[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 139 (Thursday, September 29, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
    COMMEMORATING THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE 
                          UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

  (Mr. WATT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WATT. Mr. Speaker, today, citizens in my district will 
commemorate the 175th anniversary of the establishment of the national 
Underground Railroad. While many people associate the Underground 
Railroad with the courageous efforts of Harriet Tubman, in actuality 
the Underground Railroad started in Greensboro, Guilford County, NC, in 
1819, 1 year before Harriet Tubman was born.
  Founded by Vestal Coffin, a member of the Society of Friends, this 
slave escape system made it possible, during more than 35 years of 
operation, for hundreds of thousands of African-Americans to flee from 
captivity and enslavement. This mysterious transportation system, a 
primitive system with many routes, was never discovered by the slave 
owners.
  According to ``White Water, Colored Water,'' a history of 
Greensboro's African-American community, the Underground Railroad began 
when Greensboro, founded in 1808, was a village only 11 years old.
  A slave named Sol assisted Vestal Coffin in preparing many slaves for 
their escape. By day, Sol sought out slaves who were interested in 
escaping or who had been free blacks, kidnaped and forced into slavery. 
He then fed this information to Coffin. In 1819, John Dimrey became the 
first passenger on the secret escape route traveling from Greensboro to 
Richmond, IN.
  As John Dimrey was traveling north from Greensboro on the Underground 
Railroad, another African-American man, Benjamin Benson, became the 
first slave to successfully go to a local court to obtain his freedom. 
This was in Greensboro, NC. Many will also remember that Greensboro 
later became the place of the first sit-in demonstrations which 
launched years of efforts which resulted in the opening of public 
accommodations to black people.
  The Quakers--as the members of the Society of Friends are called--
stood against the institution of slavery through the Manumission 
Society, also based in Greensboro. One of the Quakers, Levi Coffin--
cousin of the founder of the Underground Railroad and also a Greensboro 
native--became the president of the national Underground Railroad 
system.
  I ask all Americans to join me, Project Homestead and Greensboro city 
officials today in this special remembrance of Sol, Vestal Coffin, Levi 
Coffin, John Dimrey and others who originated the historic Underground 
Railroad.

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