ABSTRACT
A colored woman, who was a slave in East Jersey, about the year 1827 left the service of her master, and went with her son, who was also a slave to the same person as herself, to Philadelphia. She had two sons in that city who were free, and had lived there several years, with one of whom she took refuge. The man who owned the mother was a stranger to both these sons, having purchased her of her former master after they left the neighborhood, and he lived some miles from it. A few weeks after the woman had escaped from bondage, the master went to Philadelphia in search for her; and concluding as a matter of course, that the fugitives were under the protection of one of her sons, he disguised himself by procuring a suit of plain clothes, such as are commonly worn by Friends, and calling upon one of the sons, passed himself off as one of that denomination, pretending great friendship for the mother and expressed a strong desire to see her. And so completely was the man deceived by this insidious stratagem, that he informed him that she and her fugitive son were at his brother’s, whose residence was not far from where he lived. The master now concluded that he had succeeded in accomplishing his object. He procured an officer and immediately proceeded to the place of her retreat. She happened to be in an upper chamber, and looking out of the window, saw her master and the officer coming after her, and notwithstanding he had changed his costume she knew him. Fortunately, her son was at home, and she communicated the information to him. He immediately closed the door, which before was open, it being warm weather, and fastened it. The master and the officer arrived at the house but were refused admittance. They then placed a man at the door to watch, while they went to get a search warrant. By this time it was dusk. A crowd of colored people had gathered about the house, and the 208master had not left it many minutes, when some of them seized the watchman, and held him, while the woman and her son rushed out of the house–ran about a quarter of a mile, and took refuge in a house occupied by colored people in Locust street.
