Springfield Township School

Mr. Finney usually kept the fugitives at his house over night, and often for several days, then taking them in his wagon to Savannah. Ashland County, or to Olierlin, Ohio. He usually left his home early in the morning, passing Mansfield (which did not look with favor upon his business) before daylight, arriving in Oberlin by sundown. Olierlin was then, as it has ever remained, a great friend to the colored man. Having reached this point, they were generally safe, as public opinion was such that the odious fugitive-slave law could not be enforced. He relates the case of a 3Ir. Greene who stopped at his house several days. Greene's father, who lived in Tennessee, made a will releasing all his slaves. After his death, the two boys could not agree in carrying out the terms of the will, one wishing to detain the blacks as slaves. The other, however, determined they should be free. and. although compelled to hide for his life, he remained in the neighborhood until he saw his father's former slaves all safely off to Canada, and then came to Ohio with his wife and six children in destitute circumstances. In Ohio, Greene and his family were hunted and driven from place to place, living sometimes in deserted cabins and swamps, and finally sought safety in Canada, assisted on their way by 3Ir. Finney. As an instance of the honesty of tlie colored people, and the hardships they endured for freedom. ]Mr. Finney relates that two men with their wives once came to him in midwinter, nearly frozen. They had taken their master's horses, crossed the Ohio on the ice, after which they returned the horses to their owner and came on afoot. The}- were kept several days, clothed, fed and taken on their way to a colder region. Mr. Robbins and ^Ir. Joseph Roe, his neighl)ors, living five and seven miles away, were Mr. Finney's right-hand men in this business. Mr. Roe is still living a short distance west of Ontario, an aged and respected citizen. The penalty for assisting in the escape of fugitive slaves was very severe, and these men were, therefore, continually on the "ragged edge," and several times came ver}' near having serious trouble. At one time, Benjamin Gass brought to Mr. Finne}- five colored men with five or six women and children. He lodged the females in the upper part of his dwelling-house and the men in his granary- in the barn. Six men, armed with revolvers, who had been in pursuit, came up with them here. Learning they were secreted about the premises, they made a demand of Mr. Finney for their restitution. He was clearly caught, but determined not to give up the fugitives without a struggle. He demanded their warrant. The^* could not produce this, but sent three of their number to Mansfield to procure the warrant, while the other three remained to watch. Mr. Finne}' had dispatched word to some of his particular friends in Mansfield, and his object now was to gain time ; meanwhile he armed the darkies in the barn with pitchforks. Representing to the three men that the fugitives were locked in his granary (which was true) and would not probabl}' escape, he invited them into his house, gave them Ijreakfast, and consumed as much time as possible in various waj'S. While this was passing, the fugitives found an opening in the liarn and escaped to the woods. When the warrant arrived, no darkies were to be found - the presence of those up-stairs in his house not Ijeing suspected by the pursuers. It is hardly possible, however, that these slaves could have been recaptured without a fight, as Mr. Finney's friends liegan to arrive from Mansfield, all armed and expecting trouble. Among those who first came to his assistance were Dr. Miller, Thomas Thaker and Mathias Day. The pursuers, finding the fugitives had escaped, began a search of the neighborhood, and, as soon as he could with safety, Mr. Finney transferred the females to the house of his friend Joseph Roe. Mr. Roe, being notorious in this cause, and well knowing his house would soon be searched, contrived to get them away to his neighbor, James Wood, which he had no sooner done, than the pursuers appeared to search his premises. Mr. Roe pleaded ignorance, and, fearing they would go on to Mr. Woods house, contrived to throw them oft' the scent b}' oftering to assist in the recapture of the fugitives, and leading them ofl[" in the opposite direction, back to Mr. Finney's, and then to Mansfield ; meanwhile, Mrs. Roe sent word to Mr. Wood, and the fugitives were conveyed to the Smith settlement, in what is now Washington Township, and from there to other points, and escaped. The men were gathered up here and there in the woods, and all got safely' awa}-.

Passage source: History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the Original Boundaries) ; Its Past and Present, Containing a Condensed Comprehensive History of Ohio, Including an Outline History of the Northwest, a Complete History of Richland County ... Miscellaneous Matter, Map of the County, Biographies and Histories of ... the Most Prominent Families, &c., &c., published 1880.

In 1844, James (Jr. Burney received several votes in the township for President. In the spring of 1845, a minister came into the neighborhood and preached in a schoolhouse, taking , for his text the remark made by Joseph when ill prison to the butler and baker, requesting them to remember him when they should be restored : '' For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also have I done nothing that the}^ should put me into a dungeon." As was the custom of those da3'S, church members were anxious to put down heresies, and this sermon lieing considered of that character, certain persons were inclined to mob the preacher and his audience. They made - a gi'eat noise about the church, and used their knives freely on the saddles and bridles of the worshipers. A young man b}' the name of Basset - a tinner in Ontario - went to Mansfield and procured a warrant of Squire Wise, for the arrest of one of' the deacons of the Presbyterian Church of J*leasant Hill ; also a member and his son, belonging to the same church. Before the case was called, Mr. Roe visited, and stated the facts to, Squire Wise, and soon after, the deacon also called on the Squire and asked if he was an Abolitionist.

Passage source: History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the Original Boundaries) ; Its Past and Present, Containing a Condensed Comprehensive History of Ohio, Including an Outline History of the Northwest, a Complete History of Richland County ... Miscellaneous Matter, Map of the County, Biographies and Histories of ... the Most Prominent Families, &c., &c., published 1880.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Springfield Township - 15,578 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.