Ellen and William Craft facts for kids
Ellen Craft (born 1826) and William Craft (born 1824) were an amazing American couple who were born into slavery in Macon, Georgia. They made a very brave escape to the northern United States in December 1848. They traveled by train and steamboat, arriving in Philadelphia on Christmas Day.
Ellen was very light-skinned and pretended to be a white man who owned a plantation. William pretended to be her personal servant. Their daring escape became very famous. People who wanted to end slavery, called abolitionists, often shared their story in public talks to get more support.
After a new law called the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, the Crafts were in danger of being captured in Boston. So, they moved to England. They lived there for almost 20 years and had five children. The Crafts continued to give talks about their escape. They also spoke out against the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
In 1860, they wrote a book about their journey called Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom. It was one of the most powerful stories written by formerly enslaved people before the Civil War. Their book was read by many people in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
After returning to the US in 1868, the Crafts started a farming school in Georgia for children of formerly enslaved people. They worked at the school and farm until 1890. Their book was printed again in the United States in 1999, with both Ellen and William listed as authors. You can even read it online today!
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Ellen Craft was born in 1826 in Clinton, Georgia. Her mother, Maria, was an enslaved woman of mixed race. Her father was the wealthy plantation owner, Major James Smith. Ellen had very fair skin, looking a lot like her white half-brothers and sisters.
When Eliza Smith, the owner's daughter, married Dr. Robert Collins, she took Ellen with her to live in Macon, Georgia. Ellen grew up working as a house servant for Eliza. This gave her a chance to learn things about the area.
William Craft was born in Macon. He met Ellen when he was 16 years old. His first owner sold him to pay off debts. Before this, William saw his 14-year-old sister and both of his parents sold away to different owners. William's new owner trained him as a carpenter. He was allowed to work for money, but his owner took most of his earnings.
Marriage and Family Life
When Ellen was 20, she married William Craft. William saved money from his carpentry work. The couple did not want to have children while enslaved. So, during the Christmas season of 1848, they made a plan to escape.
They later had five children who were born and grew up in England. The Crafts moved there because the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it dangerous for them to stay in Boston. Their children were Charles, William, Brougham, Ellen, and Alfred. When the Crafts returned to the United States after the American Civil War, three of their children came with them.
A Daring Escape Plan
Ellen came up with a clever plan to use her light skin to pass as a white person. She would travel by train and boat to the North. She dressed as a man because it was not common for a white woman to travel alone with a male servant back then. She also pretended to be sick so she wouldn't have to talk much. Ellen had not been allowed to learn to read or write.
William would act as her personal servant. At that time, enslaved people often traveled with their owners, so the Crafts hoped they wouldn't be questioned. To their surprise, they were stopped for a short time. An officer asked for proof that William belonged to Ellen. But other passengers and the train conductor felt sorry for them, and they were finally allowed on the train. Their escape is known as one of the most clever plans in the history of people escaping slavery.
During their journey, they traveled on first-class trains and stayed in the best hotels. One evening, Ellen even ate dinner with a steamboat captain. Ellen dyed her hair and bought proper clothes to look like a young man, wearing a jacket and trousers. William used his earnings as a carpenter to buy these clothes for Ellen. He also cut her hair to make her look more like a man. Ellen practiced how to act and move like a man. She kept her right arm in a sling to hide the fact that she couldn't write.
They traveled to nearby Macon to catch a train to Savannah. From there, they boarded a steamship for Philadelphia, a free state. They arrived early on Christmas Day. Even though they had a few close calls, they successfully avoided being caught.
Soon after the Crafts arrived in the North, people who wanted to end slavery, like William Lloyd Garrison, encouraged them to share their story. They moved to a community of free Black people in Boston. There, they had a Christian wedding ceremony. Ellen Craft even posed for a photograph in her escape clothes. This picture was shared widely by abolitionists to help their fight against slavery.
For the next two years, the Crafts made many public appearances to tell their story and speak out against slavery. Since it was not common for women to speak to mixed audiences back then, Ellen usually stood on stage while William told their story. However, one newspaper reported that Ellen spoke to a large crowd of 800-900 people in Newburyport, Massachusetts. People were very curious about the brave young woman who had escaped so boldly.
In 1850, a new law called the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. This law made it harder for enslaved people to escape. It also made it a crime to help them. The law even required people in free states to help catch and return formerly enslaved people to their owners.
A month after this new law, Ellen's former owner, Collins, sent two men to Boston to capture the Crafts. These men were met with strong resistance from both white and Black people in Boston. Abolitionists in Boston had formed a group called the Boston Vigilance Committee to fight the new law. Members of this group protected the Crafts by moving them to different safe houses until they could leave the country. The two men trying to catch them finally gave up and went back South. Collins even asked the President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, to help him get his "property" back. The President agreed that the Crafts should be returned and said he would use military force if needed.
Life in the United Kingdom
With help from their supporters, the Crafts decided to escape to England. They traveled from Portland, Maine, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they boarded a ship for Liverpool. William later said in their book, "It was not until we stepped ashore at Liverpool that we were free from every slavish fear." In England, they were helped by important abolitionists. They even went to school in Ockham, Surrey, to learn to read and write.
In 1852, Ellen Craft wrote something that was shared widely in newspapers in both the UK and the US. This was because some newspapers in the US had falsely said that the Crafts regretted moving to England.
The Crafts lived in England for 19 years and had five children there. Ellen joined groups that worked for change, such as the London Emancipation Committee and the Women's Suffrage Organization. They earned money by giving public talks about slavery in the US and their escape. William Craft started a business again, but they still faced money problems. For most of their time in England, the Craft family lived in Hammersmith. Ellen made their home a meeting place for Black activists. She invited other Black abolitionists to stay and supported them.
Ellen was known for her clever way of thinking. For example, during a dinner, she spoke with the former Governor of Jamaica, Edward J. Eyre. She didn't know who he was at first. She talked about the situation in Jamaica with him. When other guests told her who he was, she subtly questioned his decision to execute a Jamaican politician named George William Gordon. She asked, "Do you not yourself, sir, feel now that poor Gordon was unjustly executed?" In another meeting, she challenged an American lawyer known for making fun of African Americans. She looked him straight in the eye and told him he should "never again write anything which shall make people believe that you are against the negro."
After the American Civil War ended, Ellen found her mother, Maria, in Georgia. She paid for her mother to travel to England, where they were reunited.
Returning to the United States
In 1868, after the American Civil War ended and new laws gave freedom and rights to formerly enslaved people, the Crafts returned to the United States. Three of their children came with them. They raised money from supporters. In 1870, they bought 1800 acres of land in Georgia, near Savannah.
In 1873, they started the Woodville Co-operative Farm School there. This school was for the education and employment of formerly enslaved people. In 1876, William Craft faced false accusations about how he used money. He tried to clear his name in a court case in 1878 but lost. The school closed soon after. Even though the Crafts tried to keep the farm going, cotton prices dropped. Also, violence and unfair treatment against formerly enslaved people after the Reconstruction era made it very difficult. By 1876, white politicians had regained control of the state governments in the South.
In 1890, the Crafts moved to Charleston, South Carolina. They lived with their daughter Ellen, who was married to Dr. William D. Crum. Ellen Craft passed away in 1891. William Craft died on January 29, 1900.
Their Book: Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom
Their book gives a special look at ideas about race, gender, and social class in the 1800s. It shows how Ellen pretended to be white, dressed as a man, and acted like a middle-class person. In their society, these boundaries were usually very strict.
The book was first published with only William's name as the author. However, experts in recent years believe Ellen likely helped write it too. They point to parts of the book that talk about other women who escaped slavery. Since the 1990s, newer versions of the book have listed both Ellen and William Craft as authors.
Their escape, especially Ellen's disguise, showed how race, gender, and class were all connected. Ellen had to act perfectly in all three ways at the same time for them to travel without being caught. Even though only William's voice tells their story in the book, it shows how hard it was for a Black woman to have her own public voice, even if she was very brave in her actions.
Historians and readers cannot know exactly how much Ellen helped write their story. But audiences loved seeing the young woman who had been so daring. One newspaper noted that there was "considerable disappointment" when Ellen Craft was not there. Since they appeared together for ten years, William could see how audiences reacted to Ellen in person and to hearing about her actions. It is likely that their published book shows her influence.
Legacy and Honors
- In 1996, Ellen Craft was recognized by Georgia Women of Achievement.
- Their lives and accomplishments are shown at the Tubman African American Museum in Macon, Georgia.
- They are mentioned in connection with the Lewis and Harriet Hayden House on the Boston Women's Heritage Trail.
- In September 2018, a sign honoring their escape was put up in Ockham, Surrey, England, where they found safety. Their great-great-grandson and other family members attended the event.
- Their home in Hammersmith, London, is remembered with a blue plaque. This is a special sign on a building that honors famous people who lived there. English Heritage announced that Ellen Craft (along with William) was one of six women honored with a blue plaque in 2021. The plaque was unveiled in September 2021.
See also
- List of African-American abolitionists
- List of slaves
