Books Dealing with the Underground Railroad available from the Kennett Underground Railroad Center.
To order copies, contact KURC through email info@kennettundergroundrr.org.
Smedley, R. C
The History of the Underground Railroad in Chester & Neighboring Counties 1883; 2005
Stackpole Books has republished this work
Accounts of persons and UGRR activities gathered in the 1870s, less than a generation after the UGRR was intensely active in SE PA. This is probably the most important work on the UGRR for this area
Douglass, Frederick
The Narrative of Frederick Douglass 1845; 1995 Dover Press reprint
One of the most influential slave autobiographies by the man who might be considered the most important African-American of the 19th C.
Douglass, Frederick
On Slavery and the Civil War 2003 Dover
A selection of his writings
Dugan, M.L. & Ella J. Sestrich
East Linden Street: Abolition, Industry, & Diversity in Kennett Square, PA 2008 KURC
A brief work on a Kennett Square street that has been integrated for over 160 years, with emphasis on its abolitionist background.
Taylor, Frances C.
The Trackless Trail Leads On 1995 Privately published
Very readable pamphlet of DE/Chester County UGRR, based largely on Smedley.
Truth, Sojourner
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth 1850; 1997 Dover Press reprint
1st-hand account of the life of former slave, one of the most important abolitionists and speakers for progressive reform in the 19th C.
For Younger Readers
Angeli, Margaret
Thee, Hannah 1940
Illustrated book w poems about UGRR activity among 19th C Quakers For young readers.
Guccione, Leslie Davis
Come Morning 1995 Carolrhoda Books
Fictional story of young people helping out with UGRR activity in the vicinity of what is now Hagley Museum
Rossi, Ann
Freedom Struggle: the Anti-Slavery Movement in America, 1830-1865 2005 National Geographic
Slender but useful introduction to the issue.
Taylor, M.W.
Harriet Tubman, Antislavery Activist 1990
Account of the extraordinary life of the UGRR’s most famous conductor.
Winter, Jeanette
Follow the Drinking Gourd 1992 Dragonfly Books
Illustrated book with poems about UGRR activity. For young readers.
Recommended Works Concerning Slavery and the Underground Railroad in the Kennett Area
Blockson, Charles
The Underground Railroad 1987 Prentice Hall
A collection of first-hand stories of escapes from slavery, including one of Blockson’s forebears.
Clinton, Catherine
Harriet Tubman: the Road to Freedom 2004 Little, Brown
Serious, scholarly biography of Harriet Tubman
Diggins, Milt
Stealing Freedom Along the Mason-Dixon Line: 2015 Johns Hopkins U. Press
Concerning “Thomas McCreary, the Notorious Slave Catcher from Baltimore MD”
Drake, Thomas
Quakers and Slavery in America 1950 Yale U. Press
Scholarly examination of the evolution of anti-slavery beliefs among Quakers.
Gara, Larry
The Liberty Line 1961; 1996 University of Kentucky Press
An attempt to separate UGRR myth from verifiable facts; available as e-book from Kindle
Gooch, Cheryl (ed)
On Africa’s Lands 2014 Lincoln University Press
“The forgotten stories of two Lincoln-educated missionaries in Liberia.”
Griest, Ellwood
John and Mary; or the Fugitive Slaves, A Tale of South-Eastern Pennsylvania 1873
Lancaster Inquirer; reprinted electronically by UNC-Chapel Hill
A fictional tale, written shortly after the Civil War, of freedom-seekers and those who helped them in this region. Available online without charge.
Jacobs, Norma (ed)
Quaker Roots: the Story of the Western Quarterly Meeting of Philadelphia Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends 1980 Western Quarterly Meeting
Selections dealing with the meeting houses of SE PA and MD, many of which were involved in the UGRR. Available at London Grove Meeting--$5.00
Jackson, Maurice
Let This Voice Be Heard: Anthony Benezet, Father of Atlantic Abolitionism 2009 U. Penn Press
1st great publicist of ant-slavery writing in America, in 18th C. Philadelphia.
Kashatus, William
Just Over the Line: Chester County and the UGRR 2002 Chester County Historical Society
Examination of the UGRR in early-mid 19th C in northern Delaware and Chester County
Katz, Jonathan
Resistance at Christiana: the Fugitive Slave Rebellion 1974 Cromwell
The story of the small battle that occurred in nearby Christiana, Lancaster Cty, when fugitive slaves resisted and repulsed an attempt to recapture them.
Larson, Kate Clifford
Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero 2004 Ballantine Books
The most scholarly biography of the life and work of Harriet Tubman
McGowan, James
Station Master of the Underground Railroad: the Life and Letters of Thomas Garrett Revised edition: 2005 McFarland
The only biography of the most important stationmaster of the UGRR on the east coast.
Russo, MH, and PA
Hinsonville: a Community at the Crossroads 2005 Rosemont Publishing
Story of an African-American Village in Chester County
Slaughter, Thomas P.
Bloody Dawn-the Christiana Riot and Racial Violence in the Antebellum North 1991 Oxford U. Press
The story of the small battle that occurred in nearby Christiana, Lancaster Cty, when fugitive slaves resisted and repulsed an attempt to recapture them. Emphasis on rebellion leader Wm. Parker.
Still, William
The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts 1872; 2007 Porter & Coates;
New edited version by Dover Books
Written shortly after the Civil War by one of the most important agents of the UGRR and a chronicler of original UGRR stories without peer. The Dover edition is about half the length of the original. A Kindle e-version is also available.
Taylor, Frances C.
The Trackless Trail 1976 Privately published
Very readable pamphlet of DE/Chester County UGRR, based largely on Smedley
Taylor, Frances C.
The Trackless Trail Leads On 1995 Privately published
Very readable pamphlet of DE/Chester County UGRR, based largely on Smedley.
Tobin, Jacqueline
From Midnight to Dawn: the Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad 2008 Knopf, Doubleday
Portrayals of figures involved in UGRR and abolition, including Mary Ann Shadd Cary