William Still (7 October 1821 - 14 July 1902) was an American abolitionist, civil rights activist and philanthropist. Known as "The Father of the Underground Railroad", Still personally aided many slaves in escaping to free states via the Underground Railroad network and also kept meticulous records of the slaves he helped in order to assist in reuniting families. He served as chairman of the Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society before the American Civil War.
Biography[]
Still was born to former slaves Charity and Levin Still in Shamong Township, New Jersey, in 1821. He moved to Pennsylvania in 1844 and joined the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society in 1847 as a clerk. He was appointed chairman of the society's Vigilance Committee, the group that directly assisted slaves in escaping their masters. He is credited with assisting in the escape of around 800 slaves through the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used to help slaves escape to Canada and other places where they could not legally be retrieved. Still interviewed each person he helped to escape and recorded their biography, escape route and destination in order to help reunite families. He himself was reunited with his enslaved brother Peter, who had escaped in 1850, when he sought the help of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society in locating his family.
In 1855 Still and fellow Anti-Slavery Society member Passmore Williamson carried out the nationally-covered rescue of Jane Johnson, a slave belonging to United States Minister to Nicaragua John Hill Wheeler. At the time, Wheeler was in Pennsylvania, a free state which did not recognise slavery and which had laws stating that slaves could voluntarily choose freedom as long as they had been brought to the state by their masters. Wheeler was aware of this and locked Johnson in his hotel room, but she passed a letter explaining her situation to a black porter, who sent it to Still. On 18 July Johnson was brought to the Pennsylvania docks by Wheeler to board a ferry to Nicaragua, but Still and Williamson approached and informed Johnson that she was legally allowed to choose to be free. Wheeler protested but was restrained by a group of black dockworkers and was unable to prevent Still and Williamson from escorting Johnson away. Wheeler brought criminal charges against Still for assault, but he was acquitted.
Still oversaw a network of Underground Railroad agents operating in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, New England and Canada. Fellow conductor Harriet Tubman initially escaped from slavery through Still's network and used it in her activities on several occasions. Still was also an associate of John Brown, using his office to shelter several of his men fleeing Brown's failed raid on Harper's Ferry. In addition, he successfully campaigned for the desegregation of Pennsylvania's public transit system in 1865.
Following the American Civil War Still continued as a businessman, philanthropist and social activist. He advocated equal education for African-Americans and established the first YMCA for African-Americans in American history. He died at his home in 1902.