Ypsilanti

In the free state of Michigan there were hamlets, towns, and villages where abolitionists and African Americans appeared to be concentrated. Wayne County was home to the majority of free blacks before the Civil War and nearby Washtenaw County was a preferred destination during the same decades. Census records document African Americans settled in the village of Ypsilanti before 1840. Ypsilanti attracted both free and enslaved African Americans who sought an existing settlement close to Canada, the presence of abolitionists, and the opportunity to participate in a church and school.

In 1825, William W. Harwood and two other men bought out the settlers of a French trading post on the Huron River and created the village, Ypsilanti. Ypsilanti is on the route established by Native Americans between Chicago and Detroit, known today as US 12. Freedom seekers escaping slavery from southern states were sometimes directed by Levi Coffin in Cincinnati, Ohio to help in Adrian, then Ypsilanti, in Michigan. Additionally, those escaping from Missouri, Arkansas or Texas would find shelter in Ypsilanti as they passed easternly through Battle Creek and Jackson to a final stop in Detroit or Canada.

Major town founders and early settlers in Washtenaw County, seem to have set a tone of tolerance, and made a showing of abolitionism in the community. William Harwood was named by Underground Railroad operator Fitch Reed as an agent. Another early settler who was said to have helped escaping slaves, was Reverend Ira M. Wead, pastor of the Presbyterian Church. The church was organized in 1829 and grew quickly under the leadership of Rev. Wead. Justus Norris, a prominent early settler, supported the anti-slavery Liberty Party and ran as a Representative in 1841. His son, Mark Norris, was an abolitionist who may have helped hide African Americans who escaped slavery at the depot of the Michigan Central Railroad.

Early African American settlers were able to attend integrated schools and form churches. Brown African Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in Ypsilanti in 1843. It is the oldest African-American church in Ypsilanti and the second oldest in Michigan. After settling in the city, Brown's founders, Flora Thompson and escaped slave Sylus Jones, organized the church after initially holding meetings in their homes.

With Canada a day's ride to the safety of British soil, many African Americans chose to remain in Michigan. Among the earliest settlers, were men and women who would risk their lives helping others escape from slavery. In the Ypsilanti area, were the McCoys and Arays. Other African Americans such as John W. Brooks and Wells participated in anti-slavery activities and the establishment of the Michigan State Colored Convention.

Usually, it is difficult to verify the participation of agents in the Underground Railroad. Fortunately, the daughter of George McCoy was interviewed in the early 20th century about her family's efforts to hide and transport African Americans escaping slavery in Ypsilanti. Anna McCoy remembered retrieving important letters which sparked her mother Mildred's baking of bread and cooking of hams. Shortly thereafter, her father made trips with his wagon. Although Anna McCoy did not become aware of the Underground Railroad until 1859, she knew that her father participated in it. George McCoy took his cigars to eastern cities of Wyandotte and Detroit in a covered wagon with a false floor used to shield escaped slaves. Anna McCoy remembered one incident when her family sheltered a family of five-a mother, father, and three girls with whom her mother prevented her from playing-and her father took them to the next station. When her father conducted those who escaped from their Ypsilanti farm to the next station, he received assistance from an African-American man from Wyandotte named Mr. Bush who put these men and women aboard a boat named the "Pearl" bound for Canada West.

Shortly after the enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law, which endangered the livelihood of those African Americans who created new lives, the McCoy family moved to Clouchester, Ontario, Canada. They prospered there and had more children before returning to Ypsilanti. McCoy's role as a conductor is important because it represents the extent to which prosperous African Americans who escaped slavery worked individually and collectively-with whites and other African Americans-to assist their fellow human beings to freedom.

Seibert, Wilbur. Wilbur Seibert Papers. Ohio Historical Archives.