Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Dorchester County on the Eastern shore of Maryland, on the plantation of Edward Brodas. Her birth name was Araminta, and she was called Minty until she changed her name to Harriet in her early teen years. The reason why she changed her name was because she wanted to be named after her mother who was also named Harriet. Her parents, Benjamin Ross and Harriet Green, were enslaved Ashanti Africans who had eleven children, and saw many of there older children get sold into the Deep South. At five years old, Araminta was "rented" to neighbors to do housework. She was never very good at household chores, and was beaten regularly by her owners and those who rented her. She eventually was assigned work as a field hand, which she preferred over household work. Although she was a small woman, she was strong, and her time working in the fields probably contributed to her strength. At age fifteen she sustained a head injury, when she purposely blocked the path of the overseer pursuing a fellow slave, and was hit by the heavy weight the overseer tried to fling at the other slave. Harriet sustained a severe concussion and was ill. She took a long time recovering from this injury, and never fully recovered. She had periodic sleeping fits. Her fits made her look less attractive when someone tried to buy her.

When the old master died, the son who inherited the slaves was able to hire Harriet out to a lumber merchant, where her work was respected and where she was allowed to keep some money she earned from extra work. In 1844, Harriet married John Tubman, a free black man. The marriage was apparently not a good match, from the beginning. It was shortly after her marriage that Harriet hired a lawyer to investigate her own legal history, and discovered that her mother had been freed on a technicality on the death of a former owner. But the lawyer advised Harriet that a court would be unlikely to hear the case, so Tubman dropped it. But knowing that she should have been born free, not a slave, caused her to consider freedom and dislike her situation.

I In 1849, several events came together to encourage Harriet Tubman to take her freedom. She heard that two of her brothers were about to be sold to the Deep South. She tried to persuade her brothers to escape with her, but ended up leaving alone. Harriet made the 90 mile trip to the Mason-Dixon Line with the help of contacts along the Underground Railroad. She had to hike through swamps and woodland. Harriet's trip was successful, and she settled in Philadelphia. She worked as a dishwasher and made plans to rescue her family. The next year, Harriet traveled back to Maryland and rescued her sister's family. She then returned to transport her brothers to the North. She went back for her husband, but he had remarried and did not want to follow her. In 1857, Harriet finally returned for her parents and settled them in Auburn, New York.

By this time, Harriet was becoming quite well known and huge rewards were offered for her capture. Harriet was the master of disguise. Her former master did not even recognize her when they ran into each other on the street. She was nicknamed the "Moses of her people" for leading them to freedom.