I did not post Siebert's list of photos of Underground Railroad workers. It appears that many of these photos are in Siebert's book MYSTERIES OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD. Most of the white people shown in these photo were prominant in their communites,such as ministers, judges, farmers and merchants. In short people with money.

We must face the sad fact that photography was expensive during the Underground Railroad period, and most blacks simply did not have money to have their photographs taken. Besides there was the security factor. Blacks had to be super secretive because they could not afford to defend themsleves if they were prosecuted under the Fugitive Slave Laws.

In 1804 Ohio enaced a law that required "free" blacks who desired to settle in Ohio had to post a bond of $500.00 to ensure that they would not become a liability to the Township where the settled. There were also provisions that prohibited black people from voting and testifying in court. The provisions in the law requiring the bond was repealed in 1849.

While I have found no evidence of any black resident having posted a bond, it is a well documented fact that most "free" blacks were extremely poor. $500 dollars was a small fortune during the period 1804 though 1849. This law kept "free" blacks from settling in Ohio at the same rate as white settlers.

Reviewing the oral history of my family groups, some of whom were in Ohio as early as 1800, I am convinced that nearly every black person in Ohio when the Underground Railroad was active, participated in helping their fugitive slave brothers and sisters escape when the opportunity presented itself.

I have documented evidence of slaves who lived near the Ohio River in Wood County,(West) Virginia, helped fugitive slaves escape across the Ohio River and directed them to Underground Railroad Stations on the Ohio side of the river. Free blacks living in Marietta, Ohio also helped fugitive slaves by hiding them and also guiding them along trails to Underground Railroad stations further north.

The good news is that nearly every black person in Ohio during the Underground Railroad period was active on the Underground Railroad. A few years ago, my late friend Al Adams made a list of the black Underground Railroad workers listed in Siebert's book. I have the list and am willing to share it.