John Parker Describes the Challenges of Running Away (with text supports)
John Parker was born in Virginia in 1827, and was the son of a wealthy white man and an enslaved woman. He spent the first 18 years of his life as a slave and earned a reputation as a troublemaker for regularly trying to escape. In 1845, he purchased his freedom and a few years later settled in Ripley, Ohio. Located along the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, Ripley was home to an abolitionist community who helped slaves escape on the Underground Railroad. By his own count, Parker helped over 400 slaves to freedom. This description comes from John Parker's autobiography, which the journalist Frank Moody Gregg transcribed in the 1880s.
Creator | John P. Parker
Item Type | Biography/Autobiography
Cite This document | John P. Parker, “John Parker Describes the Challenges of Running Away (with text supports),” SHEC: Resources for Teachers, accessed June 12, 2021, https://shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/2009.