Canada's Underground Railroad ~ Uncle Tom's Cabin

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2021: Week 27 (FREE)

As a Canadian, I grew up hearing about our role in the Underground Railroad. The idea of owning people was such an alien concept growing up in  1970s Canada. I read everything I could find to try to understand how this could have happened in the world I thought I lived in. I was in my late teens before I read Uncle Tom's Cabin. 

I found the book profoundly impactful. I was outraged. I was sad. I had tears. I talked to others. I felt hope when George freed all his slaves. 

"It was on his grave, my friends, that I resolved, before God, that I would never own another slave, while it was possible to free him; that nobody, through me, should ever run the risk of being parted from home and friends, and dying on a lonely plantation, as he died. So, when you rejoice in your freedom, think that you owe it to that good old soul, and pay it back in kindness to his wife and children. Think of your freedom, every time you see UNCLE TOM’S CABIN; and let it be a memorial to put you all in mind to follow in his steps, and be honest and faithful and Christian as he was.”  1

This year I discovered that I am related to Harriet Beecher Stowe through my mother's maternal line, and her father's maternal line. We are 5th cousins X5 removed. Her 4th great grandparents are my 9th great grandparents.

Our shared grandparents

Richard Lyman

BIRTH FEB 1618 • High Ongar, Essex, England

DEATH 3 JUN 1662 • Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States

&

Hepzibah Ford

BIRTH 15 MAY 1625 • Dorchester, Dorset, England

DEATH 11 APR 1683 • Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States

I wished I had know about my connection to the author when I was younger. 

My 5th cousin X5 removed

Harriet Elisabeth Beecher

BIRTH 14 JUN 1811 • Litchfield, Litchfield Co., Connecticut

DEATH 1 JUL 1896 • Hartford, Hartford Co., Connecticut

married to

Calvin Ellis Stowe

BIRTH 26 APR 1802 • Massachusetts

DEATH 22 AUG 1887 • Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States

They had 7 children

Harriet Beecher (Hattie) Stowe (Twin to Eliza)

BIRTH 29 SEP 1836 • Walnut Hills, Hamilton, Ohio, United States

DEATH 25 JAN 1907 • Simsbury, Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Eliza Tyler Stowe (Twin to Hattie)

BIRTH 29 SEP 1836 • Ohio

DEATH 16 MAR 1912 • Simsbury, Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Henry Ellis Stowe

BIRTH 14 JAN 1838 • Walnut Hills, Hamilton, Ohio, United States

DEATH 9 JUL 1857 • Hanover, Grafton, New Hampshire, United States

Frederick William Stowe

BIRTH 6 MAY 1840 • Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States

DEATH 1870 • San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States

Georgianna May Stowe

BIRTH 25 MAY 1843 • Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States

DEATH 13 JAN 1890 • Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

Samuel Charles (Charley) Stowe

BIRTH JAN 1848 • Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States

DEATH 22 JUL 1849 • Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States

Charles Edward Stowe

BIRTH 8 JUL 1850 • Brunswick, Cumberland, Maine, United States

DEATH 24 JUL 1934 • Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA

When Harriet Beecher Stowe met
Abraham Lincoln he said, “So you’re the little woman
who wrote the book that made this great war!”

referencing the Civil War. 

Like any good family story there seems to be a question about whether Abraham Lincoln really said that. 

The role of Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a cause of the American Civil War is rooted in a statement—typically rendered as “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!”—that is spuriously attributed to President Abraham Lincoln. According to scholar Daniel R. Vollaro, this comment, supposedly made by Lincoln to Stowe in December 1862, originated in Stowe family tradition and did not appear in print until 1896 (albeit as “Is this the little woman who made the great war?” ). That Lincoln almost certainly did not say these words, however, has not prevented them from being cited repeatedly as Uncle Tom’s Cabin’s legacy. 2

Harriet Beecher Stowe may not have single-handedly started the Civil War when she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, but her book does seem to have enlightened people who needed to make change for the Civil Rights Movement to gain momentum.

Finding the truth in family lore!!!

Cause ... 




You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

This is why I search - 

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

1  Uncle Tom's Cabin, eBook, The Project Gutenberg, Retrieved July 8th 2021 from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/203/203-h/203-h.htm

2  Uncle Tom's Cabin, Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved July 8th 2021 from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Uncle-Toms-Cabin

Sources:

The Civil War: 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' changed the course of history, Baltimore Sun, By Ned Harrison,  the Civil War, Originally Published July 15th 2012. Retrieved July 8th 2021 from
https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll/cct-arc-f03c4232-f53b-5153-bd66-afbdc5c49be6-20120715-story.html

Did a book start the Civil War? 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' is a testament to the power of culture, New York Daily News, Opinion Article by David Reynolds, originally published April 11th 2011, Retrieved July 8th 2021 from 
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/book-start-civil-war-uncle-tom-cabin-testament-power-culture-article-1.112605

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Her Words Changed the World, Stowe's Global Impact, Retrieved July 8th 2021 from
https://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/harriet-beecher-stowe/her-global-impact/

Harriet Beecher Stowe, History Channel, Retrieved July 8th 2021 from
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/harriet-beecher-stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Aboard the Underground Railroad, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved July 8th 2021 from
 https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/underground/oh1.htm

History, Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site, Ontario Heritage Trust. Retrieved July 8th 2021 from 
https://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/en/properties/uncle-toms-cabin/history

A New Understanding of Uncle Tom, Canadian Geographic Magazine, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, by Heather Greenwood Davis, originally published December 19th 2018. Retrieved July 8th 2021 from
https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/new-understanding-uncle-tom

The Story of Josiah Henson, the Real Inspiration for ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, Smithsonian Magazine, by Jared Brock, Originally Published May 16th 2018. Retrieved July 8th 2021 from
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/story-josiah-henson-real-inspiration-uncle-toms-cabin-180969094/

Uncle Tom's Cabin, Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved July 8th 2021 from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Uncle-Toms-Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ohio History Central, Retrieved July 8th 2021 from
https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Uncle_Tom%27s_Cabin

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site,  National Trust for Canada. Retrieved July 8th 2021 from 
https://nationaltrustcanada.ca/destinations/uncle-toms-cabin-historic-site

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

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