Historian discovers Minnesota connection to Underground Railroad
At a presentation on Thursday, historian Karen Sieber will share her findings on Minnesota's connection to freeing enslaved Black Americans via the Underground Railroad in the mid-1800s.
"Up until previously, it was thought that the role was minimal, it was assumed that like you said, this was a place of refuge. But we also know that historically that there was at least some activity here in the Underground Railroad," Sieber said. "Just this past year, I have discovered that quite a major player in the Underground Railroad was previously thought to be further south down the river was actually here in St. Paul during the territorial years of the state."
That major player was Moses Dickson, a famous figure in America's Black history.
"He was a Black abolitionist, he led two secret societies that were founded out of Galena and St. Louis that were used to organize both free and enslaved people throughout the U.S.," she said.
Early research placed Dickson in cities along the Mississippi River. He's buried in St. Louis and helped establish a college there.
"But I found him here in territorial St. Paul in the 1850s operating as a barber, which we know is a common profession for folks working in the Underground Railroad," she said. "Previously before working as a barber, he was a steward working on the steamboats."
She shared newspaper clippings from the future Capital City referencing Dickson, leading her to believe his network of freeing slaves had vast reach up North, where his work was needed more than people might realize.
"I think a lot of people grew up in the North thinking that the Underground Railroad, once you get to the North across that line, that things are fine and good. But the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 really changed that. And the fact that regardless of how far you got into the North and into the wilderness, you could still be brought back to that life," she said. "We know that the sheriff at the time during those territorial years was vigilant about trying to catch folks."
Sieber will share more about the routes taken to reach freedom in Minnesota, while dispelling myths about the Underground Railroad, on Thursday night at the History Center of Olmsted County in Rochester.
Tickets to attend cost $5 for non-members. You can also join via Zoom for the same price. It runs from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
