Harriet Tubman - Documents, Newspapers, Books

Harriet Tubman - Documents, Newspapers, Books

This collection has 2,125 pages of material.

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery as Araminta Ross, born between 1822 and 1824 and died on March 10, 1913. She was most famous for missions leading African American slaves to freedom. She was also a Civil War scout, spy, and nurse. After the Civil War she was a suffragist and civil rights activist.

Tubman rebelled against forced servitude from her early years, running away as early as age seven. At fifteen, Tubman defied an overseer and was nearly killed when he gave her a "stunning blow to the head."  The effects of the strike lasted throughout the rest of her life. 

In 1844, she married a freedman, John Tubman, and in 1849 she escaped to Philadelphia, discarding her slave name for her mother’s name, Harriet. Tubman became an active "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, guiding escaped slaves to freedom. She made nineteen recorded trips out of the South and was reputed to have never lost a soul. Tubman was active throughout the abolitionist movement and conspired with John Brown about raiding the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, although she did not participate.

Despite Harriet Tubman's role as the first American woman to lead a military action in wartime, Congress only recognized her work as a nurse when they granted her pension request.

This collection contains

Documents

80 pages of documents dating from 1863 to 1899. During the Civil War Davis served the Union as a scout, nurse, cook and spy. After the war she received a pension as the widow of Union veteran Nelson Davis who had served as a private in the 88th United States Colored Volunteer Infantry. Tubman later petitioned Congress for additional benefits for her own service. Congress received numerous documents and letters supporting Tubman’s claim. In 1899, Congress passed, and the President signed an increase of Tubman’s pension to $20 per month for her service as a nurse.

Documents include:

The abstract of the 1863 Court Martial of Private John E. Webster with testimony from Harriet Tubman. An early account of a rare event, a black woman testifying against a white man in court. Tubman testified against Private John E. Webster, superintendent of contrabands, at his court-martial on July 1, 1863.

An 1888 History Concerning the Pension Claim of Harriet Tubman written by Charles Wood.

An 1898 petition of the residents of Auburn, New York, requesting that the claim of Harriet Tubman be called up.

Letter on behalf of the claim of Harriet Tubman that she was employed as a nurse, cook, and a spy. A letter from New York Representative Sereno Payne, the chairman of the Ways and Means and Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committees, supported Harriet Tubman as she sought additional compensation for her Civil War service. Hoping to quickly get Tubman, nearing the age of 80, additional money, Payne advocated for an increase to her widow’s pension in lieu of her request for a direct, lump-sum payment.
 

Approved Pension File for Harriet Tubman Davis

The Approved Pension File for Harriet Tubman Davis. This is the 111-page pension file of Harriet Tubman Davis, widow of Nelson Davis (alias Nelson Charles), who served in Company G of the 8th United States Colored Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. 

 
National Historic Places Documents 

1,299 pages in 23 publications covering historic places related to Harriet Tubman. Documents covering the acquisition, preservation, and exhibition of sites.

The documents often cover Harriet Tubman’s importance in American history and culture, and the primary sites and historic resources with which she is associated. Historical places covered include Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, NY, Tubman Home for the Aged, Harriet Tubman’s Grave, Thompson Memorial AME Zion Church and Rectory, and Harriet Tubman-Underground Railroad National Monument.

 
Books & Publications 

Three books, totaling 324 pages, published from 1869 to 1900, written by Sarah H. Bradford and Mrs. George Schwab.

The titles include:

Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman (1869)

Harriet, the Moses of Her People (1897)

Harriet Tubman, Who Led Slaves to Freedom (1900)

 
Newspapers

208 full sheet American newspaper pages, with mention of Harriet Tubman or her alias, Harriet Garrison, dating from 1859 to 1963.