Pekin Daily Times
As the sound of hoof beats and the baying of hounds on the rural road heralds the approach of a posse, the farmer urgently ushers the group of fugitives through a trap door. When the fleeing family is safely sequestered, the farmer’s wife covers the trap door with a buffalo-skin rug and places their infant son’s crib atop the rug. The farmer lights a cigar to befuddle the hounds while his wife scolds the arriving posse for waking the baby.
The event described above holds a personal significance for Pamela Senkler, who has been working to preserve her family’s history.
Dalton Kemper/1470-100.3 WMBD
MORTON, Ill. Tazewell County held the first recognition Tuesday of Underground Railroad Coordinators throughout the county, as people gathered to honor the individuals at Hirstein Cemetery.
The Underground Railroad was a network of people that offered shelter and aid to escaped enslaved people from the South.
The event Tuesday honored Uriah Crosby, who is buried in the cemetery, as well as Daniel, Darius, Walter and John Roberts in Roberts Cemetery.
Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman said holding the event today held special significance.
“Today [Tuesday] is the 210th birthday for Uriah Crosby,” said Ackerman. “We’re starting a process of recognizing the conductors of the Underground Railroad through Tazewell County.”
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