John Fairfield
John Fairfield was born into a slave holding family in Virginia and that is where his hatred toward slavery started. Fairfield got his start on the Underground Railroad when he helped a slave friend escape to Canada (canadianhistoryforkids.com). After that experience he had other African Americans find him and pay him to help friends and relatives escape to the north.
John Fairfield’s life as a conductor on the Underground Railroad consisted of hiding his identity and falsifying who he was to help escaped slaves across the Canadian border. John Fairfield posed as many things, but his most famous were a slaveholder, a slave trader, and sometimes even a peddler. In doing this, he was able to gain the trust of whites, making it much easier for him to guide the escaped slaves to freedom. During one of Fairfield’s trips from the south, he staged a funeral procession in a successful attempt to bring twenty eight escaped slaves into the north (canadianhistoryforkids.com). In one twelve-year period, he made numerous trips to nearly every slave state to rescue thousands of slaves and move them to Canada through other conductors of the Underground Railroad, such as Levi and Catharine Coffin.
Strangely, John Fairfield disappeared shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. He is thought to have been helping slave revolts in the south; a man that matched Fairfield’s description died while helping a slave rebellion in Cumberland County, Tennessee around 1860. John Fairfield’s interesting life was an inspiration to many. Coming from a southern, slave holding family, he ended up as strong abolitionist helping thousands to freedom and fought alongside just as many during their fight for freedom in the Civil War.
John Fairfield was born into a slave holding family in Virginia and that is where his hatred toward slavery started. Fairfield got his start on the Underground Railroad when he helped a slave friend escape to Canada (canadianhistoryforkids.com). After that experience he had other African Americans find him and pay him to help friends and relatives escape to the north.
John Fairfield’s life as a conductor on the Underground Railroad consisted of hiding his identity and falsifying who he was to help escaped slaves across the Canadian border. John Fairfield posed as many things, but his most famous were a slaveholder, a slave trader, and sometimes even a peddler. In doing this, he was able to gain the trust of whites, making it much easier for him to guide the escaped slaves to freedom. During one of Fairfield’s trips from the south, he staged a funeral procession in a successful attempt to bring twenty eight escaped slaves into the north (canadianhistoryforkids.com). In one twelve-year period, he made numerous trips to nearly every slave state to rescue thousands of slaves and move them to Canada through other conductors of the Underground Railroad, such as Levi and Catharine Coffin.
Strangely, John Fairfield disappeared shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. He is thought to have been helping slave revolts in the south; a man that matched Fairfield’s description died while helping a slave rebellion in Cumberland County, Tennessee around 1860. John Fairfield’s interesting life was an inspiration to many. Coming from a southern, slave holding family, he ended up as strong abolitionist helping thousands to freedom and fought alongside just as many during their fight for freedom in the Civil War.