Renowned Underground Railroad researcher and Ohio State University Professor Wilburt Siefert wrote that there were two routes into Montgomery
County and seven routes out. These routes would take the slaves to Indiana, Miami County and Greene County, Ohio.
Since it was illegal for slaves to read and write much of the information gathered about the Underground Railroad is information that has been
passed down through the generations. Also, the reader must remember that much of the information about the Underground Railroad was not
written down for if a person was caught helping a runaway slave they could loose all of their property and be imprisoned. This is the reason why we
tell everyone that story of the Miami Valley Underground Railroad Quilt is a historical fiction story. The family histories were used as a basis for our
story and that there is no documentation to substantiate it. Follow the Drinking Gourd" is a coded song that gives the route for an escape from
Alabama and Mississippi. Of all the routes out of the Deep South, this is the only one for which the details survive. The route instructions were given
to slaves by an old man named Peg Leg Joe. Working as an itinerant carpenter, he spent winters in the South, moving from plantation to plantation,
teaching slaves this escape route.
The trip from the South to Ohio took most refugees a full year, so they were encouraged to leave in the winter to make it to the Ohio River the
following winter. As the Ohio is too fast and too wide to swim across, it was best crossed in winter when it was frozen. The first verse instructs slaves
to leave in the winter—“When the sun comes back” refers to winter and spring when the altitude of the sun at noon is higher each day. Quail, a
migratory bird, spends the winter in the South. The “drinking gourd” refers to the Big Dipper, “the old man” means Peg Leg Joe, and “the great big
river” refers to the Ohio River.
The second verse told slaves to follow the bank of the Tombigbee River north. They were to look for dead trees marked with the drawings of a left
foot and a round mark, denoting a peg leg. In the third verse, the hidden message instructed the slaves to continue north over the hills when they
reached the Tombigbee’s headwaters. From there, they were to travel along another river—the Tennessee..
Underground Railroad Terms
“A friend with friends”: An Underground Railroad conductor would use this password as a signal that fugitive slaves had arrived.
Baggage: escaping slaves
Bundles of wood: fugitives to be expected
Canaan: Canada (usually found in “spirituals”)
Colored/Negro: words once used to describe Blacks; they are now socially outdated
Conductor/Agent: the men and women who operated the Underground Railroad and “conducted” escaping slaves along the route to safety
Drinking Gourd: refers to the constellation known as the Big Dipper, which includes the North Star. The North Star was the escaping
slaves’ main navigational tool as they travelled North to freedom, usually Canada
Entry Ports: Words of praise and thanksgiving to God were used as code words for the routes into Canada, i.e. Windsor – Glory to God
and Port Stanley – God be Praised
Forwarding: Transporting escaping slaves from one station to the next
Freedom Seekers: the thousands of escaped slaves who risked their lives travelling North to Canada and personal liberation
Freedom Train: The Underground Railroad
Gospel Train: The Underground Railroad
Heaven or Promised Land: Canada (usually found in “spirituals”)
“Left foot, peg foot”: A visual clue for escapees to follow. The trail was left by an Underground Railroad worker, a sailor named Peg Leg
Joe, famous because of his wooden leg. Travelled through the South, used the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, teach it to the slaves, who
would later escape.
Load of Potatoes: In a wagon, escaping slaves hidden under farm produce
Moses: Harriet Tubman, a “conductor” who aided escaping slaves and was a former slave
Parcels: fugitives to be expected
Passengers/Freight/Cargo: escaping slaves. Males were referred to as “hardware” and females as “dry goods”
Preachers: leaders, speakers of the Underground Railroad
River Jordan: The Mississippi River or the Ohio River
Shepherds: people escorting slaves
Station Master: the keeper of the safe-house or “station”
Stations: the places of safety and temporary refuge where slaves hid along the escape route. Safe-houses. They could be churches, barns, or
houses. Station names were referred to in code, such as:
• Pennsylvania - #10
• Ohio - #20
• Cleveland – Hope
• Sandusky – Sunrise
• Detroit – Midnight
“Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus” sung to alert other slaves that an escape attempt would be happening soon
Stockholder: one who donated money, clothing or food to the Underground Railroad
“The dead will show you the way”: If the stars weren’t visible, this phrase was a reminder that moss grows on the North side of dead trees.
“The friend of a friend sent me”: Escaping slaves, travelling alone, used this password to indicate they were sent by the Underground
Railroad network
“The river bank makes a mighty good road”: A reminder that tracking dogs are unable to track the scent through water.
“The river ends between two hills”: A clue for the directions to the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers
“The wind blows from the South today”: A phrase informing Underground Railroad workers that escaping slaves were in the vicinity.
“When the sun comes back and the first quail calls”: An especially good time of year to escape (early spring)
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BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVERAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD CONDUCTORS BURIED IN KERR DRILL CEMETERIES
In the spring of 2000, ICU volunteers contacted several descendant families of those that are buried in the Kerr and Drill Cemeteries. In
speaking to these families it was discovered that there was another common thread besides their relationship to the cemeteries.
Family stories, passed down from generation to generation, told of how their ancestors were abolitionist or conductors on the Underground
Railroad in Montgomery County, Ohio. This was the beginning of the Miami Valley Underground Railroad Quilt. The stories retold by the
families were gathered and with the assistance of Master Quilter Catherine Kennedy Barnes the Miami Valley Underground Railroad Quilt
was created. The quilt is used in presentations to relay the information that was that relayed from the family members.
It was told that the Kennedy family, a prominent family of distinguished attorneys in Montgomery County and one of the first families to
settle in Montgomery County ran a safe house on Frederick Pike. Their farm house, known at Maplegrove, had a wooden front porch with a
secret entrance underneath the floor. Slaves would hide under the floor and then later transported on up Frederick Pike to a Quaker
settlement in Union Township, Miami County, Ohio. The Kennedy family was also the toll keepers of Frederick Pike which also allowed its
usage as an Underground Railroad Route.
The Reed family fled Kentucky to get away from slavery and settled in Dayton in 1806. Being known Abolitionist it is believed that they too
assisted runaway slaves on their route to freedom. Enos McDonald married into the Reed family. He was a Union soldier and a copy of his
civil war diary is included on this page.
The Rice family left Frederick County, Maryland and settled in Montgomery County in 1825. Prior to leaving Maryland James Rice set free
all of the slaves that he had inherited upon the death of his parents. It has been told that one freed slave; “Old Black George” would visit
the family quite often. It was also told that there were picnics and get together of many of freed slaves at the Rice Family Farm several
times a year.
It is known that Union Township, Miami County, Ohio was a settlement of Quakers who were against slavery and there were many
Underground Railroad Conductors residing there. Some have been documented by Wilburt Siefert and a listing of the Miami County and
Greene County conductors is included here.
In the spring of 2000, ICU volunteers contacted several descendant families of those that are buried in the Kerr and Drill Cemeteries. In
speaking to these families it was discovered that there was another common thread besides their relationship to the cemeteries.
Family stories, passed down from generation to generation, told of how their ancestors were abolitionist or conductors on the Underground
Railroad in Montgomery County, Ohio. This was the beginning of the Miami Valley Underground Railroad Quilt. The stories retold by the
families were gathered and with the assistance of Master Quilter Catherine Kennedy Barnes the Miami Valley Underground Railroad Quilt
was created. The quilt is used in presentations to relay the information that was that relayed from the family members.
It was told that the Kennedy family, a prominent family of distinguished attorneys in Montgomery County and one of the first families to
settle in Montgomery County ran a safe house on Frederick Pike. Their farm house, known at Maplegrove, had a wooden front porch with a
secret entrance underneath the floor. Slaves would hide under the floor and then later transported on up Frederick Pike to a Quaker
settlement in Union Township, Miami County, Ohio. The Kennedy family was also the toll keepers of Frederick Pike which also allowed its
usage as an Underground Railroad Route.
The Reed family fled Kentucky to get away from slavery and settled in Dayton in 1806. Being known Abolitionist it is believed that they too
assisted runaway slaves on their route to freedom. Enos McDonald married into the Reed family. He was a Union soldier and a copy of his
civil war diary is included on this page.
The Rice family left Frederick County, Maryland and settled in Montgomery County in 1825. Prior to leaving Maryland James Rice set free
all of the slaves that he had inherited upon the death of his parents. It has been told that one freed slave; “Old Black George” would visit
the family quite often. It was also told that there were picnics and get together of many of freed slaves at the Rice Family Farm several
times a year.
It is known that Union Township, Miami County, Ohio was a settlement of Quakers who were against slavery and there were many
Underground Railroad Conductors residing there. Some have been documented by Wilburt Siefert and a listing of the Miami County and
Greene County conductors is included here.
Kim and Reggie Ha rris
Follow The Drinking Gourd
Follow The Drinking Gourd
| Underground Railroad Presentation Quilt Codes and Songs |