18 Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 23 April '86

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r-Jersey Cape Historically VK By John Merrill ^

• The "underground railroad" was not a subway system, although it, too. had "stations" and "conductors" and •^'passengers". Cape May County, being in a northern. non-slave state, and with a southern slave state a few miles to the south, was in such a geographical position to harbor runaway slaves. New Jersey, as history has recorded, was the only northern slave state that never formally challenged the 1854 Fugitive Slave Law requiring the return of runaway slaves. ACCORDING TO New Jersey's interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, the doctrine that "...all men are created equal..." did not include blacks and women. The 1807 Suffrage Reform Act excluded blacks from the polling booths and the NJ Constitutional Convention of 1844 ignored the petitions of free blacks to get the right to vote. Dominance of the N.J Democrats in politics dur ing the antebellum period contributed to the strong tolerance of slavery, as did New Jersey's economy. BASED ON southern markets, northern NewJersey needed the cotton grown in the South. Southern New Jersey's Cape May County depended on the southern tourist trade as well as the tourist trade from other sectors of the nation and society. Nevertheless, along the Delaware Bay from Philadelphia to Cape May City, the Society of Friends set out lanterns, lighted blue and yellow, to signal stops for "stations", along the route of the Underground Railroad. THIS RAILROAD ran across the state _ to New England and Canada and consisted of roads, paths, and traces that would avoid most areas of congested settlement, therefore lessening the chances of runaway slaves' recapture and return as required as law. — v This is not to sdy that slavery was non-existent in Cape May County prior to the Civil War. Cape May County, in heart and mind, was a border state that was separated from the South by an una voida ble geographic feature, the Delaware Bay. FOR MANY generations, slavery was prevalent in Cape May County. Slaves were used as house servants and/or field hands.

By the year 1860, the county's slaves had long since been manunitted by their owners. County and New Jersey records indicate that in 1738 there were 42 slaves in Cape May County. AS THE YEARS progressed and after initial rising number of slaves, by the year 1830, there were three slaves remaining within the county (in 1790, 141 slaves; in 1800. 98 slaves; in 1810, 81 slaves; and in 1820, 28 slaves). According to local traditions, Cape May County played a significant role, no matter how minor, in freeing southern slaves. HOMES STILL stand throughout the county that are rumored to have been stat ions along the Underground Railroad. Also, accordingly, the most famous conductor of the underground railroad movement in the U.S.. Harriet Tubman, mentioned that she had journeyed to Cape May County. Local traditions state that she stayed at what is known today as. the Peter Shield's Inn. ANOTHER tradition mentions Harriet laboring in the hotels of Cape May to earn money to invest in the Underground Railroad. Despite her stature (being scarcely more than five feet tall) and an unusual condition she developed in her youth because of a head injury (she fell asleep during the most inopportune circumstances), the Moses of Her People had aided at least 300 slaves to escape bondage and made 19 trips ■ into the South to aid escaping slaves. ALT1IOUGIV written records of her - visits to Cape May City have not been located, it seems plausible that Tubman followed the example set by the first group of runaway slaves to enter Cape May County. During the summer of 1858. four men in a stolen government revenue boat landed on the beach at Fishing Creek, in Lower Township. Abandoning the boat and their supplies, they disappeared into the countryside. SEARCHED FOR by their Delaware owners, the runaways were said to have gon&T^ Salem via the counties' Underground railroad system and from there to either Philadelphia or farther north into abolit-ionist-controlled New England Though the men from Delaware searched, they ^ could not find their lost property, much to the delight of the local abolitionists. A VARIATION of their account also exists. In this account (or possibly an enS tirely different event) four men and two women chose to escape slavery by using the darkness of night and the Delaware Bay. In this account the runaways were being chased by five men. When the slave chasers were close enough to capture the runaway slaves, the slaves defended themselves with < the oars of the boat. THE SLAVES were then fired upon by their pursuers and four of them > were wounded. Under the cover of night, | J the remaining non-injured

members of the party (a man and a women) continued to row to freedom. They landed near Cape May and were removed to a station and from there to freedom. DURING THE Civil War, the Underground Railroad of Cape May County was no longer needed Some members of the AfroAmerican community of Cape May remembered slavery. With this in mind and fully knowing what the oppression of slavery was like, many of the county's black male population volunteered to fight for freedom and the preservation of the Union. ED. NOTE: Merrill - teaches social studies at Lower Cape May Regional High Schooi and has lived in the county since 1975. If you're interested in a particular historical item. write him care of this newspaper. P.O. Box 430. Cape May Court House of NJ 08210). Civic Club Bus Trip AVALON - The Women's Civic Club is sponsoring a bus trip Wednesday, May 28. to Wheaton Village with a buffet luncheon in the Glasshouse Cafe. Included in the trip is a tour of the Museum of American Glass which contains over 7.000 glass objects from Mason jars to Tiffany masterpieces displayed in 16,000 square feet of exhibited area. The bus will leave Avalon Community Hall at 9 a.m. and return by 5 p.m. Call 368-1453 for reservations by Monday. April 28. Tree Planting VILLAS — In observance of Arbor Day. the Garden by-the-Sea Club will plant a memorial tree Friday on the grounds of the Lower Cape Branch of the County Library, Bayshore and Village Roads. For additional information. call 886-8584

Plant Sale AVALON — The Ladies Auxiliary of the Avalon Volunteer Fire Dept will sponsor a plant sale 10 a.m. -noon Saturday May 10. at the Fire House, 31st and Dune Drive. Geraniums and bedding plants will be sold. Homemade cakes will also be sold. For information, call 967-3290.

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