Ellen and william craft, fugitive slaves and abolitionists ellen craft 18261891 and william craft september 25, 1824 january 29, 1900 1 were slaves from macon, georgia, in the united states, who escaped to the north in december 1848 by traveling openly by train and steamboat, arriving in philadelphia on christmas day. Or, the escape of william and ellen craft from slavery william craft, ellen craft mnemosyne publishing company, 1860 history 111 pages. Ellen craft died in 1897 and was buried on their plantation. Because of this, she was very lightskinnedto the point that she was often mistaken for being. One of the most compelling of the many slave narratives published before the american civil war, their book reached wide audiences in great britain and the united states.
Running a thousand miles for freedom by william and ellen. Running a thousand miles for freedom by william craft, ellen. Ellen looked white and was able to dress as a southern slaveholder in trousers, top hat, and short hair to avoid detection by slavecatchers. Ellen was born in 1826 in clinton, ga, to a biracial slave woman and her whiteamerican master, and was so lightskinned that she was often mistaken for a member of her fathers family. William 18241900 and ellen craft 18261891 were born into slavery in georgia. Chester fontenot, director of africana studies at mercer university, talked about the book, running a thousand miles for freedom, the story of william and ellen craft, who escaped slavery in macon. She is the author of love, liberation, and escaping slavery. William and ellen craft devised a daring plan in which the lightskinned wife disguised herself as a man and the husband posed as her servant. The book was dropped from the syllabus, but i am glad i read it anyway. Stay connected to your students with prezi video, now in microsoft teams. Alloy entertainment and alloy features are moving to produce running a thousand miles for freedom, a feature film based on the book by william and ellen craft first published in. Their daring escape was widely publicized, making them among the most famous of. Quotes taken from williams book running a thousand miles for freedom.
Hughes filed this complaint against ellen craft, and another against william craft, on behalf of their former owners in macon, georgia. The granger collection, new york ellen craft was the. William and ellen craft, running a thousand miles for freedom. Their book, running a thousand miles for freedom, recounts their adventures, and shows how in her disguise, she had to cross three social barriers. Because she couldnt read or write, ellen ellen and william craft escaped slavery in georgia during the christmas holiday of 1848. Running a thousand miles for freedom, or, the escape of william and ellen craft from slavery. Recounts how ellen craft and her husband, william, escaped from. William was born on september 25, 1824, in macon, georgia, and ellen was born in 1826 in clinton, georgia. Eventually, william and ellen craft moved to england to avoid bounty hunters who sought to profit by recapturing the pair under the fugitive slave act in 1850. Recounts how ellen craft and her husband, william, escaped from slavery disguised as mr. Materials relating to william and ellen craft include photographs, correspondence, and a tribute book collectively containing images, letters, and notes of family and friends, including wellknown abolitionists and other historical figures. An excerpt from running a thousand miles for freedom or.
This compelling 1860 narrative recounts a remarkable escape. Ellen, the daughter of an africanamerican woman and a white master, passed as a white gentleman accompanied by a slave valet, william. William craft says of the classic slavery memoir, running a thousand miles for freedomor, the escape of william and ellen craft from slavery, this book is not intended as a full history of the life of my wife, nor of myself. Barbara mccaskill, love, liberation, and escaping slavery. The william and ellen craft story thomas jeffersons monticello. She passed as a white male planter and he as her personal servant. The brave escape of ellen and william craft by donald b. Ellen and william craft, slaves who escaped to freedom. Ellen and william crafts remarkable story is inspiring on many levels, and tells a story. The great escape from slavery of ellen and william craft. William and ellen crafts selfliberation is one of the most remarkable escapes ever recorded in a historic slave narrative. Told with all the suspense of the best adventure fiction, this powerful book is the true story of ellen and william craft, a husband and wife who escaped from slavery in georgia in 1848.
William and ellen craft s selfliberation is one of the most remarkable escapes ever recorded in a historic slave narrative. The escape of william and ellen craft from slavery. Their maternal ancestors were the fossetts of monticello. William craft and ellen craft, author info, published books. Lightskinned ellen craft disguised herself as a man while her husband, william, posed as her servant. Ellen craft, the slave who posed as a master and made. Running a thousand miles for freedom by william craft. With fairskinned ellen in the guise of a white male planter and william posing as her servant, the crafts traveled by rail and shipin plain sight and relative luxuryfrom bondage in macon, georgia, to freedom first in philadelphia, then boston, and ultimately england. The pair successfully traveled from georgia to philadelphia and later settled in boston. Around 1890, ellen went to live with her daughter, whose husband, william demos crum, would later be a minister to liberia.
William craft 1824 1900 and ellen craft 1826 1891 were slaves from macon, georgia in the united states who escaped to the north in december 1848 by traveling openly by train and steamboat, arriving in philadelphia on christmas day. Feb 28, 2020 eventually, william and ellen craft moved to england to avoid bounty hunters who sought to profit by recapturing the pair under the fugitive slave act in 1850. Their book reached wide audiences in great britain and the united states and it represents one of the most compelling of the many slave narratives published before the. Macon running a thousand miles for freedom duration.
Ellen craft is based on true events of a halfwhite, halfblack womans harrowing escape from slavery disguised as a white man traveling with his slave who was actually her dark skinned husband william. A few days before christmas, 1848, a man named william craft gave his wife ellen a haircutin fact, he cut it to the nape of her neck, far shorter than any other woman in macon, georgia, where. Her mother was a slave named maria and her father was their owner, colonel james smith. Ellen was the daughter of a white slaveholding father and slave mother. Nov 30, 2016 william and ellen craft were born into slavery. This brief memoir this is a very interesting true tale of a couple who escaped slavery. The daring disguise that helped one enslaved couple escape to. In 1860 they published a written account, running a thousand miles for freedom. The more you learn about it, the more incredible the story becomes.
The william and ellen craft story thomas jeffersons. Running a thousand miles for freedom, or, the escape of. Ellen craft, the slave who posed as a master and made herself. In case you are not familiar with this couple, william was a skilled tradesman whose entire family was separated by slavery. William craft was a skilled cabinetmaker and worked at a shop in georgia where he had apprenticed. Feb 15, 2019 their book, running a thousand miles for freedom, recounts their adventures, and shows how in her disguise, she had to cross three social barriers. She was the daughter of a biracial slave and her white master, major james smith, and was eventually given to the masters daughter to rid her from the household and her half siblings. Inventory of the craft and crum families, 1780 2007. Ellen and william craft were married slaves, but before they met, they came from different situations. Ellen craft is based on true events of a halfwhite, halfblack womans harrowing escape from slavery disguised as a white man traveling with his slave who. An excerpt from running a thousand miles for freedom or the escape of william and ellen craft from slavery by william craft, 1860. This brief memoir recounts their journey northward in 1848, when they made their way to philadelphia and later settled in boston, where they were active in abolitionist circles. William craft university of north carolina at chapel hill. Shepard memorial library, north carolina central university.
Ellen and william craft, the most daring slave escape in. Their book reached wide audiences in great britain and the united states and it represents one of the most compelling of the many slave narratives published before the american civil war. William and ellen craft displayed tremendous courage, faith, creativity, and desperation in their flight to freedom, and the book is well worth reading. The great escape from slavery of ellen and william craft passing as a white man traveling with his servant, two slaves fled their masters in a thrilling tale of deception and intrigue.
Johnson, a young white man with his arm in a sling, and his manservant. Running a thousand miles for freedom is a written account by ellen craft and william craft first published in 1860. The digital public library of america brings together the riches of americas libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. Additional formats may also be available from the main gutenberg site. This book tells the life story of husband and wife william and ellen craft, best known for their famous escape from slavery. William and ellen craft in cultural memory and provided the introduction for the uga presss edition of running a thousand miles for freedom. Having married as slaves in georgia, yet unwilling to raise a family in servitude, the couple came up with a plan to disguise the lightskinned ellen as a man, with. William and ellen crafts daring escape from slavery is a tale that could one day be retold by a major movie studio. Running a thousand miles for freedom or, the escape of william and ellen craft from slavery language.
A married slave couple who escaped the south in the most remarkable way, and ends quite happily. Apr 17, 2018 barbara mccaskill is a professor of english and codirector of the civil rights digital library at the university of georgia. They write in a florid style and love to moralize and include quotes to describe or validate their statements, all of which slows the story. With fairskinned ellen in the guise of a white male planter and william posing as her servant, the crafts traveled by rail and ship.
Barbara mccaskill is a professor of english and codirector of the civil rights digital library at the university of georgia. An excerpt from running a thousand miles for freedom or the. Their paternal ancestors were william and ellen craft, an enslaved couple from macon, georgia, who made a daring escape to freedom in 1848. The young couple disguised ellen, a lightskinned, halfwhite woman, as a white, male slave owner travelling with his slave. Mar 04, 2016 alloy entertainment and alloy features are moving to produce running a thousand miles for freedom, a feature film based on the book by william and ellen craft first published in 1860 that tells the. Ellen craft s race was classified as quadroon, referring to one quarter african descent and threequarters european ancestry. Ellen crafts race was classified as quadroon, referring to one quarter african descent and threequarters european ancestry. The daring disguise that helped one enslaved couple escape. Their story offers fascinating insights into issues of race, gender, and class in 19thcentury america. Running a thousand miles for freedom book by william craft.
Their book reached wide audiences in great britain and the united states and it represents one of the most compelling of the many slave narratives published before the american. Or, the escape of william and ellen craft from slavery. Nov 22, 2001 quotes taken from williams book running a thousand miles for freedom. William craft and ellen craft, author info, published. In 1848 william and ellen craft made one of the most daring and remarkable escapes in the history of slavery in america. William was a slave in macon, georgia who also worked on the side as a carpenter, though the majority of his wages were stolen by his slaveholder. Because she took after her father in appearance, she could pass for white. The escape of william and ellen craft from slavery athens. Sisters virginia craft rose and ellen craft dammond had remarkable ancestors on both sides of their family. The story of ellen and william craft is one of those stories. Featured author this first book by father and author, mark unger, was born from his burning desire to. The first and shortest part of the book is william crafts powerful account of how he and his wife ellen executed a daring escape from servitude in georgia. Craft, a fairskinned woman, posed as a white plantation owner while her husband posed as her servant during a risky journey from georgia to philadelphia in 1848.
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