Washington County
The UGRR linked Washington County to the North Country. When anti-slavery lecturers toured Northeastern New York, they sometimes began in Washington County and proceeded North. In 1840, New York Anti-Slavery Society Corresponding Secretary, Edward C. Pritchett, announced in The Friend of Man that he, “our colored brother” Samuel R. Ward and “brother” E.M.K. Glen would be conducting a lecture tour through Schenectady, Saratoga, Washington, Essex, Clinton, Franklin, St. Lawrence and Lewis counties. Three weeks later, Pritchett reported that the men were in Washington County, “ waiting for the arrival of a fugitive whom we are going to take towards the North Star.”
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Sources:
The Friend of Man, Aug. 13, 1840.
The Friend of Man , Sept. 9, 1840.
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Easton
Wilbur House
The old Coach Road (Route 40) was once an Underground Railroad route through Washington County. It ran parallel to the Champlain Canal and through Easton's farm country where there were several safe houses. Today, people still tell the story of the day when two slave catchers came after a runaway who Quakers Job and Esther Wilbur were secreting. Determined to defend himself, the man grabbed a carving knife from the Wilbur's dining room table. The Wilburs objected, as they did not condone violence, but the man declared he would not be taken alive. Taking the knife with him, he scrambled up a ladder, opened a trap door and hid in the attic....more
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