William Lewis was a free black when he traveled on the Underground Railroad. The story has been recounted to me by one of his descendants. The story was somewhat surprising, but another ancestor also left Virginia on the Underground Railroad. My Great-Great Grandparents, Robert and Elizabeth Jackson-Pinn left Fredericksburg about 1853, and settled in Columbia Pennsylvania. The family was in Columbia when the 1860 census was taken, but by 1870 they were in Burlington New Jersey. I believe my Pinn ancestors were active on the Underground Railroad, and were fleeing Virginia. When I searched the records in Fredericksburg, I found documents showing that Elizabeth Jackson-Pinns father, Samuel Pinn, was arrested for meeting with slaves with a license. There were several such fines, and at one point he was imprisoned.

William Lewis, was born about 1810, and Robert Pinn was born about 1815. The Lewis family were very tight knit, and raised Elizabeth Jackson, after her parents died. Her parents were Samuel and Maria Lewis-Jackson. There was a William Lewis who stood in for Robert Pinn and Elizabeth Jackson when they married. There appears to have been a united effort of these free blacks to oppose slavery. I also found a court document in Fredericksburg, for a William Douglass who was arrested for inciting slaves. He was sentenced to two years in Jail, and ordered to leave the area. The court document said that Douglass also went by the name of William Pinn. He may have been a brother, or cousin of my Robert Pinn.

Another link in the chain is with the Christiana Resistance which took place on September 11, 1851 in Christiana Pennsylvania. The descendant of William Lewis I am communicating with stated that William was called by his middle name Berry. When I looked at the names of those involved in the Christiana Resistance, I found a William Berry. I asked William Lewis descendant if he was in Pennsylvania during this time, and she said yes. He would have had to change his name if he did not want to be detected. Now I am wondering if he fled after the Christiana event.

There is so much circumstantial evidence, but the black historians I have contacted in Pennsylvania are not interested. They say that there is no, "record" of these peoples involvement in the Underground Railroad (isn't that why they call it the Underground Railroad?). That is why I am doing my own writing, and speaking on this topic. I will be doing at reading from my book at the Moores Library in Christiana Pennsylvania on February 27, 2004.

I have several engagements in Coatesville and Lancaster during the month of February.