25/12/2022
On 1854, Harriet Tubman returned to her Eastern Shore Maryland home to emancipate her brothers Ben, Henry, and Robert from slavery. Tubman had heard rumors that there were plans to sell the men the day after Christmas; so she sent word to her brothers through Jacob Jackson, a free African American man.
During the slavery era, Christmas became a popular time for freedom seekers to plan escapes because enslaved people often received travel passes to visit family who lived on other properties during the holiday. Once they received travel passes, they were not expected to show up again until well after the holiday. Tubman wrote in code: “tell my brothers to be always watching unto prayer and when the good old ship of Zion comes along, to be ready to step on board."
The brothers had travel passes to visit their parents Ben Sr. and Rit Ross for Christmas. 3 others, including Ben’s fiancée, would join the group on their journey North to freedom. They traveled more than 100 miles, finally arriving at William Still’s Anti-Slavery office in Philadelphia on Dec. 29, 1854. Learn more about Harriet Tubman’s life and legacy, and view her shawl and other related objects in our Searchable Museum: https://s.si.edu/3mls0iH
📸 Photographer William H. Cheney, South Orange, NJ, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
