 Guest Post by Kristine Schwartzman Like others who helped enslaved people on their journey for freedom, Nancy Kendall rarely knew what happened to the freedom seekers after they left her home. But she did hear from one woman she helped. She’d made it to safety. We often speak about the Emancipation Proclamation as a happy ending. But, for many freed people, the end of slavery was far from the storybook ending many imagine. An excerpt from the Library of Congress collection of recordings of former slaves, Voices Remembering Slavery: Freed People Tell Their Stories, Laura Smalley describes what happened: “We didn't know where to go. Mom and them didn't know where to go. You see, after freedom broke, they started just, like, to turn some of them out, you know? We didn't know where to go. They turned us out just like, you know, you turn out cattle (laughter), I'd say.” Smalley was a child in Texas when her parents and the rest of the enslaved were told they were free. It was not the “master” who told them. He’d kept their freedom a secret. She explains: “No, he didn't tell. They went there and turned them loose on the 19 of June. That's why, you know, we celebrate that day — colored folks celebrates that day — celebrates that day.”  Photo Courtesy Library of Congress Jim Downs' book, “Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering During the Civil War and Reconstruction” outlines how the war and its aftermath led to the largest biological crises of the 19th century. Hundreds of thousands of freed people died. While the Emancipation Proclamation served as the catalyst for freeing people, no programs or services were offered to help them in the immediate aftermath. Some continued to work on plantations, some fled to lives of uncertainty, some starved to death, and many died of disease. The government finally established the Freedmen’s Bureau, which provided medical care, food, and other supplies to those in the South who needed help. Out of the chaos came demonstrations by the freed people themselves. Demanding civil rights, the vote, education, reunions with family, and opportunities for economic health, former slaves became advocates to improve their lives. It’s a battle still being fought today.
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 Both of Nancy Kendall’s parents died of illness shortly after moving to Iowa. They left six children behind. Nancy, the oldest, was scarcely 17 years old. It is a story we often read about in historical writings and diaries of those days long ago. Life was brutal. Scores of disease events, both bacterial and viral, have been around from the beginning. Each scourge, epidemic and pandemic is unique. Leprosy, the Black Plague, TB, polio, small pox, typhoid and thousands of other afflictions decimated populations. Our native people, immigrants from other countries, indigenous people around the world suffered, and entire cultures were sometimes wiped out.  Depiction of Aztec victims of a 16th century epidemic Most of us experienced the ravages of disease in our own lifetimes. For me, the polio epidemic, and then later HIV, were the most frightening because they were so puzzling. Many of us felt we would never gain control of our world again. A pandemic is the place we never want to reach. “We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918” is a film that describes what living through that deadly epidemic was like and its effects on the world. The "Bells" in the title refers to church bells that chimed when victims died. The sound was a terrifying reminder for the living. Each time I watch my heart swells as I listen to the interviews. The 1918 influenza was a mystery to doctors of the time. It hit young people the hardest. No one knew where it came from. As many as 100 million people died in two years. Why so deadly? Drs. Anthony Fauci and Johan Hultin are among the experts interviewed in the film. Dr. Hultin was so intent on finding out what made the 1918 virus lethal that he traveled to Alaska in the 1950s and again in the 1990s, to retrieve preserved tissue from flu victims buried in the tundra. Dr. Hultin made discovering what made this virus so deadly the focus of his life's work. His 1951 expedition to Alaska where he gained permission from Native elders, resulted in virus tissues, but Hultin was unable to replicate the virus back in the lab. In 1997, at 72 years old, retired and living in San Francisco, Hultin happened upon an article in the journal Science that drew his mind back to the 1918 flu once more. Molecular pathologist, Jeffery Taubenberger and his colleagues had managed to isolate virus specimens from two young 1918 flu victims. But, the sample size was small. He needed more. Dr. Hultin wrote Taubenberger immediately. Hultin found himself back at the same Alaska village he traveled to many years before. Again with Native elder permission, he retrieved preserved virus samples that in time led to its origin as well as a vaccine to prevent an outbreak from occurring again. I highly recommend "We Heard the Bells: The Influenza of 1918." It offers insight into the situation in which we now find ourselves. Learn more about Hultin's expeditions and Taubenberger's research in this fascinating article from the Anchorage Daily News, "How an Alaska village grave led to a Spanish flu breakthrough." Also, available for streaming is the PBS American Experience episode "Influenza 1918." The lessons learned from the deadly 1918 influenza outbreak and the preserved samples have given scientists tools and insight into the fight against COVID-19.  Dr. Hultin in 1997 at Alaskan dig site where so many died of the 1918 flu; they were buried in a mass grave. Photo courtesy of Johan Hultin "It is absolutely certain another pandemic will come, but we don’t know what form it will be. The question is, How can we be forewarned?" — Johan Hultin, February 2002
As a non-scientist, I only have stories to tell. The virologists are some of the real heroes here. And so far on the road of existence, we have been able to cope with scourges in the end. Even now, we see light in the distance because of the tireless efforts of the Biden administration.  Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman The recently released film, Harriet, about the life of Harriet Tubman, was beautifully done and certainly worthy of the awards it received. Harriet Tubman's life is probably our richest source of information about the details of the flights of enslaved persons. Even in her own time, she was known for her remarkable work and bravery. As the film tells the story, Harriet's first flight to freedom, done partially with help from the pastor of her home church, she did alone. At a time when most slaves either escaped in small groups or were young men fleeing alone, Harriet did not let her gender keep her from freedom. It seems almost unbelievable that she went back so many times to help others escape. It was such a perilous undertaking. I am amazed this remarkable woman survived.  The movie does help us understand some little known ways and methods used to aid fugitives. Early in the film, Harriet decided to return for her husband and children and is told that she might get help from men who made the journey back and forth on boats, helping people where they could. It was with their help that she reconnected with her husband. I will not be a spoiler. You will have to watch to learn what happens next.
Harriet, who had been known as Araminta Ross when a slave on the plantation, had actually grown up, as many did, along with their white master’s children. Some of those relationships over those years, were deep and true, despite the differences in stations. Harriet Tubman, called the Moses of her people, never learned to read. But, some slaves did because of the close relationships that developed with the children in the household. Nancy Kendall speaks of one such young woman. The 25-year-old woman arrived at the Kendall home one night exhausted and cold. Nancy asked her why she was being so heavily pursued. The woman explained she had been a house "girl" for a family with two young daughters. The girls thought highly of her and taught her to read. When their father found out his house "girl" could read, he made plans to sell her for $1000. Apparently the ability to read added to her "value." The two young daughters, who were 16 and 18 at the time, warned their friend of what was about to happen, and she fled. Nancy Kendall writes, "When I See the Intellect that Girl Seemed to have it Was too bad and unjust for any one to Say they are not Capable of learning an Couldent manage business."* Nancy asked the young woman if she would write to her from Canada to let her know she was safe. "About a Month After She Was here I got a letter from her," Nancy writes.* Cynthia Erivo plays Harriet Tubman in the film. As with most life stories on the big screen, the timeline of events and a few of the side stories are not completely accurate. But film has a wonderful way of making us feel part of something bigger. And, making us want to know more. * Spellings and wording as transcribed from Nancy Kendall's journal.  Harriet Beecher Stowe Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin Nancy was 20 and Andrew 30 when they married. It was a busy time. Children came along and the family went about their daily lives. The surviving diaries of most pioneer women of the time were simply records of facts. The women talked about daily chores, the weather and occasional visits from neighbors or family. There was often a sense that storms would come. But, feelings and emotions were rarely recorded. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a woman of her time. Not only was she a member of a family of activists involved in anti-slavery work in areas in the eastern part of the country, but she also raised her large family of children and carried out household duties. Still, she found time to write a syndicated column for a newspaper which became the book "Uncle Tom’s Cabin." Nancy Kendall, as a young mother and wife, was also responsible for raising children and maintaining a household. But, she made time to welcome the wagons carrying fleeing slaves and provide them with food and shelter. It had to be an extremely trying time for both of these young women. Yet they were committed.  In her journal, Nancy mentions that along with attending to the needs of those who stopped, she felt the need to “entertain” the people who came to them. She says, "We wouldent expect them. Wake us up. I would have to Entertain them till they would get the team ready. Never had many at a time. Had family of 7 once, parents and 5 children. Other times 3 and 2 and one... Had quite little talk with them some times."*
Nancy's journal describes many of those who came to them as terribly frightened. It was a terrifying experience to live in a state of fear and an unknown future. She describes one group who lay nearly motionless, not making a sound all night to avoid capture. The South had 4 million enslaved persons in the years before the Civil War. Of that number, experts believe approximately 100,000 used the Underground Railroad system on the perilous flight to freedom. *Punctuation added for readability. Spellings and wording transcribed as written in Nancy Kendall's journal. As 17-year-old Nancy and her family made their way from Kentucky to Iowa, the Underground Railroad movement was active. It was, as we know, a politically charged time for the nation and would lead us into one of the most devastating and bloody wars we, as a country, would ever face. Abolitionists were involved in a dangerous business, of course, since owning slaves was still legal, and running them down as rightful property was expected. Although we generally think of the Underground Railroad as a series of specific routes, according to The Atlantic writer Adam Goodheart in his March 2015 article, "The Secret History of the Underground Railroad: Eric Foner explores how it really worked,” that wasn't the case. Goodheart explains "Yet its tracks ran not just through twisting tunnels but also on sunlit straightaways. Its routes and timetables constantly shifted."  National Park Service Map of Known Underground Railroad Routes The National Park Service map pictured above is of known Underground Railroad routes. The Park Service updates the map as more routes are discovered. See a larger image in the Gallery. New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones, a descendant of slaves, in a recent interview with NPR’s Terri Gross, talked about the discovery that some of her ancestors settled in Iowa. But, Iowa was not the westernmost edge of the many routes to freedom. Little has been written about Clarina Nichols' contribution to the Railroad and civil rights in the Kansas Territory. We’ll talk more about Clarina Nichols in future posts. However, western Underground Railroad treks went as far as and around the Pacific coast.  Covered Wagon & Oxen The 1842 trip from Kentucky to the "New Terrytory of Iowa"* took Nancy’s family about four weeks. They were as well- equipped as emigrants could be at that time. They had two large wagons filled with household goods, beds, bedding and other necessities.
They were fitted with a yoke of oxen, driven by a hired man. Nancy and her father drove the second wagon. Nancy’s younger brothers rode alongside on horseback. They pitched tents at night, traveled six days a week and rested on the Sabbath. Read More...  Nancy Kendall - Larger image in Gallery Nancy Jones Kendall was about 17 years old when her father decided to flee Kentucky. At the time, of course, helping slaves escape was against the law. The enslaved were considered property. As an abolitionist, Nancy's father published anti-slavery articles and felt increasingly threatened in Kentucky because of his views. The family settled in Washington, Iowa, in 1840. The time between 1840 and 1863 was feverishly desperate for enslaved peoples. Nancy's father, Edward Jones, was one of many who worked to help them to freedom. For many years, there was not an abundance of written documentation of the details of these desperate, terrified people. Many of the first accounts came from Quakers, who were heavily involved. Some recognizable names, such as the Beecher family were active. When Abraham Lincoln first met Harriet Beecher Stowe, so the story goes, he looked down at her small form from his great height and said, "So, you're the little woman who wrote the book that started the big war." He referred, of course, to Harriet Beecher Stowe's groundbreaking story, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Flawed as it was, the book became influential in the abolitionist movement. Harriet Beecher Stowe was not only a housewife but also a mother of six. Her work appeared as a series that ran in the abolitionist newspaper, The National Era. The series became so popular; the paper published it in book form in 1852. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" quickly became a bestseller. Other famous names, such as Frederick Douglass, Cotton Mather, and, of course, Harriet Tubman are synonymous with the Underground Railroad and civil rights. But, we often don't know the stories of those like my great-great-grandmother and her husband, Andrew, who were only a small part of a wide-reaching, brave and dangerous effort to help enslaved people escape to the north.  Journal Page 1 - Larger image in Gallery Nancy Kendall wanted to write down a few words for my wonderful, gentle grandfather about her family's work. And because he gave this precious gift to me, I humbly offer her story. I hope you'll follow with me as we take the journey with Nancy Kendall from Kentucky to Iowa and the Underground Railroad.
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Nancy JeanNancy Jean is a woman of several lives and careers, including school teacher, homemaker, parent, amateur musician and writer. Read more... Archives
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