Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad

In the early 1800s, the Eastern Shore of Maryland has many creeks, lakes, and wetlands. This region has abundant animal life, and hunting and fishing are commonplace among European settlers. Edward Brodas is a plantation owner and slave owner in Dorchester country; his property is close to a small town called “Bucktown” (1). The slaves on Brodas’s plantation refer to him as “Master” and call his large home the “Big House” (2). Brodas’s home is spacious and has extra rooms to rent to passing travelers. It also has a detached kitchen and stables, barns, gardens, and an orchard nearby. Brodas’s slaves live in the “slave quarters”—a group of simple cabins built away from the Big House. These cabins are made primarily of logs with dirt floors and no windows, chairs, or beds; the fireplace is used for cooking and is the only light source.

Harriet Greene, whose nickname is “Old Rit,” and her husband Benjamin Ross live in such a cabin with several of their children. Their older children do not live with them since Brodas rents their labor to other local farmers who cannot afford their own slaves. Old Rit and Benjamin have another child in 1820, and they name her Araminta or “Minty” for short.