Description
In 1836, Missourian Singleton Vaughan, a white plantation owner, held an African American family —Sam Burk, his wife Mariah, and their baby daughter Lydia--in chattel slavery.[1] Prior to coming to be owned by Vaughan, the Burk family had been illegally retained in slavery in the free state of Illinois. According to the letter of the law, Burk and his family should not have been allowed to be held in bondage. Prior to the Dred Scott decision in the Supreme Court, slaves living in a free territory for a period of six months or longer were entitled to declare their freedom. However, the reality of the situation was much different. When the Burks’ owner left the state of Illinois for Missouri, he took the Burk family along with him – denying their right to manumission. He then approached Singleton Vaughan, who purchased the family as laborers for his Missouri plantation. In 1837, with the fear of separation urging them on, Burk and his family ran away from Missouri, attempting to escape to freedom in Illinois. After reaching Illinois, the Burk family was captured as a result of Vaughan’s fugitive slave notices. The Burk family was broken out of jail by members of the Underground Railroad, and they headed into Indiana, with the ultimate goal of reaching Canada. However, when they reached Hamilton County, Indiana, they were too exhausted to continue.[2] The Burk family decided to stay in Hamilton County, which was a stronghold for abolitionism.[3] They settled in, changing their names to John and Louann Rhodes.
In 1844 the United States was in the middle of a controversial presidential election. The presidential election of 1844 centered on the annexation of Texas, which added to concerns about the expansion of the institution of slavery.[4] Singleton Vaughan had not forgotten about the Rhodes (Burk) family, and seven years after their escape in the midst of the national debate about the reach of chattel slavery in the United States, he discovered where they were. He arrived in Hamilton County with two men and obtained a warrant from a local judge. Court records state that John and his family avoided recapture by claiming that a neighbor owed them a 50-dollar debt. Legally, payment for the debt would belong to Vaughan when he regained ownership of the Rhodes, so he allowed John and his family to go to the neighbor’s house to retrieve payment at once. In reality, no debt existed; the neighbor was a member of the Underground Railroad.[5] The Underground Railroad, which assisted the Rhodes family, was quite active in Hamilton County. Addison Coffin, a transporter on the line, stated that in 1844, “the Wabash line was in good running order and passengers very frequent."[6]
When other neighbors arrived on scene, the Rhodes’ Underground Railroad neighbors were able to convince all involved that the best course of action was to verify the legitimacy of Vaughan’s claim with a judge. The Rhodes family, Vaughan’s party, and some of their neighbors headed south towards Westfield to resolve the matter in court. However, knowing Westfield to be a location with heavy abolitionist sympathy, Vaughan insisted on a hearing in Noblesville instead.
During the commotion, a man by the name of Daniel Jones, jumped onto the wagon and he and the Rhodes family sped away while Vaughan and his men were immobilized by the crowd. In the end, Vaughan attempted to sue members of the community for loss of property, since they had helped the Rhodes family escape. The local Quakers created a defense fund to pay for the trial. During trial the fact that the Rhodes family had lived in a free state prior to Vaughan’s unlawful purchase led the judge to rule in favor of the Rhodes family. Vaughan returned to Missouri empty handed.[7]
The Vaughan v. Williams decision occurred prior to the Fugitive Slave Act and Dred Scott decision. According to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, fugitive slaves in any territory or state, could be reclaimed by their master, even from free territories. Finally, the Dred Scott decision in 1857 cemented the rights of slave owners to recapture their unfree laborer, stating “that a slave (Dred Scott) who had resided in a free state and territory (where slavery was prohibited) was not thereby entitled to his freedom.”[8] According to this court ruling, since slaves were considered property regardless of their removal to a free state, the Missouri Compromise of 1850 was ruled unconstitutional. Had the Rhodes Family escaped after 1850, defending their right to freedom would have been impossible.
This event is documented in a Indiana Historical Bureau historical marker, installed in 2008, in Asa Bales Park in Westfield, Hamilton County. The park is named after Asa Bales, whose home was part of the Underground Railroad and provided a safe haven for runaway slaves escaping to Canda.
Source
[1] Vaughan v. Williams, 16,903 (D. Indiana Cir. 1845)
[2] Heighway, David. “The Law in Black and White,” accessed February 6, 2019. www.westfield.in.gov/egov/documents/1376663863_54293.pdf, 1.
[3]Ibid
[4] Pecquet, Gary M., and Clifford F. Thies. 2006. “Texas Treasury Notes and the Election of 1844.” Independent Review 11 (2): 237–60. http://proxy.bsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=510657895&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
[5] Thornbrough, Emma Lou. The Negro in Indiana before 1900: A Study of a Minority. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993.
[6]“The Underground Railroad,” Indiana Historical Bureau, accessed February 7, 2019, https://www.in.gov/history/3119.htm.
[7]Vaughan v. Williams, 16,903 (D. Indiana Cir. 1845).
[8] United States Supreme Court, Roger Brooke Taney, John H Van Evrie, and Samuel A Cartwright. The Dred Scott decision: opinion of Chief Justice Taney. New York: Van Evrie, Horton & Co., 1860, 1860. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/17001543/.