The Underground Railroad
Arrival from Maryland
JOHN JANNEY, TALBOT JOHNSON, SAM GROSS, PETER GROSS, JAMES HENRY JACKSON, AND SAM SMITH.
$1.000 REWARD.—Ran away from the subscriber, August 14th, two negro men, viz:
BILL HUTTON,
aged 48 or 50 years, dark brown, round face, 5 feet 7 or 8 inches high, rather stout, has a waddling walk, and small bald spot on the top of his head.
TALBOT JOHNSON,
aged about 35, is black, spare, and lean-visaged, about 5 feet 10 inches high, has lost some of his front teeth, leans forward as he walks.
If taken in a slave State I will give $200 each for their recovery. For their recovery from a free State I will give one-half their value.
B.D. BOND,
Port Republic, Md.
Ran away at the same time and in company, negro man
SAM GROSS,
aged about 33, is 5 feet 8 or 9 inches high, black color, rather bad teeth. For his recovery, if taken in a slave State, I will give $200. For his recovery from a free State, I will give half his value.
GEO. IRELAND,
Port Republic, Md.
Ran away at the same time and in company, two negro men, viz:>
PETER GROSS,
aged 33, is light-brown color, 5 feet 9 or 10 inches high, has a small scar over his right eyebrow, usually wears a goatee, has a pleasant countenance.
JOHN JANNEY, aged 22, light-brown color, 5 feet 6 or seven inches high, broad across the shoulders, has one of his front upper teeth broken, has a scar upon one of his great toes from the cut of an axe. For their recovery, if taken in a slave State, I will give $200 each. For their recovery from a free State I will give half their value.
JOS. GRIFFISS,
St. Leonards, Calvert county, Md.
Refer to N.E. BERRY, No. 63 Pratt street, Baltimore.
So far as Messrs. Bond, Ireland, and Griffiss may be concerned (if they are still living), they may not care to have the reward kept in view, or to hear anything about the “ungrateful” fellows. It may be different, however, with other parties concerned. This company, some of whom bore names agreeing with those in the above advertisement, are found described in the record book as follows:
Sept. 10th, 1858. John Janney is a fine specimen of the peculiar institution; color brown, well-formed, self-possessed and intelligent. He says that he fled from master Joseph Griffiss of Culbert county, Maryland; that he has been used to “tight work,” “allowed no chances,” and but “half fed.” His reason for leaving was partly “hard treatment,” and partly because he could “get along better in freedom than in slavery.” He found fault with his master for not permitting him to “learn to read,” etc. He referred to his master as a man of “fifty years of age, with a wife and three children.” John said that “she was a large, portly woman, with an evil disposition, always wanted to be quarreling and fighting, and was stingy.” He said, however, that his “master’s children, Ann Rebecca, Dorcas, and Joe were not allowed to meddle with the slaves on the farm.” Thirty head of slaves belonged on the place.
Peter Gross says that he too wa