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Part 1. - The Proceedings
U.S. Marshal Seth Abbey and a deputy arrived at the Prospect Avenue home of Lucius Benton, a Cleveland, Ohio, silversmith and jeweler at about 7:00 a.m. Saturday, January 19, 1861, bearing an arrest warrant. The subject of the warrant was a house servant going by the name of Ann, who was in reality named Sara Lucy Bagby (known as Lucy). As she watched from an upstairs window Lucy recognized a man standing with the marshals. His name was William Goshorn and he had traveled to Cleveland from Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) to reclaim his property, Lucy, under the provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The marshals broke down the door and Lucy attempted to take refuge in the Benton's bedroom, but she was soon discovered and escorted away by the marshals. So began the legal proceedings of the last slave to be prosecuted under that Fugitive Slave Law.
As is typical for most people born into slavery, details of her life are sparse. Sara Lucy Bagby was born probably in the early 1840s (newspaper accounts of the event indicates her birth could have been as early as 1833) to a slaveholding family in Virginia. She first entered the public records on January 16, 1852, when she was sold in Richmond, Virginia, to Wheeling businessman John Goshorn for the sum of $600. Five years later, in 1857, she was presented as a gift to Goshorn's son William. The Goshorns were Wheeling business men. The 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedules for Ohio County, Virginia, show William as the owner of a 22-year old female slave and John owning a 19-year old female. One of the two was probably Lucy.
Why she chose to escape is open to speculation. Following her arrest, Lucy was escorted by the marshals to jail where she would be held until her case was adjudicated. Enroute she told one of them, Deputy Marshal J. H. Johnson, that she had escaped because she feared being sold south. While that may have been true there may have been other facts enter into the situation. A Cleveland Plain Dealer news article dated January 24, 1861, suggests she told a friendly "colored woman" that she had married in Wheeling without her master's knowledge or consent. Other accounts have suggested Lucy was pregnant. The question of mistreatment was always a possibility. When queried by the Plain Dealer reporter Lucy replied that "she didn't call it good treatment to be kept in the house all the time and not allowed to go out when she pleased."
In early October, 1860, Lucy took advantage of a good situation as she saw it. William Goshorn was away from home on a business trip to Minnesota. According to her later testimony Lucy had accompanied William's daughter, Isabelle, on a trip to Pennsylvania where she informed Isabelle she was in a free state and refused to return. Evidence suggests there was no trip, that Lucy had escaped and made her way via the "Underground Railroad" through Beaver, Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh and from there to Cleveland. Accounts of her arrival in Cleveland vary. Some place her initially under charge of William Ambush, Chairman of the Fugitive Aid Society; others say Albert G. Riddle, the Republican congressman-elect in the Cleveland area. Both men would play a role in upcoming events. Sometime later Lucy took the position with Lucius Benton, which she had only held a couple of weeks before her arrest.
News of Lucy's arrest spread quickly. By the afternoon of Lucy's arrest Attorneys Rufus Spaulding, Albert Riddle, and C. W. Palmer, acting on her behalf, filed a writ of habeas corpus asking whether she could legally be held in an Ohio jail when she had committed no crime under Ohio law. Probate Judge Daniel Tilden rather astutely deferred ruling until 9:00 a.m. Monday only one hour before Lucy would appear before the U.S. Commissioner. Tilden made his decision to defer at a time when his courtroom was filled and the courthouse surrounded by antislavery supporters. Judge Tilden admonished all present to keep the peace.
At the Monday morning hearing on January 21, Tilden ruled that Lucy's arrest was legal, but that she could not be held in Ohio jails. Lucy was released to Marshal Abbey who escorted her under guard to the U.S. Courthouse. This was the time when events nearly became a full scale riot. On one hand the papers reported that the special deputies hired for escort duty literally bludgeoned their way through a crowd of black and white protesters, especially singling blacks for abuse. Other stories reported on the number of knives, razors, brickbats and other weapons taken from protesters. Appearing before Commissioner Bushnell White of the U.S. District Court there was little Lucy's attorneys could do. The custom of the day precluded defendants from testifying on their own behalf and John Goshorn contended the trip to Pennsylvania by his granddaughter, Isabelle, and Lucy had never occurred - that Lucy had fled from the Goshorn's Wheeling home. The Goshorns also had Lucy's bill of sale.
As a last ditch effort Lucy's attorneys requested a continuance so that the Goshorn's claims could be verified. Commissioner White gave them two days. Since she could not be held in an Ohio jail Lucy was held in a specially outfitted room of the U.S. Post Office. With no evidence being uncovered in Wheeling Commissioner White awarded custody of Lucy to her owners. By January 24, 1861, the affair was over. A train carrying Lucy, the Goshorns and a U.S. Marshal escort made a beeline for Wheeling, bypassing station where it was feared an attempt would be made to rescue her. After her return Lucy was held in an Ohio County (Wheeling area) jail until William Goshorn could make arrangements to send her to a relative in Charleston where she would have little chance of escape.
U.S. Marshal Seth Abbey and a deputy arrived at the Prospect Avenue home of Lucius Benton, a Cleveland, Ohio, silversmith and jeweler at about 7:00 a.m. Saturday, January 19, 1861, bearing an arrest warrant. The subject of the warrant was a house servant going by the name of Ann, who was in reality named Sara Lucy Bagby (known as Lucy). As she watched from an upstairs window Lucy recognized a man standing with the marshals. His name was William Goshorn and he had traveled to Cleveland from Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) to reclaim his property, Lucy, under the provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The marshals broke down the door and Lucy attempted to take refuge in the Benton's bedroom, but she was soon discovered and escorted away by the marshals. So began the legal proceedings of the last slave to be prosecuted under that Fugitive Slave Law.
As is typical for most people born into slavery, details of her life are sparse. Sara Lucy Bagby was born probably in the early 1840s (newspaper accounts of the event indicates her birth could have been as early as 1833) to a slaveholding family in Virginia. She first entered the public records on January 16, 1852, when she was sold in Richmond, Virginia, to Wheeling businessman John Goshorn for the sum of $600. Five years later, in 1857, she was presented as a gift to Goshorn's son William. The Goshorns were Wheeling business men. The 1860 U.S. Census Slave Schedules for Ohio County, Virginia, show William as the owner of a 22-year old female slave and John owning a 19-year old female. One of the two was probably Lucy.
Why she chose to escape is open to speculation. Following her arrest, Lucy was escorted by the marshals to jail where she would be held until her case was adjudicated. Enroute she told one of them, Deputy Marshal J. H. Johnson, that she had escaped because she feared being sold south. While that may have been true there may have been other facts enter into the situation. A Cleveland Plain Dealer news article dated January 24, 1861, suggests she told a friendly "colored woman" that she had married in Wheeling without her master's knowledge or consent. Other accounts have suggested Lucy was pregnant. The question of mistreatment was always a possibility. When queried by the Plain Dealer reporter Lucy replied that "she didn't call it good treatment to be kept in the house all the time and not allowed to go out when she pleased."
In early October, 1860, Lucy took advantage of a good situation as she saw it. William Goshorn was away from home on a business trip to Minnesota. According to her later testimony Lucy had accompanied William's daughter, Isabelle, on a trip to Pennsylvania where she informed Isabelle she was in a free state and refused to return. Evidence suggests there was no trip, that Lucy had escaped and made her way via the "Underground Railroad" through Beaver, Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh and from there to Cleveland. Accounts of her arrival in Cleveland vary. Some place her initially under charge of William Ambush, Chairman of the Fugitive Aid Society; others say Albert G. Riddle, the Republican congressman-elect in the Cleveland area. Both men would play a role in upcoming events. Sometime later Lucy took the position with Lucius Benton, which she had only held a couple of weeks before her arrest.
News of Lucy's arrest spread quickly. By the afternoon of Lucy's arrest Attorneys Rufus Spaulding, Albert Riddle, and C. W. Palmer, acting on her behalf, filed a writ of habeas corpus asking whether she could legally be held in an Ohio jail when she had committed no crime under Ohio law. Probate Judge Daniel Tilden rather astutely deferred ruling until 9:00 a.m. Monday only one hour before Lucy would appear before the U.S. Commissioner. Tilden made his decision to defer at a time when his courtroom was filled and the courthouse surrounded by antislavery supporters. Judge Tilden admonished all present to keep the peace.
At the Monday morning hearing on January 21, Tilden ruled that Lucy's arrest was legal, but that she could not be held in Ohio jails. Lucy was released to Marshal Abbey who escorted her under guard to the U.S. Courthouse. This was the time when events nearly became a full scale riot. On one hand the papers reported that the special deputies hired for escort duty literally bludgeoned their way through a crowd of black and white protesters, especially singling blacks for abuse. Other stories reported on the number of knives, razors, brickbats and other weapons taken from protesters. Appearing before Commissioner Bushnell White of the U.S. District Court there was little Lucy's attorneys could do. The custom of the day precluded defendants from testifying on their own behalf and John Goshorn contended the trip to Pennsylvania by his granddaughter, Isabelle, and Lucy had never occurred - that Lucy had fled from the Goshorn's Wheeling home. The Goshorns also had Lucy's bill of sale.
As a last ditch effort Lucy's attorneys requested a continuance so that the Goshorn's claims could be verified. Commissioner White gave them two days. Since she could not be held in an Ohio jail Lucy was held in a specially outfitted room of the U.S. Post Office. With no evidence being uncovered in Wheeling Commissioner White awarded custody of Lucy to her owners. By January 24, 1861, the affair was over. A train carrying Lucy, the Goshorns and a U.S. Marshal escort made a beeline for Wheeling, bypassing station where it was feared an attempt would be made to rescue her. After her return Lucy was held in an Ohio County (Wheeling area) jail until William Goshorn could make arrangements to send her to a relative in Charleston where she would have little chance of escape.
Bringing the