Underground Rail Road by William Still

In 1847, William Still found a job as a clerk and janitor for the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. He soon began aiding fugitive slaves, often sheltering them until they could find their way farther north. One fugitive was his older brother, Peter, who had been left behind when his mother escaped forty years earlier. William made careful records about the people he helped. Meanwhile, he purchased real estate, opened a store selling stoves, and later founded a successful coal business.

Before the Civil War, Still destroyed many of his records about aiding fugitives because he feared they would be used in prosecutions. After the war, his children persuaded him to write a story of his experiences and the people he had helped. Still's self-published book, The Underground Railroad (1872), is one of the most important historical records we have from this era. Although still recognized the many contributions of white abolitionists, he portrayed the fugitives as courageous individuals who struggled for their own freedom.