Crum, William Demos, 1859-1912

Abstract William Craft (1824-1900) and Ellen Smith Craft (1826-1891) were slaves who met on a plantation in Macon, Georgia. Unwilling to raise children in slavery, in December 1848 they devised a plan to escape to Philadephia, Pennsylvania. Ellen dressed as an invalid male, her arm in a sling to avoid writing (neither William nor Ellen could read or write) and face in bandages to obscure her feminine voice and lack of facial hair. William accompanied her as a servant. They arrived in Philadelphia on...