Lots of Pilgrims on the track

Nancy Adams
Nov 4 · 3 min read

I, being retired, choose to get up in the dark. Annie had waked up, and had sensed that I was awake too, so she strode up my body. She planted herself on my chest. as if she owned the place, and she shoved at a hand with her nose. I being well trained, scratched her ears and stroked her long body and down her tail. When she decided we were done, Annie jumped down and I jumped up. I chose to make a fire, to make coffee, to start laundry, to write.

A funeral ended earlier Saturday morning than I had thought, and so I was freed to go after all on my Underground Railroad Pilgrimage, down to Sugar Grove and the unveiling of a historical marker at the home of Cynthia Catlin Miller for her work in the Underground Railroad in that part of Pennsylvania. The car ride was warm, a nice choice, I thought, heated steering wheel. I pulled on my wool coat and scarf and hat as I parked, way down the Big Tree Road just over the border into Pennsylvania. I was early, but there were lots of cars ahead of me, and the fire department and truck managing traffic. School children, parents, potentates, descendants, friends, community members.

The Ladies of the Sugar Grove Presbyterian Church had made mountains of tea sandwiches and pie for the pilgrim travelers in the parlor off their sanctuary. The Librarian showed a documentary, ‘Safe Harbor,’ about the Underground Railroad in western Pennsylvania, at the little village library. At the Caitlin Mansion The marker remained covered till, at the end of all the speeches, two women affixed a ladder in the slope of the hill. One held the ladder firmly. The other climbed up, unzipped the marker, and slipped it off. She revealed this:

CYNTHIA CATLIN MILLER (1791–1883) Prominent antislavery leader from an abolitionist family. She founded the Female Assisting Society and the Ladies Fugitive Aid Society. Her home here, the Miller Mansion, was a refuge for freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, and her organizations provided them with food and clothing. She and her son Franklin hosted Frederick Douglass and other abolitionists when they came to speak at the Sugar Grove Convention of 1854.

Women with needles and thread sat together and defied the law in Cynthia’s house. Good Presbyterian and Congregationalist women stitched opposition to the fugitive Slave Act, one strong knot after another. The women stitched with long needles. They gathered up tiny folds of cloth, in a path guided by one hand. As the needle found its way through thick fabric, the thimble finger, the middle finger of the other hand thrusted the needle through and out. It is a decisive complex movement with the strength of a clenching fist, and the skill of an artist. The women stitched clothing. They did more. They broke the law. They risked 6 months in jail, and a $1000 fine.

The Warren County Commissioner who spoke said nothing of this law-breaking. He talked about faith and the political process. Cynthia Caitlin Miller’s great grandson though, said a good deal. The Ladies were breaking the law. They chose to do it. They wrote about it. They held a convention about it. They hosted travelers in their homes. They set an example. And it worked. People fleeing passed through the Sugar Grove Station on their way to Erie, or Westfield, or Dunkirk, or Buffalo, and finally, safety in Canada.

Beware women with the tools of rebellion, the needles, the thread, the thimbles, the knitting needles, the yarn, the bolts of fabric! Beware tea, and tea sandwiches, and pen and paper! Beware heroes and conscience and hospitality!

Even the graveyards rebel. Cynthia Caitlin Miller lies in the Cherry Hill Cemetery in Sugar Grove. Nearby is the burial site of a traveler, who died before he reached the safety of Canada. It is marked ‘The Stranger’s Lot.’ The route and map are well marked in anticipation of pilgrims.

Time to dry the laundry. Time to make plans. Time to pick up my thimble, and thread, and bolts of cloth. Time to make tea sandwiches. I think I will start with another cup of coffee. Good morning! Move along!

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