"Safe houses" were located all along a route that roughly followed the Wabash River from Evansville through Vincennes to Terre Haute, and onward to the north. In February of 2014, there were two video reports about the route presented by WTHI-TV, which concentrated on a hidden cellar at Bloomingdale in Penn Township, Parke County, which may have been used by travelers.
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8uDwOTHOlM
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvItFV5Nl6s
The WTHI report Searching for
History begins with an understatement: “The Underground Railroad’s secrecy
is legendary. . .”
So secret that there’s not much known about the section of the “Blue route” shown; which ran from Vincennes, through
Knox, Sullivan, Vigo and southern Parke Counties, until it reached the
relatively safe Quaker communities of Penn Township. (I have seen one version of this map in which the segment from Vincennes to Terre Haute is shown a a dashed line.) As the WTHI reporter states: "it was said that when you made it to the banks of the Terre Haute Wabash, you were nine tenth of the way to freedom".
The "Blue route" shown in the video ran north
through Sullivan County near Merom, then along the old "military
road" west of Graysville, past Riverview, and then along the west side of
Prairie Creek into Vigo County. However, there is almost no evidence for who was involved.
The Quaker community at Bloomingdale has direct connections to other "Carolina Quaker" groups who migrated in large numbers to Indiana and settled around the towns of Prairieton, Prairie Creek and Fairbanks around 1820. They were also directly connected to Quaker communities that earlier had settled along the East Fork of the Whitewater River in Wayne County, around 1806. The town of Fountain City and the city of Richmond are especially proud of their Quaker heritage. Other related Quaker communities were located near Danville in Hendricks County, and Mooresville in Morgan County. Many of these Quakers were from Guilford County, North Carolina; coming from Quaker Meetings at New Garden and at Deep River, near the present-day city of Greensboro. Our Hunt family ancestors were originally from northwest of Greensboro, near the present-day campus of Guilford College.
Of the people mentioned in the WTHI report, there are several connections to our family, and to these previously mentioned Quaker communities:
As a young man, Levi Coffin stayed in Vigo County for about a year (1826) where he helped set up a school for the Honey Creek Quaker Meeting. In his book "Reminiscences of Levi Coffin" he mentions visiting his friends in "Termin's Creek" (an early name for the village of Fairbanks); and says that he spent a week there visiting and hunting with the Dixes, Hunts, and his old friend David Grose (Gross). These Hunts may have included our 3rd great-grandparents Zadoc and Margaret (Johnson) Hunt, parents of Beulah (Hunt) Thompson. Levi Coffin was a 2nd cousin to Zadoc Hunt's father, Eleazer Hunt; related through their mother's families. These Hunt ancestors were also close relatives to John Woolman, an early Quaker abolitionist from Burlington County, New Jersey, who died just before the Revolutionary War.
The "WW Coffin" listed on the Parke County map would have been William Wilshire Coffin. His father Jethro Coffin was a 1st cousin to Levi Coffin; related of course on their fathers' side of the family.
One of the names on the Penn Township plat map was "A Hunt". This was possibly Abner Hunt, an early settler in that part of Parke County. Abner was a 1st cousin to our Eleazer Hunt, but also he was married to our great-Aunt Mary (Rayl) Hunt; a sister to 4th great-grandmother Elizabeth (Rayl) Johnson. There were several other Hunt and Rayl relatives who settled in this community.
The monument shown at Bloomingdale was in honor of Alfred and Rhoda (Vestal) Hadley. Their families were among the early settlers of Hendricks and Morgan Counties. While not directly related to our ancestors (that I know of), there were many Hadley's married to our Hunt cousins within those communities. Some family names of these cousins include: Hunt, Rayl, Stanley, Hiatt, Mills, Carter and Dixon. Our 4th great-grandparents, Caleb and Elizabeth (Rayl) Johnson are buried in Hendricks County in the Quaker cemetery north of Amo, Indiana. This Caleb Johnson was the namesake of our grandfather's Uncle Caleb Johnson Thompson.
Another possible link to the Underground Railroad for our ancestors might involve the Union Christian College at Merom and the Big Spring Church west of Graysville. Both places were located along the old military road that ran from Vincennes to Terre Haute. The Phillips family farm was next to the Big Spring Church. The Phillips' ancestor was Elder John Phillips, who had raised money through the Christian Church to help start the college. Another Phillips ancestor, 3rd great-grandfather David Cushman, who grew up a Quaker, served as an early trustee of the college. The founders of the Union Christian College at Merom were openly anti-slavery, and as a consequence they once had to defend the school from attack by hooded members of the Knights of the Golden Circle, who unsuccessfully attempted to burn the building. The Phillips' had moved to Graysville in 1854 from Yellow Springs, Ohio (another important Underground Railroad stop), where the Rev Phillips had helped establish Antioch College, and where he was on their original board of trustees.
The Quaker community at Bloomingdale has direct connections to other "Carolina Quaker" groups who migrated in large numbers to Indiana and settled around the towns of Prairieton, Prairie Creek and Fairbanks around 1820. They were also directly connected to Quaker communities that earlier had settled along the East Fork of the Whitewater River in Wayne County, around 1806. The town of Fountain City and the city of Richmond are especially proud of their Quaker heritage. Other related Quaker communities were located near Danville in Hendricks County, and Mooresville in Morgan County. Many of these Quakers were from Guilford County, North Carolina; coming from Quaker Meetings at New Garden and at Deep River, near the present-day city of Greensboro. Our Hunt family ancestors were originally from northwest of Greensboro, near the present-day campus of Guilford College.
Of the people mentioned in the WTHI report, there are several connections to our family, and to these previously mentioned Quaker communities:
As a young man, Levi Coffin stayed in Vigo County for about a year (1826) where he helped set up a school for the Honey Creek Quaker Meeting. In his book "Reminiscences of Levi Coffin" he mentions visiting his friends in "Termin's Creek" (an early name for the village of Fairbanks); and says that he spent a week there visiting and hunting with the Dixes, Hunts, and his old friend David Grose (Gross). These Hunts may have included our 3rd great-grandparents Zadoc and Margaret (Johnson) Hunt, parents of Beulah (Hunt) Thompson. Levi Coffin was a 2nd cousin to Zadoc Hunt's father, Eleazer Hunt; related through their mother's families. These Hunt ancestors were also close relatives to John Woolman, an early Quaker abolitionist from Burlington County, New Jersey, who died just before the Revolutionary War.
The "WW Coffin" listed on the Parke County map would have been William Wilshire Coffin. His father Jethro Coffin was a 1st cousin to Levi Coffin; related of course on their fathers' side of the family.
One of the names on the Penn Township plat map was "A Hunt". This was possibly Abner Hunt, an early settler in that part of Parke County. Abner was a 1st cousin to our Eleazer Hunt, but also he was married to our great-Aunt Mary (Rayl) Hunt; a sister to 4th great-grandmother Elizabeth (Rayl) Johnson. There were several other Hunt and Rayl relatives who settled in this community.
The monument shown at Bloomingdale was in honor of Alfred and Rhoda (Vestal) Hadley. Their families were among the early settlers of Hendricks and Morgan Counties. While not directly related to our ancestors (that I know of), there were many Hadley's married to our Hunt cousins within those communities. Some family names of these cousins include: Hunt, Rayl, Stanley, Hiatt, Mills, Carter and Dixon. Our 4th great-grandparents, Caleb and Elizabeth (Rayl) Johnson are buried in Hendricks County in the Quaker cemetery north of Amo, Indiana. This Caleb Johnson was the namesake of our grandfather's Uncle Caleb Johnson Thompson.
Another possible link to the Underground Railroad for our ancestors might involve the Union Christian College at Merom and the Big Spring Church west of Graysville. Both places were located along the old military road that ran from Vincennes to Terre Haute. The Phillips family farm was next to the Big Spring Church. The Phillips' ancestor was Elder John Phillips, who had raised money through the Christian Church to help start the college. Another Phillips ancestor, 3rd great-grandfather David Cushman, who grew up a Quaker, served as an early trustee of the college. The founders of the Union Christian College at Merom were openly anti-slavery, and as a consequence they once had to defend the school from attack by hooded members of the Knights of the Golden Circle, who unsuccessfully attempted to burn the building. The Phillips' had moved to Graysville in 1854 from Yellow Springs, Ohio (another important Underground Railroad stop), where the Rev Phillips had helped establish Antioch College, and where he was on their original board of trustees.
As can be seen, there are many corroborating relationships and connections among these
families. Considering that they lived all along the Underground Railroad routes shown in the video, it seems likely that they would have been involved in, or at least aware of, what their family and friends were up to. But as the
reporter says, "some of the records of the people involved were taken to
the grave."
