Catherine Harris, Africa, and
some history of Jamestown, NY
June 10, 1809. Catherine Harris was
born in Meadville, Pa of a free Negro father and white mother.
Her father dies when she was seven.
1828 Harris marries
a Negro named Butler and they move from Meadville to Buffalo New
York. Butler dies leaving her with one daughter (in 1902 the daughter's
name was given as Mrs. Hall).
1831 Harris and
daughter move from Buffalo to Jamestown, New York. When she arrived
there were "no colored" persons living in Jamestown.
Mrs. Harris said that the slave hunter was
rampant causing no Blacks to stop for long. But towards the end
of the 1930''s "colored" people began to move into Jamestown.
Some of the early people were John Ackley and wife; Richard Sweezer
and his wife who was an escaped slave; Johnson Wright and wife;
runaway slaves Wade Hamilton and Harry King.
1835 Catherine
married her second husband John Harris and they moved into the
house only 16 feet in length at what later became 12 West Seventh
St. located off the old road to Fredonia. Colored [Negro] families
settled near the Harris' home, sometime in the 1840's whites began
to call the area Africa. Harris was one of the few
blacks in the United States to maintain a station, it is maintained
that Mrs. Harris could hide as many as 17 runaway slaves at one
time in the attic of the original house.
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1849 Nearly
100 Blacks were living in the area Africa. Some were running
from slave hunters, some even spied for the slave hunters. People
were captured and some free people were kidnapped south. However,
the underground railroad was also
quite active: Catherien Harris says (in 1902), "Yes, I remember
the underground railroad, it was here [in Africa] and I worked
on it; this place of mine was a depot where slaves came and were
brought; Silas Shearman, Dr. Hedges, Phineas Crossman, and others
would bring here runaway slaves. At one time they brought nine,
another 17. I cooked and fed with them with eatables brought
by friends; others would help me."
From Phineas Crossma: Addison A. Price, Frank
VanDusen, and Dr. Brown of Busti and Dr. Catlin of Sugargrove,
Pa, were conductors and workers on the underground railroad.
Contributing from their pockets were Alonzo Kent, Orsell Cook,
Lewis Hall, Albert Patridge, and Madison Burnell, all of Jamestown.
Crossman, "I took as many as five from
the back door of the Silas Sugarman house on the east side of
Pine Street; took them in covered carriages and carried them
to Nessel's in Ellington Center; I took them up to the door,
would ring the bell, and someone would open the door and I would
say ,'here dey is', unload, turn and go away; the slaves would
exhibit great fear, but keep mum and obey orders."
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Mr. Page, a white man born in 1831, living
in Falconer, but then in Ellington, said, "I took runaway
slaves from Nessel's, slaves got in the sleigh and were covered
with blankets. I drove towards Sinclairville and came to a house
where I saw the designated light and drove up; I rapped on my
sleigh with my whip handle and someone came to the door; said
I, 'here they are,' and they got out, adn I turned around and
went back at 3 o'clock in the morning.
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1852 Mrs. Harris'
husband John Harris dies
1881 Mrs. Harris
house was the site for the A.M.E. Zion Church. In time it served
as the church's parsonage. In appreciation and in honor of Mrs.
Harris' contributions to the history of Jamestown and to blacks
of generations past and present, the church erected a monument
marking her grave in Lakeview Cemetery in March 1976.
1902 Harris
lived in the Jamestown Community called "Africa" along
Fredonia Road. Two articles, interviews with Catherine Harris
on the history of Africa were published.
1907
Catherine Harris died from pneumonia Feb. 12, 1907, nearly 98
years of age. Her daughter died from pneumonia afew hours earlier.
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For more see the new http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/archives/urr/jamestown.html and the interesting AAUW article http://www.prendergastlibrary.org/jamestown/catherinedickesharris.html.
References:
1. AFRICA (Interview with Catherine
Harris) by C. R. Lockwood, Jamestown, New York, Evening Journal,
Saturday May 3, 1902
2. AFRICA 2 (Black History of Jamestown) by C. R.
Lockwood, Jamestown, New York, Evening Journal, Saturday,
May 10, 1902
3. Obituary
of Catherine Harris and her daughter (double funeral)
4. The
Circle Of Distinction Welcomes Catherine Harris by B.
Dolores Thompson, Jamestown (NY) Post-Journal, 10 March 1984
5. University of Buffalo Archivist Christopher
Densmore <Densmore@acsu.buffalo.edu> 1999.
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