Eliza Winston facts for kids
Eliza Winston (born around 1830) was an enslaved woman from Mississippi. She gained her freedom while on a trip with her owners in Minnesota, which was a free state. She went to court and explained that she and her late husband had bought her freedom before, but it wasn't respected. The court set her free from her owners. She might have received help to travel to Canada, but we don't know much about her life after that.
Eliza Winston's Fight for Freedom
In the summer of 1860, Eliza Winston was about 30 years old. Her owners, Richard and Mary Christmas, took her from Issaquena County, Mississippi to St. Anthony, Minnesota. Wealthy people from the South often traveled north by steamboat during summer. They wanted to escape the yellow fever season. They also brought enslaved people as servants. The Christmas family, their five-year-old daughter Norma, and Eliza stayed at the Winslow House. Minnesota was a free state, meaning slavery was not allowed there.
Eliza had already decided to seek her freedom in Minnesota. She shared her story with Ralph and Emily Grey, who were free Black citizens. Eliza explained that she and her late husband had bought her freedom. However, Richard Christmas had bought her from a previous owner, Mr. Gholson. He did not respect her freedom. Since Minnesota was a free state, Judge Charles Vandenburgh agreed to hear her case.
The judge sent the sheriff to the Winslow House to take Eliza into protective custody. But by then, the Christmas family had moved to a country house near Lake Harriet. When the sheriff arrived, the Christmas family tried to hide Eliza at first. However, they did not resist once she was found. The next day, after a court hearing, the judge ruled that Eliza Winston was a free woman.
The local newspaper, the Saint Anthony Weekly Express, thought this event would hurt tourism. That evening, a group of people who supported slavery surrounded the Greys' home. They demanded that Eliza be returned to the Christmas family. But with help from people involved in the Underground Railroad, Eliza was already on her way to Windsor, Ontario in Canada. Canada had already ended slavery. Other stories exist about what happened to her later.
According to the Dred Scott court case of 1857, Eliza would become enslaved again if she returned to a state where slavery was legal.
See also
- William C. Goodridge, who was Emily O. (Goodridge) Grey's father and an abolitionist.
