Previous image preload Next image preload
Back to catalog
Lot 235
image_0 image_1 image_2
Escaped Slave William Parker Led the 1851 Christiana Riot-Resistance in Pennsylvania, the First Test of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1851
Escaped Slave William Parker Led the 1851 Christiana Riot-Resistance in Pennsylvania, the First Test of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1851
image_0 image_1 image_2
Description:

Slavery

Escaped Slave William Parker Led the 1851 Christiana Riot-Resistance in Pennsylvania, the First Test of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1851 

Manuscript Document Signed “J Brice” as Justice of the Provincial Court of the Province of Maryland, “John Galloway / Attorney in fact for / John Taillor” (twice) and “Samuel Smith” and “Henry Hall” (thrice), 2p, 12” x 14”, front & verso. Scalloped at top edge. Partial separation at folds. Mouse eaten at folds affecting one pair of Smith and Hall signatures and about four words of text. On watermarked laid paper. Good condition.



Indenture of land sold by John Galloway as “Merchant Attorney in fact for John Taillor Mercht in London” to “William Brogden of Ann-Arundel County” for £425 sterling “all that Tract or Parcell of Land Called Rowdown Lying in Ann Arundel County…”



This is the deed by which Rowdown, a 1200 acre plantation about 12 miles southwest of Annapolis, was sold to William Brogden (1710-1770), who had served as rector of All Hallows’ Parish in Anne Arundel since 1735. At the time of the death of the preacher’ son, Major William Brogden (1741-1824), property inventories listed over 80 slaves. The 1825 inventory lists three children of Louisa. One was William Parker, born in 1822 on Rowdown.



Carl Schoettler in his article “Dignified Definance Against Slavery” in the May 19, 2001, edition of “The Baltimore Sun,” wrote about William Parker. In September 1851, in part, “Edward Gorsuch, a son of one of Maryland's oldest families, came north in search of four runaway slaves with a posse that included his son, a nephew and a U.S. marshal. William Parker, who was born and grew up on the Rowdown Plantation … led a self-defense team gathered to resist the owners and kidnappers of fugitive slaves … Parker took pride in the personal strength, determination and intelligence with which he grasped his freedom. He was a natural leader. ‘My rights as a free man were, under God, secured by my own right arm,’ he said.”



Maryland was a slave state. Pennsylvania was a free state when the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. Being immediately north of the Mason-Dixon line, Lancaster County was an important stop on the Underground Railway. William Parker owned a farm in the county, in Christiana, Pennsylvania. He had escaped from Rowdown in 1839 and was a member of the Lancaster Black Self-Protection Society, and was known to use violence to defend himself and the slaves who sought refuge in the area.



Schoettler continues, “Their confrontation left Gorsuch dead, Parker and his family fleeing toward Canada and the nation a long step closer to civil war. Their clash became known as the Christiana Riot, or more recently, the Christiana Resistance. ‘The Sun’ at the time called it ‘The Murderous Outrage in Pennsylvania.’



“Parker's personal account of the Christiana Riot-Resistance was published in the ‘Atlantic Monthly’ in February and March 1866 as ‘The Freedman's Story.’ The only eyewitness narrative…



“When Gorsuch arrived at the house where Parker was sheltering the fugitives, about two miles from Christiana, he declared: ‘My property I will have or I'll breakfast in hell.’ Parker … had long before vowed ‘to let no slaveholder take back a fugitive.’ In the first days after his escape to freedom a dozen years earlier, he said, ‘I formed a resolution that I would assist in liberating every one within my reach at the risk of my life.’…



“Gorsuch … had four warrants for his runaway slaves and U.S. Marshal Henry H. Kline to serve them. This was the first test of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which mandated stiff penalties for marshals who did not enforce the laws for seizure of fugitive slaves and for citizens who aided runaways…



“Gorsuch demanded his ‘property’; Parker refused him. In fact, it's unclear whether even one of the Gorsuch runaways was then at the Parker house. The two men parlayed and argued, discussed and quarreled, even quoting scripture to one another, until daybreak. The marshal threatened to burn the house down. ‘None but a coward would say the like,’ Parker recalled saying. ‘You can burn us but you can't take us; before I give up, you will see my ashes scattered on the earth.’ His wife, Eliza Ann Elizabeth Howard Parker, sounded the horn that alerted the mutual protection society. Gunfire broke out. Gorsuch was grazed by a bullet…



“After a brief truce, during which perhaps as many as 50 African-Americans and several white men joined the fray, total chaos ensued. Edward Gorsuch was clubbed with a gun, then shot and perhaps finished off by women wielding sickles. His son, Dickinson, was severely wounded; his nephew, Joshua Gorsuch was also wounded. ‘The riot, so-called, was now entirely ended,’ Parker said. Only two of his defenders had been slightly wounded. He had, in fact, led one of the most successful resistance actions against slavery before the Civil War…



“News of the Christiana affair reverberated across the nation. Seen in retrospect, much of the reaction had a prophetic quality: ‘This is the first horrible tragedy under the Fugitive Slave Law,’ said the Cleveland True Democrat … ‘We fear it is the beginning of a series of riots which will end as it has begun, in blood.’ The Jacksonville Floridian and Journal asked, ‘Is such guilt to be tolerated? Are such assassinations to be repeated? If so the sword of Civil War is already unleashed.’ The Baltimore Clipper called for ‘prompt retributive justice upon the heads of the wretches who have instigated and committed the bloody deed.’…”



On August 27, 1911, “The New York Times” published a full page illustrated article headlined “Monument Will Mark the Spot of Christiana Riot / Sixtieth Anniversary of What Some Consider the Beginning of the Civil War to be Commemorated With Special Ceremonies in the Little Town in Pennsylvania.”

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!
Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. ***PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR SHIPMENT TO BE SENT TO AN ADDRESS OTHER THAN THE ONE YOU HAVE ON FILE WITH INVALUABLE, YOU WILL NEED TO INFORM US OF THIS AS SOON AS PAYMENT IS SUBMITTED FOR YOUR WINNINGS*** Shipping and handling costs are competitive as we maintain discounted contracts with FedEx. If you have any questions, contact University Archives prior to bidding. After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 5 business days following receipt of full payment for item. We currently ship via FedEx but if your purchase is shipping to a P.O. Box, we ship via USPS. All items are insured. We ship from our offices in Westport, CT. We may opt to use a third party shipper for very fragile, bulky or oversized items. Items requiring third party shipping will be denoted in the item description. Packages shipped internationally will have full value declared on shipping form. International buyers will be responsible for any customs fees incurred.

Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Westport, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000