

William Still, a leading 19 century abolitionist working in Philadelphia, conducted hundreds of enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad, but his name is often forgotten. In a new biography, historian ANDREW DIEMER returns William Still to his rightful place in history alongside the more widely recognized figures like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglas and John Brown. Diemer details Still’s life, from poverty, to becoming a leader in the abolitionist movement, then a wealthy coal merchant.

Born in , Still grew up in the New Jersey Pinelands, the youngest of 18 children to parents who had once been enslaved. He came to Philadelphia with nothing, taught himself to read and write and secured a job at the Anti-Slavery Society, starting his abolition work. In addition to helping hundreds of people escape slavery, Still also kept detailed records of his work and published an page book, “The Underground Railroad: A Record of Facts, Authentic Narrative, Letters, Etc,” which remains an important historical account. Diemer joins us to talk about Still’s life and contributions and why his story has been overlooked. His book is, Vigilance: The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad.

American abolitionist, writer, businessman

This article is about the abolitionist and member of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. For other people, see William Still (disambiguation).

William Still (October 7, – July 14, ) was an African-American abolitionist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a conductor of the Underground Railroad and was responsible for aiding and assisting at least slaves to freedom. Still was also a businessman, writer, historian and civil rights activist. Before the American Civil War, Still was chairman of the Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, named the Vigilant Association of Philadelphia. He directly aided fugitive slaves and also kept records of the people served in order to help families reunite.

After the war, Still continued as a prominent businessman, a coal merchant, and philanthropist. He used his meticulous records to write an account of the underground system and the experiences of many escaped slaves, entitled The Underground Railroad Records ().

Household

William Still was born in Shamong Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, to former slaves Charity (formerly named Sidney) and Levin Still. He was the youngest of eighteen children. His parents had migrated separately to New Jersey. First, his father had bought his freedom in from his master in Caroline County, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore and moved north to New Jersey. Levin stayed around in Maryland until in order to keep watch on his wife and children. After arriving in Evesham Township, they became friends with families named “Still” and assumed the last name in order to hide Charity’s fugitive status.

His mother, Charity, escaped twice from Maryland. The first time, she and four children were all recaptured and returned to slavery. A few months later, Charity escaped again, taking only her two younger daughters with her, and reach

James Still ()

Herbalist

Brother of William Still

"Doctor" James Still was the son of Levin Still (formerly Levin Steel) and Charity Still (changed name from Sidney to Charity) and older brother of abolitionist, William Still. James Still was a self-taught physician in the Medford, New Jersey area, who was widely known as the "Black Doctor of the Pines.” A practitioner of folk remedies, Still learned about the healing powers of herbs and plants. He apprenticed himself to a white doctor and later became known as Doctor James Still. In , he published "Early Recollections and Life of Dr. James Still, in which he wrote, "In very early life my mind was troubled about what should be my occupation in life, although I had almost daily presentiments from three and a half years of age until I was twenty two or three, that I should be a doctorI supposed I would need to go to collegebut I had no financeand worst of all, I was not the right color to enter where such knowledge was dispensed." (p.7) Nevertheless, his own son, James Thomas Still, graduated with honors from Harvard's School of Medicine in

By Aslaku Berhanu - Courtesy of Temple University Libraries

References

Still, James. Early Recollections and Life of Dr. James Still, . Medford, N.J. Medford Historical Society,

"Dr." James Still - New Jersey Pioneer - Journal of the National Medical Association,  

Website: 

Dr. James Still Historical Office Site

The Other Land From: Early Recollections and Life of James Still

Through this dark wilderness

We all must travel on, To a land unseen by mortal eyes,

Where many thousands have gone.

Beyond this vale there is a land,

Where night is changed to day.

Nothing there to mar our peace,

Or clouds to pass away.

A happy home where the good may rest,

No sorrow there may come.

For tears are