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A three-page letter was written August 14, 1820 by freedom seeker George Duncan, also known as “Jaki.” He thanks Thomas Rotch of Massillon for assisting him on his journey to Canada and asks for help securing freedom for his wife Edy. A rare example of writing by a freedom seeker, this letter documents his passage on the Underground Railroad from Massillon in Stark County, Ohio, to Bainbridge in Geauga County, Ohio and on to Canada.
After leaving Kendal, Duncan informs Rotch that he arrived safely in Geauga County on his way to Canada and is being well-treated by avowed enemies of slavery. He asks Rotch’s help in finding Edy, his wife and protecting her from S. Spriggs, a known slavecatcher. Duncan offers suggestions for an alternative route to Bainbridge to avoid Spriggs. He asks Rotch not to mention any of this letter to anyone. According to Dr. Roy E. Finkenbine (Ohio History, 2016. Issue 1), West Liberty to which Duncan refers is in present-day West Virginia north of Wheeling; freedom seekers followed that route across the Ohio River to Quaker Communities in Mt. Pleasant and St. Clairsville, Ohio, then went northeastward to Massillon, then to Lake Erie, where by 1820, vessels carried fugitives to Canada and usually southwestern Ontario.
Samuel Spriggs was a lawyer, landowner, and important figure in early Wheeling, and likely Duncan’s slaveowner. Martin Kents in Suffield is Martin Kent, a Quaker farmer; Elihu L Kent in another Quaker farmer in Bainbridge who was also active in the Ohio Underground Railroad network. John Braydays is probably John Brady in West Liberty.
To view the full letter and transcript, visit the Massillon Public Library’s Rotch-Wales papers online:
https://www.ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p15005coll39/id/1236/rec/1