*The above photo is a rare photo of Tubman, taken during the prime of her life. It is currently on display at the National Museum of African-American History in, Washington, DC.
Harriet Tubman was born into slavery, in Dorchester county, Maryland. Her exact date of birth is unknown but it's believed she was born sometime between 1820-25. Her parents were, Harriet "Rit" Green & Ben Ross, who were slaves owned by, Mary Pattison-Brodess & Anthony Thompson, respectively; Mary & Anthony did eventually marry. Harriet was one of nine children. Her birth name was, Araminta Harriet Ross, her parents nicknamed her, Minty.
Her early life was full of hardship, Mary Brodess' son, Edward, sold three of her sisters to distant plantations, which tore the family apart. When a trader from Georgia came and offered to buy Rit's youngest son, Moses, Rit successfully put a stop to this transition, setting a resounding example for her young daughter. Physical violence was a part of her family's daily life, which would leave her with a series of permanent scars & other health issues. Later in life, she recounted one occasion where she was lashed five times before breakfast & carried the scars for the rest of her life. However the most severe injury she sustained, was inflicted in her teenage years. One day when she had been sent to the dry-goods store to pick up supplies, she met a slave who left the fields without permission. The man's overseer who caught up with them, demanded Harriet help restrain him but when she refused, the overseer threw a 2lb weight, that struck her in the head. Due to the injury she endured seizures, severe migraines & sporadic fainting episodes throughout the rest of her life. Harriet also experienced vivid dreams, which she referred to as "religious experiences".
Growing up, the division between freedom and slavery was blurred in Harriet's family. Her father, Ben Ross, had become a freed slave, at the age of 45, according to the will of the previous owner. Yet he had little choice but to continue working as a timber estimator and foreman for his former owners. The same "freedom" applied to Rit and her children but neither owner made the effort to actually free them. So despite his status as "a free man", Ben had little way to stand up to the slaveowners.
In 1844, when she was in her early 20's, Harriet married a freed black man named, John Tubman. At the time, about half of African-Americans in Maryland were free, so it wasn't unusual for families to include both free and enslaved people. Little is known about John and his marriage to Harriet including how long, if it at all, they lived together. Any children they may have had would be considered slaves because of their mother's status determined their status at birth. Five years later after her owner fell ill, she made the decision to free herself, leaving her husband behind & making the long journey to Philadelphia. On her odyssey of self-sought freedom, she changed her name to Harriet, potentially to pay tribute to her mother. Furthermore, following a similar path to fellow abolitionist, Sojourner Truth, her pursuit of freedom was motivated by religion.
Two of her brothers, Ben & Harry followed her on September 17, 1849. However after an article was published in the Cambridge Democrat, offering a $300 reward for the return of Araminta, they quickly returned back to the plantation. Harriet saw her brothers back home & continued her journey alone, travelling nearly 90 miles to Pennsylvania, via the Underground Railroad. Harriet worried that her family would be further severed and about her own destiny as a slave of miserly means. She remained a fugitive in the northern US & Canada until the 13th amendment, that abolished slavery, was passed in December 1865.
Harriet worked with other anti-slavery activists, helping hundreds of other people escape slavery; she returned south 3 different times to rescue her family but was disappointed when, in 1851, her husband, John, refused to join her, choosing instead to remain with a second wife. On a more successful expedition in the winter of 1850, she received news her niece, Kessiah, was going to be sold, along with her two children. Her husband, a freed man, John Bowley, made the winning bid for his wife at an auction, in Baltimore, Oregon. Harriet than helped the family move to Philadelphia. From this time on, Harriet took on the iconic role as conductor, in the Underground Railroad, making regular stops in the southern states, ushering African-Americans to freedom including several members of her own family including, her parents and several siblings. She gained the nickname, Moses, for her accomplishments.
However, helping escaped slaves to freedom became even more complicated and risky due to the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law, in 1850. The law stated that escaped slaves in the North could be captured and returned down South; this lead to the abduction of ex-slaves and freed black men, living in the Free States. Law enforcement officers in the Free States were obliged to uphold this law so they couldn't aid slaves in escaping re-enslavement, no matter their personal prerogatives. To combat this, Harriet had the Underground Railroad rerouted to Canada, which had banned slavery all together. While conductor of the railroad, she encountered other famous abolitionists including, Frederick Douglass & John Brown. Brown used violent methods to put an end to the system of slavery, Harriet at the very least tolerated his methods but greatly respected his views.
Harriet also acted as a nurse, cook, armed scout and spy during the American Civil War (1861-65). Harriet was the first woman to lead an armed assault in the war, she lead the Combahee River Raid, which liberated over 700 slaves, in South Carolina.
In 1869, she married a Civil War veteran named, Nelson Davis. In 1875, they adopted a baby girl named, Gertie. 10 years earlier, in 1859, abolitionist, Senator William H. Seward sold Harriet a piece of land in, Auburn, NY. The land became a refuge for family & friends, that Harriet helped free. This is where she spent the years after the civil war, looking after family and others who had taken up residence there. Sadly, despite her reputation she was never financially secure. One admirer, Sarah H. Bradford, wrote a biography called, Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, with the proceeds from book sales going to Harriet & her family. Despite her economic struggles she gave freely; the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged, opened in 1908.
As she aged, the head injuries she suffered earlier in life became ever more painful and disruptive to everyday life. She underwent brain surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, to relieve the migraines and "buzzing" that had plagued her daily for most of her life. Harriet was eventually admitted to the senior's home, named in her honor. It was there surrounded by friends & family that, Harriet passed away of pneumonia, on March 10, 1913.
Since her death, Harriet Tubman has become an American icon, she is considered one of the most renowned historical figures in history, prior to the 20th century. She continues to serve as inspiration for Americans, who continue to struggle today for civil & human rights. Upon her death, the city of Auburn commemorated her on a plaque, at the courthouse and dozens of schools have been named in her honor. Both the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn and the Harriet Tubman Museum, in Cambridge, serve as monuments of her life. In 2016, the US Treasury Department announced that she would be replacing Andrew Jackson, on the new $20 bill.
"I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can't say; I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger." —Harriet Tubman
" I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more, if only they knew they were slaves".
https://www.biography.com/people/harriet-tubman-9511430
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We Won't Stay Silent
Non-Fiction"We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational and so disciplined they can be free" ...
