Christiana Resistance Profiles

Date: Oct 2020 [unknown]
Location: Christiana, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Surname/tag: Baley, Ford, Hammond, Parker, Hathaway, Beard, Wilson, Scott, Thompson,

Christiana Resistance

Contents 1 Christiana Ancestor Profiles Found 2 Background and Resource Pages 3 Fugitives and People at the Parker's House 3.1 Brief Descriptions 4 The Raiding Party 4.1 Brief Descriptions 5 Additional Participants 5.1 Brief Descriptions 6 People Indicted 7 Sources 8 Acknowledgements

Christiana Ancestor Profiles Found

(and maybes)

name of person	profile	brief description
William Parker	yes	The event occurred at his home.
Eliza Ann (Howard) Parker	yes	William Parker's wife
Alexander Pinckney	maybe	brother-in-law of William Parker
Sarah Pownall	yes	Wife of Parker's landlord
Levi Pownall	yes	The Parker family's landlord.
Castner Hathaway	yes	tried and found not guilty
	no
	no
	no
	no
	no
	no
	no
	no
	no

Background and Resource Pages

• Christiana Resistance Space
• Deed of Manumission of John M. Gorsuch
• Christiana Riot Plaque
• Christiana Riot Wikipedia Article
• US Black Heritage: Resources Sandbox

Fugitives and People at the Parker's House

Castner Hathaway w|| yes

name of person	profile
Noah Baley/Buley~	yes
Nelson Ford~	yes
George Hammond~	yes
Joshua Hammond~	yes
Eli Ford~	yes
Charles Ford~	yes
William Parker	yes
Eliza Parker	yes
Alexander Pinckney	maybe
Hannah Pinkney	no
Abraham Johnson	no
Samuel Williams^	no
Sarah Pownall w	yes
Levi Pownall w	yes
John Beard ^	no
Thomas Wilson^	no
Alexander Scott^	no
Edward Thompson^	no

~Indicates a possible name change. ^Indicates a new name - four of the six changed their names after they made good their escape

Brief Descriptions

1. Noah Baley ~ 24, enslaved for 18 years at age 6. A bright mulatto man, who was to serve twenty-two years beginning in 1833. He was 5’9” or 5'10” in height and “tolerable stout built."
2. Nelson Ford ~ 23, enslaved for 18 years at age 5. A Black man who was to serve twenty-three years, described as dark brown, nearly black, and stood “about 5 feet 7 inches (perhaps a little under that height)” with round shoulders and who “talked fast and was rather timid."
3. George Hammond ~ 24, enslaved for 18 years at age 6. A Negro man who was to serve twenty-two years. He was 5’8” or 5’10” in height.
4. Joshua Hammond ~ 26, enslaved for 18 years at age 8. A dark Mulatto man was twenty years old, and was to serve twenty-six years. He was described as well grown, 5’9’ or 5’10” in height, dark brown, and appeared older than he really was. Also known as Joshua Kite, and John Beard.^[1]
5. Eli Ford ~ 26, enslaved for 18 years at age 8. A dark Mulatto man was to serve twenty years. He was described as dark yellow, 5’4” or 5’5” in height, with a “nose broad and flat at the end, particularly broad and flat at the end, the broadness did not run up the nose."
6. Charles Ford ~ 28, enslaved John M. Gorsuch for 18 years at age 10. A Black man who was to serve eighteen years. He was described as 5’3” or 5’4” in height with "arms rather short and had a peculiarity in his walk."
7. William Parker - A Black Abolitionist in Christiana
8. Eliza Parker - William's wife A Black Abolitionist in Christiana
9. Castner Hathaway - The only one of all the indicted brought to trial for teason. on the weight of that decision the other 38 were released.
10. Alexander Pinckney - William Parker's brother-in-law, present at the Parker's home.
11. Hannah Pinckney - Alexander's wife, Eliza Parker's sister - present
12. Abraham Johnson - Present at the Parker's home
13. Samuel Williams - Watched the raiding party in Philadelphia and warned of their arrival
14. Sarah Pownall w - Wife of Parker's landlord warned of raiding party
15. Levi Pownall w - The Parker's landlord.

~Indicates a possible name change.

According to an article by John Anderson, at least four of the six did change their names: "John Beard, Thomas Wilson, Alexander Scott, and Edward Thompson are the names 4 of the 6 were known by in Pennsylvania.^[2] Which four of the six?

According to Scott Mingus, "William Parker, his family and in-laws, and Gorsuch’s two slaves fled the scene, eventually making it to safety in Canada with the assistance of abolitionist Frederick Douglass.^[3]

The Raiding Party

name of person	profile
Henry Kline	?
Edward Gorsuch"'	yes
Dickinson Gorsuch'"	yes
Joshua M. Gorsuch	?
John Agan	?
Thompson Tully	?
Dr. Thomas Pierce	?
Nicholas T. Hutchings	?
Nathan Nelson	?

Brief Descriptions

1. Henry Kline w- a deputy Federal Marshall, was authorized to make the arrests
2. Edward Gorsuch w - obtained a federal warrant under the Fugitive Slave Act
3. Dickinson Gorsuch w- Gosuch's son
4. Joshua M. Gorsuch w - Gosuch's nephew
5. John Agan w - hired police officer returned to Philadephia because of the risk of violence
6. Thompson Tully w - hired police officer, returned to Philadephia because of the risk of violence
7. Dr. Thomas Pierce w - accompanied
8. Nicholas T. Hutchings w - accompanied
9. Nathan Nelson w - accompanied

Additional Participants

name of person	profile
Anthony Ellmaker Roberts	yes
	?
	?
	?
	?
	?

Brief Descriptions

1. Anthony Ellmaker Roberts^[4] w United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a position he held until May 29, 1853; an abolitionist. As the Marshal, Roberts was responsible for summoning potential jurors. He advocated for the indicted prisoners.

People Indicted

There are actually approximately 30 more Christiana townspeople to add to this list, because luckily someone has done the work of listing the names, at Wikipedia.^[1] of the people who were on trial. And the list provied is cited with sources which are include below in sources (sources not yet checked and verified and people yet checked for psosible profiles on Wikitree). The article is a good source of cited references, and there are additional names to be added after checking whether or not there may be Wikitree profiles, in the Christiana Ancestor Profiles Found section, below.

(not listed above, all indicted were Black except where noted^[1])

name of person	profile
Joseph Scarlet w	?
Elijah Lewis w	?
James Jackson w	?
George Williams	?
Jacob Moore	?
George Reed	?
George Reed	?
Daniel Caulsberry	?
Alson Pernsley	?
William Brown	?
Henry Green	?
Elijah Clark	?
John Holliday	?
William Williams	?
Benjamin Pindergast	?
Ezekiel Thompson	?
Ezekiel Thompson	?
Collister Wilson	?
John Jackson	?
William Brown	?
Isaiah Clarkson	?
Henry Simms	?
Charles Hunter	?
Lewis Gates	?
Peter Woods	?
Lewis Clarkson	?
Nelson Carter	?
John Berry,	?
William Berry,	?
Henry Curtis	?
Washington Williams	?
William Thomas	?
Jacob R Townsend w	?

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Wikipedia coverage.
2. ↑ Anderson, John. Christiana Riot of 1851 (2013, November 19) online
3. ↑ Mingus, Scott." Black History Month: Events at the Gorsuch Tavern helped spark the 1851 Christiana Riots 13 February 2015.
4. ↑ Anthony Ellmaker Roberts Wikipedia Article last edited 15 May 2020.

• Robbins, James J. Report of the trial of Castner Hanway for treason, in the resistance of the execution of the Fugitive slave law of September 1850. Before Judges Grier and Kane, in the Circuit Court of the United States for the eastern district of Pennsylvania. Held at Philadelphia in November and December, 1851. To which is added an Appendix, containing the laws of the United States on the subject of fugitives from labor, the charges of Judge Kane to the grand juries in relation thereto, and a statement of the points of law decided by the court during the trial. (Philadelphia: King & Baird. Retrieved 29 January 2019.) p. 84,96,199,210. Note: A source of names of those tried from Wikipedia coverage
• Hensel, W.U. The Christiana Riot and Treason Trials of 1851. (Lancaster, PA: The New Era Printing Company. Retrieved 18 August 2017). p. 76. Note: A source of names of those tried from Wikipedia coverage
• "Alexandria Gazette". Virginia. November 19, 1851. p. 2. Note: A source of names of those tried from Wikipedia coverage
• Campbell, Stanley W. (1970). The Slave Catchers: Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law, 1850-1860. University of North Carolina Press. p. 95. Note: A source of names of those tried from Wikipedia coverage
• Slaughter, Thomas P. Bloody Dawn: The Christiana Riot and Racial Violence in the Antebellum North. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.).

Acknowledgements

• Wikipedia coverage. Note: For names of indicted, and history.
• Archives of Maryland Online. Biographical Series. Edward Gorsuch Maryland State Archives, 4 November 2010.
  Note: Names and descriptions, and history.