Station Master on the Underground Railroad: The Life and Letters of Thomas Garrett, rev. ed.

by James A. McGowan

Thomas Garrett, a Quaker from Wilmington, Delaware, had a genial disposition unless provoked to defend his strong anti-slavery beliefs. He believed strongly in the Underground Railroad and in helping slaves escape and chafed under the Quaker belief in non-violence. When he died in 1871, Wilmington's black community saluted him as "their Moses." Station Master on the Underground Railroad was an important work in antebellum reform when it was first published in 1977. Author James McGowan disputed earlier arguments that white abolitionists were unified in their opposition to slavery and that they were largely responsible for the success of the Underground Railroad while the escaped slaves were helpless and frightened passengers who took advantage of a well-organized network. The present volume has been revised (in 2005) to include new information on Garrett's relationship with Harriet Tubman and the abolitionist newspaper editor William Lloyd Garrison. Now published in paperback, the book also gives readers a new perspective on Thomas Garrett, recognizing his shortcomings as well as the uncompromising nature of his Quaker faith.

232 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1977

Reviews

[Scott Breslove · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit of a chore to get through, it could have been interesting, but it was not particularly organized and was very dry in content.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this used from the Jefferson County Public Library in Colorado. Thomas Garrett is perhaps the greatest Wilmingtonian ever, a fearless Quaker station master on the underground railroad and colleague of Harriet Tubman, but it has been hard to find out much about him. This county, which recently re-segregated its schools probably would just as soon forget him. I would have liked to have seen a movie about him starring James Gandolfini. This book probably contains everything that there is to know about the man. And, I learned a lot more - Wilmington was originally called Willington (this is such a surprise to me that I wonder if it is true), the streets in Wilmington were hilly and were re-graded every few years in the early 19th century so that your house might have its front step below or well above street level, a probable origin for the expression underground railroad, that my home is along a principle route of the UGRR to Kennett, PA., that the local paper was called the "Blue Hen's Chicken" and the word "Journalisticator" for which I can find no definition (I assume some kind of typographical error).