Response to Feb. 4th entry:

To tell the "Underground RailRoad" story, there is no doubt that both sides...all sides (which also in some areas includes native Americans) of the story. The tendency you describe does seem to be the trend. The white station master is romanticized, placed on a pedestal and little attention is given to the real freedom seekers.
The work that is being done on our family roots is the same sort of effort that has to go into finding the Africans bought into America who sought refuge at these sites. It's difficult work because most have seemed to vanish with no trace. I have a G.G.G grandfather, Richard Walton, that seems to have just disappeared. Liza, mother of his children (born 1835) is listed last as widowed in Dist 188, Lincoln, GA. None of the Richard Walton(s) in that area "seem" to fit. Was he one of the white Richard Waltons? Hisory was written to obsure and generally the dwelling places of our ancestors were not built of stone to stand for centuries. Some hope lie in court records, old newspapers and the like...again hard work.
I feel your pain because it is a difficult "row to hoe". Freedom Trails, Legacies of Hope in Illinois is couched in African American heritage in hopes that the African American part doesn't get lost. I'm chiming in because I want to encourage you to persevere. If the information you have on your family is solid, I would suggest you petition to have it posted in some way at that site. Even if your family has to gather funds to make a plaque to donate to the site based on agreements on it's use...just do it! What would be more powerful is if you had a listing of several others like your relative, whose relatives would join the cause.