Elijah F. Pennypacker
Elijah Funk Pennypacker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 20, 1804 Chester County, Pennsylvania, US |
| Died | January 4, 1888 (aged 83) Chester County, Pennsylvania, US |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Years active | 1839–1863 |
| Known for | Station master of the Underground Railroad |
Elijah F. Pennypacker (1804–1888) was a politician, abolitionist and station master in the Underground Railroad in the United States, leading up to the American Civil War. He operated in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Pennypacker's home, White Horse Farm, was a safe house during the time that he participated in the Underground Railroad.[1]
As a station master in the Underground Railroad, Pennypacker reportedly aided hundreds of fugitive slaves in their escape to freedom, without any having been apprehended by authorities or by bounty hunters.[2]
Early life
Pennypacker was born on November 20, 1804, in Chester County, Pennsylvania.He was educated in Burlington, New Jersey, and began a career as a surveyor and then in Pennsylvania real estate. In this capacity, he made some of the first surveys for the Pennsylvania railroad system.[1]
Pennypacker's political career began in 1831 when he entered the Pennsylvania State Legislature. His terms there lasted until 1835, during which time Pennypacker's work emphasized banking and public education. Subsequently, he served on the Pennsylvania Canal Commission, from 1836 to 1838.[1]
Stationmaster
In 1841, Pennypacker joined the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The religious group was active in the anti-slavery movement,[3] and Pennypacker began his work as an abolitionist at that time. His anti-slavery sentiment was influenced by Thaddeus Stevens, with whom Pennypacker served in the Pennsylvania State Assembly. By 1840, Pennypacker was active in the Underground Railroad.[2]
As a safe house operator, Pennypacker is an example of a conductor and of a stationmaster in the Underground Railroad, railroad terminology often being used in this context.[4]
During the time that Pennypacker was active in the Underground Railroad, runaway slaves typically traveled along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, crossing the Susquehanna River at Havre de Grace, Maryland, and then on to Pennypacker's safe house (depot in the Underground Railroad) in Phoenixville. At that point, Pennypacker helped them to various cities in southeast Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, Norristown, Quakertown, and Reading, from where the fugitive slaves could realize their freedom.[5] On occasion, Pennypacker worked with abolitionist William Still of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee to arrange for committee members to meet fugitive slaves upon their departure from Pennypacker's safe house,[6] runaway slaves sometimes departing by actual trains.[7] Some of the fugitive slaves were personally transported by Pennypacker, and none were ever apprehended in Pennypacker's Underground Railroad operations.[8]
Pennypacker's safe house was his family home, Whitehorse Farm, originally constructed in 1770 and located in Willistown Township, Pennsylvania. The farm house was Pennypacker's own home for the duration of his life. During the years prior to emancipation, Pennypacker served in the local, county, and statewide anti-slavery societies.[9]
| External media | |
|---|---|
| Media links for Elijah Pennypacker | |
| Images | |
 A photographic portrait of Pennypacker, courtesy of Montgomery County Pennypacker Mills | |
| Video | |
 A video biography of Pennypacker, from Timeless Tales of Phoenixville |
Pennypacker's activities in the Underground Railroad and those of Dr. Bartholomew Fussell were complementary in Chester County, Pennsylvania.[10] Pennypacker aided hundreds of runaway slaves in their efforts to achieve freedom.[2]
Abolitionist John G. Whittier paid tribute to Pennypacker stating:
In mind, body, and brave championship of the cause of freedom he was one of the most remarkable men I ever knew.[1]
In addition to his involvement in the abolition movement, Pennypacker aided famine-stricken Irish in 1848.[1]
Later life and death
After the American Civil War, Pennypacker became a member of the Prohibition Party,[8] and ran unsuccessfully for public office as a member of the Prohibition Party. He also was a founder and an officer in the Pennsylvania Mutual Fire Insurance Company.[1]
Pennypacker died on January 4, 1888, and was buried at the Schuykill Friends Meeting Cemetery in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Elijah Funk Pennypacker (Appleton's)," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College.
- ^ a b c "Timeless Tales of Phoenixville - Underground Railroad". voxipop.com. Phoenix Media Group. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Quakers & Slavery". brynmawr.edu. Bryn Mawr College. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "The Underground Railroad". pbs.org. Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ Okur, Nilgun Anadolu. “Underground Railroad in Philadelphia, 1830-1860.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 25, no. 5, 1995, pp. 537–57. Accessed 1 Jun. 2022.
- ^ Gara, Larry. “Friends and the Underground Railroad.” Quaker History, vol. 51, no. 1, 1962, pp. 3–19. Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.
- ^ Delle, James A., and Jason Shellenhamer. “Archaeology at the Parvin Homestead: Searching for the Material Legacy of the Underground Railroad.” Historical Archaeology, vol. 42, no. 2, 2008, pp. 38–62. Accessed 2 Jun. 2022.
- ^ a b "Aboard the Underground Railroad". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ Petrone, David (21 June 2021). "A Guide to Whitehorse Farms, PA". justiceguardians.com. Justice Guardians, LLC. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
- ^ Still, William (1872). The Underground Railroad. Pressbooks. p. 688. ISBN 978-1420973747. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
External links
- Elijah F. Pennypacker Anti-Slavery Correspondence maintained by Swarthmore College
- Calarco, Tom. "People of the Underground Railroad : a biographical dictionary." Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0313339240.
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- 19th-century Quakers
- Abolitionism in the United States
- American Quakers
- American philanthropists
- People from Chester County, Pennsylvania
- Quaker abolitionists
- Underground Railroad people
- 1804 births
- 1888 deaths
- 19th-century American politicians
- 19th-century American businesspeople