Elijah F. Pennypacker (1804–1888) was a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and

station master The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now largely historical ...

in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

in the United States, leading up to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He operated in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...

. Pennypacker's home, White Horse Farm, was a

safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor. Histori ...

during the time that he participated in the Underground Railroad.Elijah Funk Pennypacker (Appleton's
," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College. As a station master in the Underground Railroad, Pennypacker reportedly aided hundreds of

fugitive slaves In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called free ...

in their escape to freedom, without any having been apprehended by authorities or by

bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...

Early life

Pennypacker was born on November 20, 1804, in Chester County, Pennsylvania.He was educated in

Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was r ...

, 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. Pennypacker's political career began in 1831 when he entered the

Pennsylvania State Legislature The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

. 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.

Stationmaster

In 1841, Pennypacker joined the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

(Quakers). The religious group was active in the anti-slavery movement, and Pennypacker began his work as an abolitionist at that time. His anti-slavery sentiment was influenced by

Thaddeus Stevens Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792August 11, 1868) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of sla ...

, with whom Pennypacker served in the Pennsylvania State Assembly. By 1840, Pennypacker was active in the Underground Railroad. As a safe house operator, Pennypacker is an example of a conductor and of a stationmaster in the Underground Railroad,

railroad terminology Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

often being used in this context. During the time that Pennypacker was active in the Underground Railroad, runaway slaves typically traveled along the shores of the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

, crossing the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

Havre de Grace, Maryland Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which ...

, 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.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. On occasion, Pennypacker worked with abolitionist

William Still William Still (October 7, 1821 – July 14, 1902) was an African-American abolitionist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, businessman, writer, historian and civil rights activist. Before the Ameri ...

of the

Philadelphia Vigilance Committee The Vigilant Association of Philadelphia was an abolitionist organization founded in August 1837 in Philadelphia to "create a fund to aid colored persons in distress". The initial impetus came from Robert Purvis, who had served on a previous '' ...

to arrange for committee members to meet fugitive slaves upon their departure from Pennypacker's safe house,Gara, Larry
“Friends and the Underground Railroad.”
Quaker History, vol. 51, no. 1, 1962, pp. 3–19. Accessed 2 Jun. 2022. runaway slaves sometimes departing by actual trains.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. Some of the fugitive slaves were personally transported by Pennypacker, and none were ever apprehended in Pennypacker's Underground Railroad operations. White Horse Farm CC PA

Pennypacker's safe house was his family home, Whitehorse Farm, originally constructed in 1770 and located in

Willistown Township, Pennsylvania Willistown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The population was 10,497 at the 2010 census. At the 1860 census, the population of Willistown was 1,521, and in 1980 it was 8,269. History Originally occupied by Lenape Native ...

. The farm house was Pennypacker's own home for the duration of his life. During the years prior to

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...

, Pennypacker served in the local, county, and statewide anti-slavery societies. Pennypacker's activities in the Underground Railroad and those of Dr. Bartholomew Fussell were complementary in

. Pennypacker aided hundreds of runaway slaves in their efforts to achieve freedom. 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.

In addition to his involvement in the abolition movement, Pennypacker aided famine-stricken Irish in 1848.

Later life and death

After the American Civil War, Pennypacker became a member of the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

, 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. Pennypacker died on January 4, 1888, and was buried at the Schuylkill Friends Meeting Cemetery in

Phoenixville, Pennsylvania Phoenixville is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia at the junction of French Creek (Schuylkill River tributary), French Creek and ...

References

External links

Elijah F. Pennypacker Anti-Slavery Correspondence
maintained by

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

* Calarco, Tom
"People of the Underground Railroad : a biographical dictionary."
Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2008, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Pennypacker, Elijah F. 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

Early life

Stationmaster

Later life and death

See also

References

External links