The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer, Sunday, Aug 8, 1926
PROTECTION OF SLAVES IS RECALLED
BY DEATH OF WOMAN, 99, WHO AIDED THEIR ESCAPE
LINK IN FAMOUS "UNDERGROUND RAILWAY" WAS OPERATED BY MRS. M. B. COFFIN
One of the last persons who had actual contact with the operation of the famed "underground railroad" of slavery days, Mrs. Meeky B. Coffin, died at the Methodist Home for the Aged in College Hill yesterday at the age of approximately 99 years. She was in full possession of her faculties.
Relatives and friends of the aged woman, who was the daughter-in-law of Levi Coffin, upon whose head a price of $50,000 had been placed by Southern slaveholders because of his activities in protecting slaves in their dash for the Canadian border, said yesterday that she was sensitive about her age, and that, while she admitted 94 years, her age was nearer the century mark.
Mrs. Coffin was a large woman, weighing nearly 200 pounds, despite her advanced age. A special coffin has been made and she will be buried in the Quaker section of Spring Grove Cemetery, probably Wednesday. Definite funeral arrangements have not been completed, pending the arrival of her only son, Levi, who lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. He left that place Saturday night and is expected to arrive in Cincinnati Wednesday morning.
Slaves making a getaway from their masters in the south often came to her home in Avondale. There, with the aid of relatives and whose friendly to the ideals of the black man in loosing himself from his masters, she dressed their wounds and hid them until an opportune time arrived when they could be taken to another station north of this city.
One slave that Mrs. Coffin remembered distinctly--and she was fond of telling of her experiences and contacts with this slave--was Eliza Harris, made famous by the story of "UncleTom's Cabin." Her father-in-law, Levi Coffin, had brought the slave from Ripley, Ohio, and she crossed the river, with her child to her breast, on floating cakes of ice.
The author of this story, Harriet Beecher Stowe, received much of her material form Mr. Coffin, who lived near the home of Mrs. Stowe. A book which Mr. Coffin wrote later is filled with interesting reminiscences.
Mrs. Coffin was a woman with regular habits, according to her relatives. She never missed a meal and always got ample sleep. She never was given to loquaciousness, and consequently many of the interesting experiences in her life are known only to her family, and perhaps, a coterie of close friends. She is described as a woman who weighed her thoughts carefully before making any statement.
Mrs. Coffin lived on Wehrman avenue until two years ago, when she was placed in the Methodist Home for the Aged. Her husband died in 1899. Her home on Wehrman avenue was known as one of the stations of the "Underground Railroad."
At intervals Mrs. Coffin told how the "underground railroad" came to be known as such. She said slave owners in pursuit of slaves, had stopped at New Richmond, Ohio, and in a discussion over the apparent disappearance of the slaves, asserted there probably was an "underground railroad" that took them to the Canadian border.
This was passed around in Cincinnati and soon the method of transporting slaves northward became known as the "underground railroad."
PROTECTION OF SLAVES IS RECALLED
BY DEATH OF WOMAN, 99, WHO AIDED THEIR ESCAPE
LINK IN FAMOUS "UNDERGROUND RAILWAY" WAS OPERATED BY MRS. M. B. COFFIN
One of the last persons who had actual contact with the operation of the famed "underground railroad" of slavery days, Mrs. Meeky B. Coffin, died at the Methodist Home for the Aged in College Hill yesterday at the age of approximately 99 years. She was in full possession of her faculties.
Relatives and friends of the aged woman, who was the daughter-in-law of Levi Coffin, upon whose head a price of $50,000 had been placed by Southern slaveholders because of his activities in protecting slaves in their dash for the Canadian border, said yesterday that she was sensitive about her age, and that, while she admitted 94 years, her age was nearer the century mark.
Mrs. Coffin was a large woman, weighing nearly 200 pounds, despite her advanced age. A special coffin has been made and she will be buried in the Quaker section of Spring Grove Cemetery, probably Wednesday. Definite funeral arrangements have not been completed, pending the arrival of her only son, Levi, who lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. He left that place Saturday night and is expected to arrive in Cincinnati Wednesday morning.
Slaves making a getaway from their masters in the south often came to her home in Avondale. There, with the aid of relatives and whose friendly to the ideals of the black man in loosing himself from his masters, she dressed their wounds and hid them until an opportune time arrived when they could be taken to another station north of this city.
One slave that Mrs. Coffin remembered distinctly--and she was fond of telling of her experiences and contacts with this slave--was Eliza Harris, made famous by the story of "UncleTom's Cabin." Her father-in-law, Levi Coffin, had brought the slave from Ripley, Ohio, and she crossed the river, with her child to her breast, on floating cakes of ice.
The author of this story, Harriet Beecher Stowe, received much of her material form Mr. Coffin, who lived near the home of Mrs. Stowe. A book which Mr. Coffin wrote later is filled with interesting reminiscences.
Mrs. Coffin was a woman with regular habits, according to her relatives. She never missed a meal and always got ample sleep. She never was given to loquaciousness, and consequently many of the interesting experiences in her life are known only to her family, and perhaps, a coterie of close friends. She is described as a woman who weighed her thoughts carefully before making any statement.
Mrs. Coffin lived on Wehrman avenue until two years ago, when she was placed in the Methodist Home for the Aged. Her husband died in 1899. Her home on Wehrman avenue was known as one of the stations of the "Underground Railroad."
At intervals Mrs. Coffin told how the "underground railroad" came to be known as such. She said slave owners in pursuit of slaves, had stopped at New Richmond, Ohio, and in a discussion over the apparent disappearance of the slaves, asserted there probably was an "underground railroad" that took them to the Canadian border.
This was passed around in Cincinnati and soon the method of transporting slaves northward became known as the "underground railroad."
The Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer, Sunday, Aug 8, 1926
PROTECTION OF SLAVES IS RECALLED
BY DEATH OF WOMAN, 99, WHO AIDED THEIR ESCAPE
LINK IN FAMOUS "UNDERGROUND RAILWAY" WAS OPERATED BY MRS. M. B. COFFIN
One of the last persons who had actual contact with the operation of the famed "underground railroad" of slavery days, Mrs. Meeky B. Coffin, died at the Methodist Home for the Aged in College Hill yesterday at the age of approximately 99 years. She was in full possession of her faculties.
Relatives and friends of the aged woman, who was the daughter-in-law of Levi Coffin, upon whose head a price of $50,000 had been placed by Southern slaveholders because of his activities in protecting slaves in their dash for the Canadian border, said yesterday that she was sensitive about her age, and that, while she admitted 94 years, her age was nearer the century mark.
Mrs. Coffin was a large woman, weighing nearly 200 pounds, despite her advanced age. A special coffin has been made and she will be buried in the Quaker section of Spring Grove Cemetery, probably Wednesday. Definite funeral arrangements have not been completed, pending the arrival of her only son, Levi, who lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. He left that place Saturday night and is expected to arrive in Cincinnati Wednesday morning.
Slaves making a getaway from their masters in the south often came to her home in Avondale. There, with the aid of relatives and whose friendly to the ideals of the black man in loosing himself from his masters, she dressed their wounds and hid them until an opportune time arrived when they could be taken to another station north of this city.
One slave that Mrs. Coffin remembered distinctly--and she was fond of telling of her experiences and contacts with this slave--was Eliza Harris, made famous by the story of "UncleTom's Cabin." Her father-in-law, Levi Coffin, had brought the slave from Ripley, Ohio, and she crossed the river, with her child to her breast, on floating cakes of ice.
The author of this story, Harriet Beecher Stowe, received much of her material form Mr. Coffin, who lived near the home of Mrs. Stowe. A book which Mr. Coffin wrote later is filled with interesting reminiscences.
Mrs. Coffin was a woman with regular habits, according to her relatives. She never missed a meal and always got ample sleep. She never was given to loquaciousness, and consequently many of the interesting experiences in her life are known only to her family, and perhaps, a coterie of close friends. She is described as a woman who weighed her thoughts carefully before making any statement.
Mrs. Coffin lived on Wehrman avenue until two years ago, when she was placed in the Methodist Home for the Aged. Her husband died in 1899. Her home on Wehrman avenue was known as one of the stations of the "Underground Railroad."
At intervals Mrs. Coffin told how the "underground railroad" came to be known as such. She said slave owners in pursuit of slaves, had stopped at New Richmond, Ohio, and in a discussion over the apparent disappearance of the slaves, asserted there probably was an "underground railroad" that took them to the Canadian border.
This was passed around in Cincinnati and soon the method of transporting slaves northward became known as the "underground railroad."
PROTECTION OF SLAVES IS RECALLED
BY DEATH OF WOMAN, 99, WHO AIDED THEIR ESCAPE
LINK IN FAMOUS "UNDERGROUND RAILWAY" WAS OPERATED BY MRS. M. B. COFFIN
One of the last persons who had actual contact with the operation of the famed "underground railroad" of slavery days, Mrs. Meeky B. Coffin, died at the Methodist Home for the Aged in College Hill yesterday at the age of approximately 99 years. She was in full possession of her faculties.
Relatives and friends of the aged woman, who was the daughter-in-law of Levi Coffin, upon whose head a price of $50,000 had been placed by Southern slaveholders because of his activities in protecting slaves in their dash for the Canadian border, said yesterday that she was sensitive about her age, and that, while she admitted 94 years, her age was nearer the century mark.
Mrs. Coffin was a large woman, weighing nearly 200 pounds, despite her advanced age. A special coffin has been made and she will be buried in the Quaker section of Spring Grove Cemetery, probably Wednesday. Definite funeral arrangements have not been completed, pending the arrival of her only son, Levi, who lived in Salt Lake City, Utah. He left that place Saturday night and is expected to arrive in Cincinnati Wednesday morning.
Slaves making a getaway from their masters in the south often came to her home in Avondale. There, with the aid of relatives and whose friendly to the ideals of the black man in loosing himself from his masters, she dressed their wounds and hid them until an opportune time arrived when they could be taken to another station north of this city.
One slave that Mrs. Coffin remembered distinctly--and she was fond of telling of her experiences and contacts with this slave--was Eliza Harris, made famous by the story of "UncleTom's Cabin." Her father-in-law, Levi Coffin, had brought the slave from Ripley, Ohio, and she crossed the river, with her child to her breast, on floating cakes of ice.
The author of this story, Harriet Beecher Stowe, received much of her material form Mr. Coffin, who lived near the home of Mrs. Stowe. A book which Mr. Coffin wrote later is filled with interesting reminiscences.
Mrs. Coffin was a woman with regular habits, according to her relatives. She never missed a meal and always got ample sleep. She never was given to loquaciousness, and consequently many of the interesting experiences in her life are known only to her family, and perhaps, a coterie of close friends. She is described as a woman who weighed her thoughts carefully before making any statement.
Mrs. Coffin lived on Wehrman avenue until two years ago, when she was placed in the Methodist Home for the Aged. Her husband died in 1899. Her home on Wehrman avenue was known as one of the stations of the "Underground Railroad."
At intervals Mrs. Coffin told how the "underground railroad" came to be known as such. She said slave owners in pursuit of slaves, had stopped at New Richmond, Ohio, and in a discussion over the apparent disappearance of the slaves, asserted there probably was an "underground railroad" that took them to the Canadian border.
This was passed around in Cincinnati and soon the method of transporting slaves northward became known as the "underground railroad."
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
