Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist, social activist and conductor of the Underground Railroad, a network of anti-slavery activists and safe houses.
Born into slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland around 1822, she escaped to Philadelphia in 1849 and subsequently made 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends.
Harriet also served as an armed scout, spy, and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War and was an activist in the women’s suffrage movement.
Her life was marked by her unwavering commitment to freedom, her courage and her deep religious faith.
Harriet experienced visions and vivid dreams, which she interpreted as revelations from God and became devoutly religious.
Despite her illiteracy, she was known for her intelligence, strategic thinking, and strong leadership.
Harriet never lost a passenger on her rescue missions and was called, Moses, for leading so many enslaved people to freedom.
Siblings
Harriet had eight siblings Ben, Henry, Linah, Mariah Ritty, Moses, Rachel, Robert and Soph. They were all born on the same plantation as Harriet in Dorchester County, Maryland.
They were all born in the same plantation as Harriet.
Linah, Soph and Mariah Ritty were sold to the Deep South and lost forever to the family.
Harriet managed to rescue her three younger brothers, Ben, Henry and Robert, in 1854, and her parents in 1856.
Parents
Harriet’s parents were Benjamin ‘Ben’ Ross and Harriett ‘Rit’ Greene Ross.
Ben was a timber estimator and foreman, and Rit was a domestic servant.
They were enslaved by different families but came together when Mary Pattison Brodess, Rit’s owner, married Anthony Thompson.
Ben and Rit had nine children together, including Harriet, who was born around 1822.
Harriet’s parents were owned by two different families and their lives came together when Mary Pattison Brodess, Rit’s owner, married Anthony Thompson.
Ben was a skilled slave who worked as a lumber supplier for the area’s shipbuilding industry and eventually won his freedom in 1840.
However, the other family members did not fare as well.
The death of Thompson in 1824 led to the first family separation when Thompson’s stepson Edward Brodess inherited Harriet and her children.
Under Brodess, the family fell upon hard times, with long periods of separation due to hiring out and selling of slaves outside the state.
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Harriet’s mother, Harriet Green, was successful in saving her youngest son, but several of Harriet’s siblings were sold outside the state.
Harriet herself was hired out to several masters, experiencing cruelty and beatings. She took her mother’s name, Harriet, around 1844, the same time she married John Tubman.
In 1849, Harriet fled the area, believing that she was going to be sold.
She returned to the area to bring John Tubman north with her, but he had already married another woman.
Ben was a conductor on the Underground Railroad and slaveholders were becoming suspicious of his role in escapes in the area.
Harriet, having freed other family members, rescued her parents.
After a short period in St. Catharines in Ontario, Canada, Tubman and her parents settled in the Auburn, New York area.
Family and marriage
Harriet married John Tubman in 1844, a free African American, in an informal union due to the legal constraints of slavery.
Their marriage was not legally binding, common in a region where free people of color married enslaved individuals.
They faced the risk of separation if Harriet was sold, and any children born to them would follow the mother’s status.
Despite these challenges, Harriet and John shared a complex relationship influenced by the harsh realities of slavery and the limitations it imposed on their family life.
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