Francis Jackson (kidnapping victim) facts for kids
Francis Jackson, also known as Frank Jackson, was an African American who was born free but was kidnapped and sold into slavery. This happened in early 1851. He was tricked into helping to move horses to Virginia, which was a state where slavery was legal. Even though he was free, he was sold as a slave.
Over seven years, Francis escaped many times. There were also three important legal cases in Virginia and North Carolina to try and free him. In 1855, a court case called Francis Jackson vs. John W. Deshazer decided he should be free. However, he was still held as a slave until 1858. Francis kept getting sold to new slaveholders, running away, getting caught, and then being returned to his latest owner.
He was sold to as many as twelve different slaveholders. These owners were in Virginia, South Carolina, and finally in Moore County, North Carolina. An attorney named George Cameron Mendenhall met Francis when he was in jail in North Carolina. Francis had run away from a nearby farm. Mendenhall believed Francis's story. He started legal steps that finally freed Francis in August 1858.
While Francis was enslaved, people who wanted to end slavery (called abolitionists) from Pennsylvania tried to find him. They wanted to provide proof that he was a free man. But their efforts were stopped for years. Papers that proved his freedom were ignored. He was also moved around, which made it harder for them to find him. After he was freed, Francis went back to the New Castle, Pennsylvania area. He was married by 1860. Even though he had a physical problem, he joined the United States Colored Troops in the army and was honorably released.
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Francis Jackson's Early Life
Francis Jackson was born between 1815 and 1820 in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. His parents, Elijah and Sarah (also called Sally), were both free African Americans. Sarah became free in 1813. Any children she had after that were also free. Elijah and Sarah got married in 1815.
Francis was the oldest of his parents' four or five children. He lived near New Castle, Pennsylvania for many years. A farmer named John Young raised him. John Young was strongly against slavery and helped people escape on the Underground Railroad. Francis lived in West Greenville, Pennsylvania when he was kidnapped.
How Francis Jackson Was Kidnapped
In early 1851, a man named Charles May asked Francis to help him move horses to Baltimore, Maryland. Charles May was a drover, someone who moves animals. Francis was worried about going through Virginia, a state where slavery was legal. He only agreed after May promised he would stay free.
Sold into Slavery in Virginia
After the horses were delivered, Charles May put Francis up for sale at a slave auction in Richmond, Virginia. Francis was sold to Samuel Scott. It was said that Francis did not even know this was happening.
Soon after Francis left Pennsylvania and did not return, rumors of his kidnapping reached New Castle. People like William Stewart and Judge John Reynolds tried to bring Francis back. They had papers proving he was free. But when they tried to find him, they were told he had been sold and moved further south. Newspapers like the Free Presbyterian and The Anti-Slavery Bugle followed his case.
Francis tried to escape whenever he could, especially in his first nine months as a slave. Once, he was caught and put in jail in Botetourt County, Virginia. People tried to keep him enslaved. One official ignored the papers that proved his freedom. Francis was then moved to unknown places.
By August 1851, Francis was found in a jail in Richmond. A slaveholder named William John Clark visited him. Clark said he did not want to see free people enslaved. He had helped others who were wrongly enslaved for fifteen years. Even though this slaveholder wanted to help, Francis was moved to another jail far away.
After being arrested, Francis filed his first lawsuit against Samuel Scott. He said he was illegally enslaved. This happened on October 14, 1851. An attorney got proof from Pennsylvania that Francis was a free man. But a witness from Virginia said Francis had been enslaved before. The case went to trial in October 1853. Three people from Pennsylvania who knew Francis and his family testified that they were free. But the case was dismissed. Francis was then given to John W. Deshazer. Francis escaped again, was found, and put back in jail.
Francis learned that the legal system often worked against enslaved people. It was very hard for someone wrongly enslaved to be heard and proven free. He filed another lawsuit, Francis Jackson vs. John W. Deshazer. He said he was kidnapped in Richmond and sold into slavery. An attorney tried to use statements from Pennsylvania, but they were not accepted. An official said he would only accept statements from white people. This shows how unfair the system was. Enslaved and free Black people often could not speak in court against white people. This meant they could not tell their side of the story or bring their own witnesses.
Finally, around October 1855, the Francis Jackson vs. John W. Deshazer case ended. Francis Jackson was officially declared free.
Years of Escape and Capture
For several years, Francis was stuck in a cycle. He would escape, get caught and jailed, and then be returned to a slaveholder. He had ten to twelve different slaveholders in Virginia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
Freedom in North Carolina
Francis was taken south, just across the Virginia state line into North Carolina. He was sold to a farmer there. While in jail for escaping, Francis talked to George Cameron Mendenhall. Mendenhall was a Quaker, a slaveholder, and an attorney. Francis told him his whole story, starting from his life in Pennsylvania. Mendenhall believed him. He wrote letters to people Francis knew in Pennsylvania to tell them where Francis was.
Once people in Pennsylvania knew how to find Francis, they started a fund to pay for his release. The Governor of North Carolina was asked by Pennsylvania's leader to send Francis back to New Castle. George C. Morgan traveled south with a letter for Mendenhall, who lived near Francis's slaveholder.
Meanwhile, Francis was in jail. He had run away from Frederick W. Swann's farm in Moore County, North Carolina. Mendenhall started legal steps to prove Francis was born free. He also got Francis out of jail and bought him new clothes. Mendenhall took Francis to his home. But Swann found out, found Francis, and took him back to his farm.
When Morgan arrived at Swann's farm, he saw Francis. He recognized him by a slight limp he had when he walked. Francis also recognized Morgan as a tailor from New Castle.
Mendenhall had filed a lawsuit asking for $1,500 in damages because Francis had been illegally enslaved. The trial began on August 23, 1858. After hearing all the evidence and witness statements, the jury quickly decided that Francis was born free.
Morgan and Francis then traveled back to Pennsylvania by train in September 1858. They returned to New Castle, where Francis's parents still lived.
Francis Jackson's Later Years
Francis Jackson returned to New Castle. By 1860, he lived in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania with his wife, Susan. He worked as a laborer to support his family. During the American Civil War, he joined the Union Army and was honorably released from service.
