Born enslaved, by the 1840s Thomas Smallwood (1801–1883) had purchased his freedom, was self-educated, and working as a shoemaker a short walk from the U.S. Capitol.
Working alongside prominent abolitionist Charles Turner Torrey, the two men encouraged those enslaved to flee north and helped create what is believed to be the first organized line of the Underground Railroad. [Read more…] about Flee North! Thomas Smallwood & The Early Underground Railroad