'Network to freedom': History of local Underground Railroad remembered at presentation

Dave Sutor, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Feb. 21—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — An image showing some of the more than 90 Underground Railroad conductors known to have operated in Indiana County was displayed on a screen inside the Cambria County Library Tuesday night.

Denise Jennings, president of the Blairsville Area Underground Railroad organization, put their courageous and altruistic contributions into perspective during her hourlong presentation given to a standing-room-only group of about 50 people.

"You see all of these faces," Jennings said.

"What you see are, again, men, are women. They are European. They are African American. They are young. They are old. But we wouldn't be talking about any of these people were it not for the brave men, women and children who used this network to freedom. These folks would just be footnotes in history, and I wouldn't be here talking about them because the real heroes of our story are the people who used this network."

Jennings emphasized: "Were we special? I think that we are lucky, since our history was very well preserved. It isn't to say that we've had any more or any fewer conductors than other areas. We just know."

There is no way to tell exactly how many freedom-seekers passed through the local area, while escaping slavery in the South for new lives in free states and Canada.

But the secretive pre-Civil War road to freedom was well-established in Cambria, Somerset, Indiana, Blair, Bedford and Clearfield counties.

Much of Indiana's UGRR history is still known today, thanks to the contributions of A.T. Moorehead.

"He was a 12-year-old Underground Railroad conductor, working with his grandfather," Jennings said.

"He became a newspaper editor, and in 1899, published a series of articles naming names, telling firsthand accounts of the Underground Railroad in Indiana County because he was tired of hearing that it was a myth."

Jennings recounted several stories about freedom- seekers, slave catchers and Underground Railroad conductors, while also showing pictures of what the locations looked like then and now.

"All of those (incidents) are happening on the streets where you drive, on the streets where you walk, right in your neighborhood," Jennings told the audience.

Jennings' presentation was sponsored by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Mary R. Campbell Camp No. 16 Auxiliary for Black History Month.

"Part of our goal as the Sons of the Union auxiliary is sharing history and is sharing our local history, whether it's just Johnstown-specific or the whole of western Pennsylvania, and the Underground Railroad is an important part of our heritage here," said Amy Minor, a past auxiliary president. "It's definitely necessary to learn about it and not let it fall."