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Underground Railroad Research Forum

UGRR in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

I'm researching families active in Chambersburg's UGRR. I'm not sure whether my black ancestors arrived in Chambersburg before, during, or after the Civil War, but from about 1872-1920 they lived near and/or worked for Republican newspaper editors and white Chambersburg families that might have been active in the anti-slavery movement and/or Underground Railroad. These individuals include: 1) JOHN M. COOPER, editor of the Valley Spirit, who sat "in the front row" when Frederick Douglass spoke at Chambersburg Public Hall, was also a clerk in Attorney General Black's office in Washington. Cooper lived near my ancestors. 2) Attorney WILLIAM MCCLELLAN (McLellan, M'Lellan) might have sheltered runaway slaves. It is also said that a McClellan (McClelland) donated land for Lebanon Cemetery where my black ancestors are buried. The McClellan-Pomeroy house was supposed to have been a stop on the UGRR. Franklin Repository editor A. NEVIN POMEROY and his wife BELLE MCCLELLAN-POMEROY employed my black relative. 3) Innkeeper JOHN MILLER, of the White Swan Hotel, was said to have purchased the freedom of "Aunt Hannah." My ancestors Uriah and Hannah Wise lived near and Hannah worked for the Miller family. Our family surnames in Virginia and Pennsylvania include: STRANGE, BERRY, WISE.


18 Dec 2002 :: 14 Nov 2008
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