helped one Harriet Benham in escape to freedom
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Questions for Students:

1. Were Jane and Thomas Leonard freedom seekers themselves?

2. Did they help other freedom seekers?

3. How important were they as leaders in the African American community?

I. Significance

A. Thomas Leonard was probably a freedom seeker himself, based on:

1. place of birth, as listed in the U.S. census. In 1850, Leonard reported his birthplace as New York; in 1855, Virginia; in 1860, N.Y.; and in 1865, Maryland.

2. his sister’s place of birth. As noted in the Syracuse Journal, May 1, 1877, his funeral was at the home of his sister “Mrs. Sidney,” at 226 E. Water Street. This was probably Martha Sidney, who listed her birthplace in the 1855 census as Canada .In 1855, two of Martha and William Sidney’s children (Helen and Sarah) lived with the Leonards. In the 1850s, William and Martha Sidney lived close to the Leonards, at 179 East Fayette Street.

3. the fact that Thomas Leonard apparently went to Canada right after the rescue of William “Jerry” Henry in 1851. He returned sometime before 1855. (Earl Sperry)

B. Leonard was a member of the Freedom Trail network, helping others escape, including Harriet Powell (1839). He and Jane probably also offered their home as a safe house to freedom seekers. In 1865, his household included African American boarders who listed their birthplaces as Canada, South Carolina, and Virginia. They lived on the south side of the Erie Canal, in the center of the Eighth Ward, where many freedom seekers, like Tom Leonard himself, settled and purchased property.

C. Jane and Thomas Leonard were part of the stable core of the African American community in Syracuse. They came to Onondaga County about 1830, just after the end of slavery in New York State, and they worked and lived here until they died. Thomas Leonard worked variously as a waiter, cartman, boatman, and laborer. Jane Leonard worked as a cook at the Exchange Hotel and probably elsewhere. She may also have been a member of the AME Zion Church.