Bytes of History

Underground Railroad Operatives

William Boyd (1820 - 1884)
	William Boyd was born in Ireland and arrived in Washington about 1856. In November 1858 he was captured just 15 miles from the Pennsylvania border carrying two runaway slaves hidden in the back of his huckster's wagon. During questioning witnesses revealed that he had been spotted several times in the area driving his wagon in a manner suggesting he was attempting to avoid detection. Boyd was tried, convicted of larceny (stealing slaves), and sentenced to 14 years in the penitentiary. In 1861, at the urging of 54 members of Congress, he received a full pardon from President Abraham Lincoln. In 1865 he nearly lost his life when he attempted to restore order after rowdy soldiers began attacking African Americans and their homes in southwest Washington.		• Biography • Chronology • Bibliography
John Dean (1813 - 1863)
	John Dean arrived in DC in 1862 to take a position in the Treasury Department. He immediately became involved in a series of fugitive slave cases that, because of the interest of persons on both sides of the slavery issue, were covered extensively by the newspapers. His primary focus was to test the applicability of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Because the law referred only to slaves escaping from one State to another, Dean argued, unsuccessfully, that the law did not apply to the District or the Territories. Over the next year he represented 7 freedom-seekers, 4 of which were ordered returned to their owners. A fifth, Andrew Hall, enlisted in the army and thus escaped recapture. As a result of his work Dean was extremely unpopular among the Maryland slave owners. He began to fear for his life, and an altercation with Hall's owner resulted in his being charged with assault. Dean contracted and died of pneumonia before the case could be heard in court.		• Biography • Chronology • Bibliography
David A. Hall (1795 - 1870)
	David A. Hall was born in Vermont and arrived in Washington in 1820 to study law with Elias Boudinot Caldwell, the clerk of the Supreme Court. As a young man he adopted the colonizationist views of his mentor, but his experiences in representing both free and enslaved African Americans led him to develop strong anti-slavery sentiments. He associated almost exclusively with radical opponents of slavery and corresponded with many of the leading anti-slavery men of the time. He used his skills as an attorney to work within the law to negotiate the release of slaves and defend the rights of men, both black and white, working on their behalf. At the request of Joshua Giddings, he was the first attorney to courageously step forward to represent the crew and 76 slaves captured on board the Pearl in what was the largest documented slave escape attempt in U.S. history.		• Biography • Chronology • Bibliography
Hannibal Hamlin (1809 - 1862)
	Hannibal Hamlin was a cousin of Hannibal Hamlin, Lincoln's first vice president. He arrived in DC in 1861 to accept a position in the Treasury Department. By early April 1862 it was generally believed that President Lincoln would sign the bill to emancipate the slaves living in the District. Already freedom seekers from Virginia and Maryland were arriving in large numbers in the hope of obtaining freedom and seeking work in the military units occupying the city. In late March/early April Hannibal Hamlin served as chairman of a committee to discuss the formation of the National Freedman's Relief Association (NFRA) of D.C. whose mission was to provide food and clothing to the refugees and prepare them for freedom. The group met on April 9th to formalize the organization and Hamlin was elected their President. He worked tirelessly soliciting contributions from his Boston and Quaker friends, acquiring provisions and organizing medical services. In the fall he traveled to Fortress Monroe to observe conditions among the contrabands there. Ignoring the advice of family and friends, his health gave out and he died in November 1862.		• Biography • Chronology • Bibliography
Ann Sprigg (ca. 1800 - 1870)
	Ann (nee Thornton) Sprigg was born in Virginia and married Benjamin Sprigg, a clerk in the House of Representatives in 1818. Benjamin died in 1833 leaving Ann with 3 young children to support. Ann opened a boarding house in 1834 and in 1839 she relocated to a row of houses on 1st Street S.E., just across the street from the U.S. Capitol. Her house became known as Abolitionist House and was home to Abraham Lincoln while he was a Congressman and such noted Abolitionists as Joshua Giddings, Joshua Leavitt and Theodore Weld.		• Biography • Chronology • Bibliography