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Flint, Michigan
| Josiah W. Begole House |
Robert J. Cromwell Marker |
| There were two
different routes thought to use Flint as a means of escape. The first
route, known as Alternate Route 6, led fugitives from Detroit, north to
Pontiac, Fenton, Holly, Grand Blanc, Flint, Davison, Lapeer, Port Huron,
crossing Lake Huron, and on to Sarnia or Dresden, Ontario, Canada. The
other route, that also followed Alternate Route 6, went on higher
grounds through Flint, Beecher, Mt. Morris, Pine Run, Farrandville,
Vienna Township, Montrose, Birch Run, Saginaw, to the Upper Peninsula
and Mackinaw Straits, and into Canada. |
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Hon. Josiah W. Begole
House
906 Beach |
From the Flint Public
Library--in the public domain. |
The house that used to be
located at this address was purchased in 1857 by politician, Josiah W.
Begole. It is alleged that this house was the local Underground Railroad
headquarters. Begole was a fierce abolitionist and Republican, having
left the Whig Party in 1854 after the Fugitive Slave Law was enacted.
His motto was, "Let no man suffer while I have money" (Williams, 44).
Begole, best known as the
nineteenth governor of Michigan, was born in Groveland, New York on
January 20, 1815. He moved to Flint, Michigan in 1836, where he worked
as a farmer and a teacher. He eventually became involved in the lumber
and banking industries. Begole entered politics in 1856 as treasurer of
Genesee County--a position he held for eight years. He served as a
member of the Michigan Senate from 1870-1871, was a member of the Flint
City Council for three years, served as a delegate to the 1872
Republican Convention, and was a member of the U.S. House of
Representatives from 1873-1875.
The location now appears to
be part of the Genesee County Juvenile Court complex at 932 Beach.
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"Resisting Slavery/Robert J. Cromwell"
Michigan Historical Marker
920 S. Saginaw
This marker, erected in
2005, documents antislavery activities in Genesee County, including the
publication of The Genesee Whig, an abolitionist paper, and the
Genesee County Anti-Slavery Society. The Society was founded in 1841 and
held meetings at the courthouse, where figures such as Henry W. Bibb and
James G. Birney spoke. The marker also documents the story of Robert J.
Cromwell, an escaped slave who attempted to purchase his daughter's
freedom from his former owner, a man named Dunn. Locating Cromwell
through the postmark on the letter he sent, Dunn attempted to recapture
him around 1850. It is believed that Cromwell was helped to escape to
Canada by Irish and African American sympathizers.
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The "Resisting Slavery"
side of the marker reads: During the mid-nineteenth century a small
number of African Americans settled in Genesee County where they found
cheap land and employment as barbers, laborers, farmers, carpenters, and
domestics. At this time differing opinions in Genesee County reflected
growing tensions nationally. The Genesee Weekly Democrat ran articles
unsympathetic to Blacks, but also printed editorials opposing slavery.
The Genesee Whig promoted abolition. In 1841 residents formed the
Genesee County Anti-Slavery Society and held meetings at the courthouse,
which became a venue for national figures who lectured about the evils
of slavery. Author, publisher and activist who escaped slavery, Henry W.
Bibb, and Liberty Party presidential candidate James G. Birney spoke
here among other notable lecturers.
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 The
"Robert J. Cromwell" side of the marker states: Robert J. Cromwell
escaped enslavement in the South in 1840.He settled in Flint around 1846
and opened a barbershop. That year Cromwell wrote a letter to his former
enslaver, a man named Dunn, in an effort to purchase his daughter's
freedom. Dunn noted the Flint postmark and began searching for Cromwell.
This advertisement, which appeared in the Flint Republican, confirmed
for Dunn that Cromwell was indeed in Flint. Cromwell fled to Detroit.
Dunn pursued him, but was foiled by African American and Irish American
Cromwell sympathizers there. By 1851, an African American barber named
Robert Cromwell had opened a shop in Chatham, Ontario. |
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Resources
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