Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Narrator: TONIGHT, ACTRESS ZOOEY DESCHANEL SEARCHES
FOR THE TRUTH BEHIND THE RUMOR
THAT HER FATHER'S ANCESTORS WERE ABOLITIONISTS.
"TESTIMONY AGAINST THE SIN OF SLAVERY."
SHE UNCOVERS CONFLICT...
"LIST OF THE SLAVES."
I DON'T LIKE THIS.
...BLOODSHED...
IT WAS BASICALLY A BATTLE.
...AND A REMARKABLE WOMAN
WHO SACRIFICED EVERYTHING FOR WHAT SHE BELIEVED.
OH, MY GOD.
-- Captions by VITAC -- www.vitac.com
CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS
COME ON.
[ CLAPS ]
Narrator: BORN INTO A SHOW-BUSINESS FAMILY,
ACTRESS AND SINGER/SONG-WRITER ZOOEY DESCHANEL
HIT THE SPOTLIGHT IN THE 2003 CHRISTMAS CLASSIC "ELF."
SINCE THEN, ZOOEY'S VERSATILE CAREER HAS SKYROCKETED.
SHE'S RELEASED FOUR ACCLAIMED ALBUMS
WITH INDIE DUO SHE & HIM
AND STARS IN THE HIT FOX SITCOM "NEW GIRL."
ZOOEY LIVES AND WORKS IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
Zooey: I WAS BORN IN SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA,
AND I GREW UP HERE.
I AM REALLY CLOSE WITH MY PARENTS AND MY SISTER,
SO FAMILY'S VERY IMPORTANT.
MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAID
WE CAME FROM A LONG LINE OF STRONG WOMEN,
AND I WOULD CONSIDER MYSELF A FEMINIST.
NOT EVEN A RELUCTANT FEMINIST, A GUNG-HO FEMINIST.
[ CHUCKLES ]
I STARTED THIS WEBSITE CALLED HelloGiggles,
AND IT'S BASICALLY A POSITIVE ONLINE COMMUNITY
FOR YOUNG WOMEN.
IT'S NOT YOUR MOTHER'S FEMINIST WEBSITE.
MY FATHER'S MOTHER, GRANNY,
WHOSE REAL NAME IS ANN ORR-DESCHANEL,
JUST PASSED AWAY, AND SHE WAS A REAL SPITFIRE.
SHE WAS VERY INTO HUMAN RIGHTS,
AND SHE WAS VERY DEVOTED TO ENDING SLAVERY WORLDWIDE.
SHE COMES FROM A QUAKER FAMILY.
THE QUAKERS ARE ACTIVISTS, AND THEY'RE VERY LIBERAL.
SO MY GRANNY WAS REALLY POLITICAL.
I MEAN, SHE GOT ARRESTED FOR CHAINING HERSELF TO A FENCE
OUTSIDE A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WHEN SHE WAS 80.
I CAN SEE MYSELF IN HER STRONG WILL.
I CAN RELATE TO HER ON THOSE LEVELS --
GETTING UP IN ARMS ABOUT THINGS.
SO I WANT TO FIND OUT WHO HER ANCESTORS WERE.
I'M CURIOUS ABOUT IT ALL
'CAUSE I WANT TO KNOW WHERE I CAME FROM,
AND ALL OF THIS CONTRIBUTES TO WHO WE ARE.
GRANNY CAME FROM A LONG LINE OF ABOLITIONISTS,
AND IN HER LATER YEARS, SHE DEFINITELY TOLD A STORY
ABOUT SOMEONE SPEARHEADING THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT
BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR.
SO I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE CONNECTION IS THERE.
AND NOW THAT GRANNY HAS PASSED ON,
I'D REALLY LOVE TO FIND MORE OUT.
Zooey: HI.
HI, HONEY.
HOW ARE YOU?
GOOD. I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU.
Zooey: SO I'M GOING TO START MY JOURNEY BY SEEING MY PARENTS,
AND I'M HOPING THEY CAN TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE
ABOUT MY GRANNY'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY.
SO I WAS WONDERING IF YOU GUYS COULD TELL ME
A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT GRANNY'S FAMILY.
WELL, MY MOTHER'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY WERE MOSTLY QUAKERS.
RIGHT.
MY GRANDFATHER, ADRIAN VAN BRACKLIN ORR,
GREW UP IN A LITTLE TOWN OUTSIDE OF PHILADELPHIA,
AND THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE FAMILY.
YEAH, I'VE SEEN THIS PICTURE BEFORE,
BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHO WAS WHO.
SO CAN YOU TELL ME?
OKAY, WELL...
THAT'S ADRIAN, RIGHT?
...THAT'S MY GRANDFATHER.
GRANNY'S FATHER.
YES.
AND THAT'S MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER JOSEPH.
AND THEN YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, WHAT WAS HER NAME?
Mary Jo: MARTHA ELIZABETH, RIGHT?
MARTHA ELIZABETH POWNALL.
OKAY.
Zooey: NOW THAT I KNOW MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER WAS ADRIAN ORR
AND MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS WERE JOSEPH ORR
AND MARTHA POWNALL,
I'M HOPING MAYBE MY DAD CAN TELL ME MORE
ABOUT OUR ANCESTORS' CONNECTION TO THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT.
I MEAN, THE QUAKERS ACTUALLY WERE THE FIRST RELIGION
TO COME OUT AGAINST SLAVERY.
Mary Jo: IT'S PRETTY AMAZING
'CAUSE THEY BELIEVED IN GENDER EQUALITY, TOO.
IT'S RACIAL, GENDER, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
THE QUAKERS ARE PRETTY MUCH AGAINST WAR OF ANY FORM,
AND, YOU KNOW, HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PASSIVISTS.
THEY'RE PASSIVISTS.
YEAH, SO THERE WERE STORIES ABOUT THE POWNALL FAMILY
BEING INVOLVED WITH, YOU KNOW,
THE ABOLITIONISTS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
BUT I REALLY DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS.
OKAY, SO WHERE DO YOU THINK I SHOULD GO
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE POWNALL FAMILY?
I THINK THE PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC LIBRARY WOULD BE GREAT.
THEY ARE A LOT OF RECORDS THERE
BECAUSE PENNSYLVANIA WAS FOUNDED BY QUAKERS.
GREAT.
I GUESS I'M GOING TO PHILADELPHIA, THEN.
I GUESS SO.
WELL, THANK YOU GUYS.
ALL RIGHT.
YEAH.
Zooey: IT WAS REALLY FUN TO SIT DOWN WITH MY PARENTS
'CAUSE I'VE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN FAMILY HISTORY.
IT'S NOT OFTEN YOU GET THE OPPORTUNITY
TO RESEARCH YOUR ROOTS
AND BE IN THE PLACE THAT YOUR ANCESTORS WERE,
AND I THINK THAT'S A REALLY INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY,
AND SO I AM EXCITED.
SO I AM GOING TO PHILADELPHIA TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THAT SIDE.
I HAVE ARRANGED TO MEET WITH QUAKER HISTORIAN MAX CARTER
AT THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA.
MAX HAS ALREADY STARTED RESEARCHING
THE POWNALL LINE IN PENNSYLVANIA.
I'M HOPING HE CAN GIVE ME SOME DIRECTION
IN MY SEARCH FOR ABOLITIONIST ANCESTORS.
SO WE DID CONSIDERABLE RESEARCH IN THE QUAKER MINUTES
AND THE RECORDS OF FRIENDS MEETINGS.
UH-HUH.
SO WE PUT TOGETHER THIS FAMILY TREE.
[ GASPS ]
THIS IS SO COOL, OKAY.
SO I SEE MYSELF AND MY SISTER.
THIS IS MY MOTHER AND MY FATHER.
AND THEN GRANNY ANNIE.
HERE IS JOSEPH MOFFITT ORR AND MARTHA ELIZABETH POWNALL.
I SAW A PICTURE OF HER AND HER FAMILY.
GEORGE POWNALL.
HIS PARENTS WERE LEVI POWNALL AND SARAH HENDERSON,
MY FOUR-TIMES GREAT-GRANDMOTHER.
SARAH HENDERSON SOUNDS VERY FAMILIAR TO ME.
I KNOW I'VE HEARD THIS NAME BEFORE.
AND THEN I SEE HER PARENTS --
ELINOR BRINTON AND THOMAS HENDERSON.
SO EVERYONE WAS QUAKER.
LOTS OF QUAKER NAMES THERE.
WONDER IF THERE'S ANY WAY WE CAN FIND OUT MORE
ABOUT SARAH HENDERSON AND HER FAMILY.
THAT WOULD REQUIRE LOOKING THROUGH THE MALE LINE.
WE CAN LOOK UP THE CENSUS RECORDS.
YES.
GOING TO ancestry.com?
RIGHT ancestry.com.
SO I'M LOOKING UP THOMAS HENDERSON.
RIGHT.
TO SEE IF WE CAN FIND OUT ANYTHING IN THE 1800s CENSUS
AND LOOK IN LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.
OKAY, WE'RE AT THE PENNSYLVANIA SEPTENNIAL CENSUS.
RIGHT, THE SEPTENNIAL CENSUS
WAS A CENSUS TAKEN BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA...
OKAY.
...TO PROVIDE RECORDS FOR TAXATION AND REPRESENTATION.
THERE IT IS.
THOMAS HENDERSON.
THOMAS HENDERSON.
"LIST OF THE SLAVES..."
..."OWNED BY PERSONS RESIDING WITHIN THE COUNTY OF LANCASTER."
I DON'T LIKE THIS.
THOMAS HENDERSON HAD ONE SLAVE.
MM-HMM.
Narrator: COMING UP, ZOOEY FINDS HER ANCESTOR
IN THE MIDDLE OF A HISTORIC CONTROVERSY.
IT CONDEMNED THESE PEOPLE AS FANATICS AND ZEALOTS.
WOW.
Narrator: ZOOEY DESCHANEL IS IN PHILADELPHIA,
LOOKING FOR RELATIVES WHO WERE INVOLVED
IN THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT.
BUT INSTEAD, SHE'S JUST DISCOVERED
A FIVE-TIMES GREAT-GRANDFATHER WHO OWNED A SLAVE.
MY GRANDMOTHER, WHOSE FAMILY THIS IS --
SHE FOUGHT WORLDWIDE SLAVERY,
SO IT'S VERY SURPRISING TO FIND OUT
THAT THERE WAS A PERSON IN THIS PARTICULAR LINE
THAT HAD A SLAVE.
Carter: WELL, IT'S INTERESTING.
WE FOUND THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE THOMAS HENDERSON
IN THE QUAKER RECORDS.
THAT INDICATES HE WAS NOT A QUAKER.
THAT'S VERY INTERESTING.
SO WHY DID SHE MARRY THIS DUDE?
BECAUSE THE QUAKERS ARE SO ANTI-SLAVERY,
AND FOR ELINOR BRINTON TO MARRY A MAN WHO HAD A SLAVE --
OBVIOUSLY HE WASN'T QUAKER.
RIGHT.
WELL, QUAKERS EMPHASIZED MARRIAGE FOR LOVE.
IT WAS ONE OF THE FEW RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONS
THAT GAVE WOMEN EQUAL RIGHTS WITH MEN.
IN THE WIDER SOCIETY, WOMEN DIDN'T HAVE MUCH VOICE.
SO ELINOR BRINTON, YOUR FIVE-TIMES GREAT-GRANDMOTHER,
COULD SPEAK UP.
THEY MADE THEIR OWN DECISIONS,
AND THIS WAS UNCOMMON FOR WOMEN IN THE 1700s TO HAVE A VOICE,
TO HAVE AUTHORITY.
VERY INTERESTING.
AND SO, SHE WOULD'VE BEEN RAISED STRONG.
SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN WILLING TO FOLLOW HER OWN HEART.
RIGHT.
AND WHO KNOWS WHAT THE HOUSEHOLD MIGHT'VE BEEN LIKE
WITH A STRONG QUAKER WOMAN MARRYING A NON-QUAKER,
RAISING ANOTHER QUAKER WOMAN.
YEAH.
I'M THINKING SARAH HENDERSON MUST'VE TAKEN AFTER HER MOTHER
SINCE SHE WAS QUAKER
AND SHE MARRIED A QUAKER, LEVI POWNALL.
SO I'M WONDERING WHAT SIDE OF THE ISSUE SHE FELL ON.
FOR THAT, WE'LL HAVE TO DO FURTHER RESEARCH.
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE, WHICH HAS ONE OF THE BEST REPOSITORIES
OF QUAKER RECORDS IN NORTH AMERICA,
IS JUST DOWN THE ROAD.
WONDERFUL. THAT'S GREAT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I'M REALLY CURIOUS ABOUT SARAH HENDERSON
'CAUSE I HAD HEARD THAT NAME BEFORE FROM GRANNY.
AND THEN, THE FACT THAT ELINOR, MY FIVE-TIMES GREAT-GRANDMOTHER,
MARRIED THOMAS, I WAS REALLY SURPRISED
BECAUSE SHE'S A QUAKER AND ANTI-SLAVERY,
AND HE HAD A SLAVE.
AND SO, I REALLY, REALLY WANT TO FIND OUT
WHAT KIND OF PERSON SARAH HENDERSON WAS AS AN ADULT
BECAUSE, AS A QUAKER, I WOULD THINK
SHE WOULD HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT SLAVERY.
I'M ASSUMING SHE HAD DONE SOMETHING INTERESTING
FOR MY GRANDMOTHER TO HAVE MENTIONED HER.
SO I'M HEADING TO THE FRIENDS HISTORICAL LIBRARY
IN SWARTHMORE, PENNSYLVANIA,
TO MEET WITH HISTORIAN STACEY ROBERTSON.
SINCE I KNOW SARAH GOT MARRIED,
I ASKED STACEY TO LOOK INTO RECORDS
ON SARAH HENDERSON OR SARAH POWNALL.
STACEY HAS ASKED CURATOR CHRIS DENSMORE
TO PULL EVERYTHING HE COULD FIND RELATING TO SARAH.
WE'RE GONNA START WITH THIS.
THIS IS THE SADSBURY MONTHLY QUAKER MEETING
WOMEN'S MINUTES.
FROM 1845 TO 1882.
I'M WONDERING WHO SHE IS AT THIS POINT.
EXACTLY.
YEAH.
OKAY, SO...
"SADSBURY MONTHLY MEETING.
FIFTH DAY OF FIRST MONTH OF 1848."
SO WHAT AGE WOULD SARAH HAVE BEEN?
WELL, ACTUALLY, WE KNOW THAT ELINOR WAS MARRIED IN 1791.
OKAY.
SO IF THIS IS 1848,
SARAH COULDN'T HAVE BEEN OLDER THAN 57.
RIGHT.
"A JOINT COMMITTEE OF MEN AND WOMEN FRIENDS..."
AND "FRIENDS" MEANS QUAKERS.
EXACTLY.
"...WERE APPOINTED TO CONFER
"ENCOURAGING THE MEMBERS OF OUR SOCIETY
"TO BE FAITHFUL AGAINST THE SIN OF SLAVERY.
"TO WHICH SERVICE, THE FOLLOWING FRIENDS WERE APPOINTED.
SARAH POWNALL."
THAT'S WONDERFUL.
SO SHE HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO A COMMITTEE
THAT IS RALLYING TO INSPIRE A MORE IMPASSIONED APPROACH
TO ENDING SLAVERY.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT SHE'S DOING.
FOR A PERSON TO BE AN ABOLITIONIST IN THIS TIME --
WAS THAT A COMMON THING?
NOT AT ALL.
IN FACT, FOR SARAH
TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS COMMITTEE
MEANT THAT SHE WAS WILLING
TO BE AN OUTSPOKEN OPPONENT OF SLAVERY
IN A TIME WHEN BEING AN OUTSPOKEN OPPONENT OF SLAVERY
WAS VERY DANGEROUS.
REALLY?
YES. AS YOU KNOW,
1848 IS ABOUT 13 YEARS BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR.
RIGHT.
THE NORTH HAD ALREADY FREED SLAVES BY THIS TIME,
BUT THAT DIDN'T MEAN THAT NORTHERNERS,
BY AND LARGE, WERE ABOLITIONISTS.
THEY REALLY WEREN'T.
SO IT CONDEMNED THESE PEOPLE AS FANATICS AND ZEALOTS.
WOW.
ABOLITIONISTS WHO SPOKE OUT IN MAINSTREAM NORTHERN SOCIETY
WERE OFTEN MOBBED.
THEY WERE KICKED OUT OF THEIR OWN CHURCHES.
IT WAS A VERY, VERY BRAVE
AND COURAGEOUS THING FOR HER TO DO.
IT'S REALLY INSPIRING.
YEAH.
YEAH.
SO I'M WONDERING, WHAT WOULD SARAH
AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE
HAVE DONE TO HELP FIGHT SLAVERY?
WE HAVE ONE MORE DOCUMENT FOR YOU TO LOOK AT.
IT IS RELATED TO THIS COMMITTEE.
OKAY.
OH, "SADSBURY MONTHLY MEETING -- 1848."
OKAY, SO THIS IS A LITTLE SORT OF PAMPHLET.
MM-HMM.
"DEAR FRIENDS, WE FEEL CONSTRAINED
"TO INVITE YOU TO JOIN US IN THE INQUIRY AGAINST SLAVERY,
"SEEING THAT THE EVIL HAS BEEN STEADILY INCREASING.
"OUR MORAL VISION HAS BEEN MEASURABLY OBSCURED.
"WE HAVE BEEN CONTENT TO LIVE UPON THE LABORS OF OTHERS,
"FORGETTING THAT IT IS THE 'SWEAT OF OUR FACE'
THAT WE ARE TO EAT BREAD."
SO MEANING, "WE NEED TO DO WORK OURSELVES.
WE SHOULDN'T HAVE SLAVES DO IT."
EXACTLY.
YEAH, OKAY.
"AND WHETHER WE ARE NOT
"'STRIKING HANDS WITH THE OPPRESSOR,'
"WHEN WE LEND OUR SUPPORT TO A GOVERNMENT
THAT SANCTIONS AND PERPETUATES HIS WRONGS."
SO BASICALLY, THEY'RE SAYING
THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO SUPPORT A GOVERNMENT
THAT IS TURNING A BLIND EYE TO PEOPLE
WHO ARE USING SLAVE LABOR AND OWNING SLAVES.
IT'S A REAL CONDEMNATION
OF A GOVERNMENT THAT ACCEPTS SLAVERY.
THAT'S A REALLY STRONG STATEMENT.
WOW.
Narrator: COMING UP, ZOOEY MAKES AN EXCITING DISCOVERY
ABOUT HER FOUR-TIMES GREAT-GRANDMOTHER'S TIES
TO ABOLITIONISM.
SO THIS WAS ON MY FAMILY'S FARM.
EXACTLY.
OH.
Narrator: ZOOEY DESCHANEL IS IN SWARTHMORE, PENNSYLVANIA,
LOOKING INTO THE PAST OF HER FOUR-TIMES GREAT-GRANDMOTHER,
SARAH POWNALL.
SHE'S JUST LEARNED THAT SARAH WAS ON A COMMITTEE
RALLYING SUPPORT FOR THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT.
SLAVERY WAS AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL INSTITUTION.
SO WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT IS REALLY SERIOUS.
THE FACT THAT THESE PEOPLE STOOD UP
AND SAID, "THIS IS NOT OKAY.
WE HAVE BEEN DESENSITIZED TO HOW TERRIBLE THIS THING IS."
IT'S INCREDIBLE AND HORRIBLE TO THINK
THAT IT WAS ACCEPTED AMONGST SO MANY PEOPLE.
AND IT WAS.
I MEAN, AND THE BRAVERY OF THESE PEOPLE IS PRETTY AMAZING.
YES.
[ Voice breaking ] I'M SORRY.
IT'S REALLY --
I KNOW.
THIS LETTER IS SO BEAUTIFUL.
OKAY.
"WE BELIEVE A RESPONSIBILITY THEREFORE RESTS ON US
"TO ENTER INTO AN INDIVIDUAL EXAMINATION
"HOW FAR WE ARE GUILTY CONCERNING OUR BROTHER
"IN THAT WE SEE THE ANGUISH OF HIS SOUL
AND WILL NOT HEAR HIM."
AND THAT'S SAYING,
"WE CAN'T LET THESE PEOPLE BE ENSLAVED.
THEY ARE OUR BROTHERS."
EXACTLY.
OKAY.
AND THEN IT IS SIGNED "SARAH POWNALL."
THERE'S MY RELATIVE -- ONE OF 12 PEOPLE ON THIS LETTER.
YEAH. EXACTLY.
IT'S SO EXCITING.
I THINK IT'S SIX MEN AND SIX WOMEN,
SO ANOTHER TESTIMONY TO THEIR COMMITMENT TO EQUALITY.
THAT'S REALLY COOL.
YEAH.
WHAT AN IMPASSIONED LETTER.
ISN'T IT?
YEAH, IT'S TRULY MOVING.
I FEEL HONORED TO BE RELATED TO ONE OF THESE PEOPLE HERE.
THEY WERE VERY BRAVE.
SUPPORTING MY MOTHER'S THEORY
THAT I COME FROM A LONG LINE OF STRONG WOMEN,
BUT IT'S AN EVEN LONGER LINE THAN I, YOU KNOW, REALIZED.
THIS IS ONE STRONG WOMAN.
YESTERDAY, ALL I HAD WAS A FAMILY TREE,
BUT NOW I HAVE AN IDENTITY FOR THIS WOMAN.
I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT MORE.
SHE'S SO EXCITING AND INTERESTING.
SHE IS. SHE IS.
WELL, WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO SEND YOU
TO THE LANCASTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
OH, GREAT.
RIGHT, WHICH IS THE LOCATION
WHERE SARAH LIVED IN LANCASTER COUNTY,
AND THIS IS A LOCATION
THAT IS REALLY KIND OF A HOTBED OF ABOLITIONISM.
OKAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHOWING THIS TO ME.
OH, YOU ARE SO WELCOME.
IT'S SO EXCITING.
Zooey: IT WAS REALLY INTERESTING TODAY
TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE RECORDS FROM THE ANTI-SLAVERY COMMITTEE
THAT MY ANCESTOR SARAH WAS A PART OF
BECAUSE TO HAVE BEEN A WOMAN
AND STAND UP FOR WHAT SHE BELIEVED IN AT THAT TIME,
IT'S REALLY MOVING.
IT DOES MAKE ME FEEL CLOSER TO MY GRANNY
BECAUSE SHE WAS A PERSON THAT DEVOTED HERSELF
IN A WAY THAT I THINK WAS REALLY ADMIRABLE.
I LIKE SEEING THAT SPIRIT COME UP GENERATION AFTER GENERATION.
SARAH WAS VERY PASSIONATE, AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS
TO SEE WHAT OTHER THINGS SHE DID TO FIGHT AGAINST SLAVERY.
AND I'M HOPING TO SEE A PICTURE OF SARAH.
SO I'M HEADING TO LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA,
WHERE STACEY RECOMMENDED I MEET WITH DR. NIKKI TAYLOR.
I'M HOPING SHE CAN TELL ME MORE
ABOUT SARAH POWNALL'S WORK IN THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT.
HI.
HI.
I'M NIKKI TAYLOR.
HAVE A SEAT.
SO I KNOW THAT MY FOUR-TIMES GREAT-GRANDMOTHER SARAH POWNALL
WAS A PART OF AN ANTI-SLAVERY COMMITTEE
HERE IN LANCASTER COUNTY,
AND I WANTED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE WORK THAT THEY DID.
AND I WAS WONDERING WHY LANCASTER COUNTY
HAD SO MUCH ABOLITIONIST ACTIVITY.
THERE ARE TWO REASONS WHY THIS COMMUNITY
WAS SO STRONGLY COMMITTED TO ABOLITIONISM.
THE FIRST IS THE HIGH POPULATION OF QUAKERS HERE.
YES.
AND THEN THE SECOND IS THE COUNTY'S PROXIMITY
TO THE MASON-DIXON LINE, WHICH, AS YOU KNOW,
WAS THE DIVIDING LINE
BETWEEN THE SLAVE STATE OF MARYLAND
AND THE FREE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA.
LET ME SHOW YOU A DOCUMENT
THAT THE LANCASTER COUNTY HISTORY COMMUNITY
HAS PUT TOGETHER THAT DOCUMENTS
SOME KEY HISTORICAL EVENTS IN THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT.
OKAY, GREAT.
SO, THIS MAP HAS LANCASTER COUNTY
AND THE MASON-DIXON LINE.
I COULD ONLY IMAGINE
THAT THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOME UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
SORT OF ACTIVITY AROUND HERE.
OKAY, SO SADSBURY TOWNSHIP --
THAT'S WHERE MY FOUR-TIMES GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
SARAH POWNALL WAS FROM.
PARKER HOUSE AT POWNALL FARM.
IS THAT MY --
IS THAT MY POWNALL?
YES. YES.
OH.
Narrator: ZOOEY DESCHANEL IS IN LANCASTER,
WHERE SHE HAS JUST DISCOVERED
THAT A HOUSE ON HER FOUR-TIMES GREAT-GRANDPARENTS' FARM
WAS AN IMPORTANT SITE ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
NOW SHE WANTS TO FIND OUT IF HER ANCESTORS WERE INVOLVED.
OH, MY GOSH. OKAY.
"THE PARKER HOUSE AT POWNALL FARM.
"DEMOLISHED IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY,
"THIS WAS A GREAT LOSS TO AMERICA'S HISTORIC
"AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPE.
"IT WAS LOCATED A SHORT DISTANCE TO THE SOUTHEAST
"ON THE FARM OF LEVI AND SARAH POWNALL, QUAKER FARMERS."
SO THIS WAS ON MY FAMILY'S FARM.
EXACTLY. EXACTLY.
VERY INTERESTING.
THE PARKER HOUSE WAS THE HOME OF WILLIAM PARKER AND HIS WIFE.
AND WILLIAM PARKER WAS A MAN
WHO HAD BEEN BORN INTO SLAVERY IN MARYLAND.
HE ESCAPED AND ENDED UP IN LANCASTER COUNTY,
WHERE HE SETTLED.
HE RENTED LAND FROM SARAH AND LEVI POWNALL FOR YEARS.
OH, WOW.
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT PARKER
IS THAT HE WAS A CONDUCTOR AND A STATION MASTER
ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
OH.
HIGHLY ILLEGAL, THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
WAS A VAST NETWORK OF PEOPLE WHO HELPED SLAVES ESCAPE
TO FREE STATES OR CANADA.
STATION MASTERS HID RUNAWAYS IN THEIR HOMES,
WHILE CONDUCTORS GUIDED THEM FROM ONE STATION TO THE NEXT.
HUNDREDS OF BRAVE ABOLITIONISTS, BOTH BLACK AND WHITE,
RISKED PRISON OR WORSE
TO HELP ROUGHLY 100,000 SLAVES TO FREEDOM.
ON THEIR LAND,
IT WAS THERE THAT HE HID A LOT OF FUGITIVE SLAVES.
OH, HOW WONDERFUL.
YEAH.
SO HE PLAYED A HUGE PART IN THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
YES, HE DID.
SO THIS BRINGS US TO THE QUESTION OF,
HOW MUCH DID THEY KNOW ABOUT HE WAS DOING?
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE THAT THEY MUST HAVE KNOWN
AND APPROVED OF THIS UNDERGROUND RAILROAD STATION.
SO, I'D LIKE TO READ A FEW THINGS ON THIS MAP.
'CAUSE I'M LOOKING AT IT,
AND IT HAS THE CHRISTIANA RIOT MARKER.
"THIS PENNSYLVANIA STATE HISTORICAL MARKER
"DESCRIBES THE TENANT HOME
"OF WILLIAM AND ELIZA PARKER,
SITE OF THE CHRISTIANA RIOT."
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
RIGHT NOW, WE CALL IT THE CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE,
BUT BACK THEN, IT WAS DENOUNCED AS A RIOT.
WHAT IT WAS, WAS AN EVENT
IN WHICH FREE BLACKS FROM LANCASTER COUNTY
HAD A STANDOFF WITH SLAVE OWNERS FROM MARYLAND.
IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
LEADING TO THE CIVIL WAR, IN FACT.
REALLY?
YES.
I'VE ACTUALLY ARRANGED FOR YOU TO HAVE A PRIVATE TOUR
AT THE POWNALL FARM.
REALLY?
YEAH, FOR YOU TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE.
WOW. THAT'S SO EXCITING.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Zooey: I'M REALLY CURIOUS TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED
ON MY FOUR-TIMES GREAT-GRANDPARENTS' FARM.
I MEAN, EVEN JUST TO HAVE BEEN THERE
FOR THIS MAJOR HISTORICAL EVENT MUST'VE BEEN INCREDIBLE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW VIOLENT OR HOW DRAMATIC THIS RESISTANCE WAS,
SO I AM A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS BECAUSE I REALLY ADMIRE SARAH.
I DO FEEL PROTECTIVE OF HER.
SO I'M REALLY CURIOUS TO GO TO THE FARM
AND HEAR WHAT HAPPENED THERE.
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE SHE MUST'VE BEEN INVOLVED.
I'M HEADED TO THE POWNALL FAMILY FARM
TO MEET HISTORIAN FERGUS BORDEWICH
TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU.
PLEASURE TO MEET YOU, TOO.
HERE WE ARE.
THIS IS WHERE WILLIAM PARKER'S HOUSE STOOD,
RIGHT OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PLOWED FIELD.
WOW.
IN FACT, SARAH'S HOUSE WAS RIGHT OVER THERE,
ABOUT 1/4 MILE AWAY.
AS YOU KNOW, THIS WAS THE CENTER
OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN THIS AREA,
AND WILLIAM PARKER WAS HIMSELF A FUGITIVE SLAVE.
RIGHT.
AND PARKER ALSO HEADED
ESSENTIALLY AN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD MILITIA
MADE UP OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS WHO WERE DETERMINED TO FIGHT
RATHER THAN TO ALLOW ANYBODY TO BE CARRIED BACK INTO SLAVERY.
IT SEEMS THAT THE STATE OF AFFAIRS WITH SLAVERY
HAD GOTTEN WORSE.
WELL, THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW
WAS ONE OF THE NASTIEST, CRUELEST PIECES OF LEGISLATION
EVER PASSED BY THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.
Narrator: THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW OF 1850
REQUIRED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO ASSIST SLAVE OWNERS
AND BOUNTY HUNTERS IN CAPTURING FUGITIVE SLAVES
IN NORTHERN FREE STATES AND RETURNING THEM TO SLAVERY.
BECAUSE ACCUSED RUNAWAYS WEREN'T REPRESENTED IN COURT,
EVEN FREE MEN WERE DRAGGED AWAY AND SOLD
WITHOUT ANY CHANCE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES.
THIS CONTENTIOUS LAW ALSO REQUIRED CITIZENS LIKE SARAH
TO TURN IN FUGITIVE SLAVES
AND THREATENED TO IMPRISON ANYONE WHO REFUSED.
SUDDENLY, NO AFRICAN-AMERICANS WERE GUARANTEED FREEDOM,
AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD BECAME MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER.
SO, BASICALLY, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
WAS SAYING IT WAS ILLEGAL NOT TO RETURN SLAVES
THAT HAD RUN AWAY.
THAT'S PRECISELY WHAT THE LAW WAS.
THAT'S SHOCKING.
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW
BASICALLY TURBO-CHARGED THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT.
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
WAS THE RADICAL EDGE OF ABOLITIONISM.
THEY WERE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE WILLING
TO PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE,
BREAKING THE LAW IN ORDER TO HELP FUGITIVES.
SO, WHAT WAS THE CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE?
IT HAPPENED SEPTEMBER 11, 1851.
THERE WAS A SLAVE OWNER NAMED EDWARD GORSUCH.
SEVERAL OF HIS SLAVES HAD RUN AWAY FROM MARYLAND.
OKAY.
EDWARD GORSUCH LEARNED THAT TWO OF THOSE FUGITIVES
WERE HERE IN LANCASTER COUNTY,
AND GORSUCH CAME UP HERE SEEKING THOSE FUGITIVE SLAVES.
AND HE TRACED THEM TO WILLIAM PARKER'S HOUSE.
RIGHT ON MY FAMILY'S FARM.
YES.
IN FACT, SARAH COULD SEE -- AND PROBABLY HEAR --
EVERYTHING HAPPENING HERE OUT HER WINDOW.
OH, MY GOSH.
SO I'M WONDERING IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION
ABOUT HER INVOLVEMENT.
I DO.
THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM ONE OF THE BEST
AND EARLIEST ACCOUNTS OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD,
WRITTEN JUST AFTER THE CIVIL WAR.
"FOR SOME DAYS BEFORE THIS CONFLICT,
"REPORTS AFLOAT THAT AN ATTACK WAS SOON TO BE MADE
"ON PARKER'S HOUSE.
"SARAH POWNALL HAD A CONVERSATION WITH HIM
"THE NIGHT BEFORE THE RIOT AND URGED HIM
"IF SLAVE HOLDERS SHOULD COME, NOT TO LEAD THE COLORED PEOPLE
"TO RESIST THE FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW
"BY FORCE OF ARMS BUT TO ESCAPE TO CANADA.
"HE REPLIED, 'THE LAWS FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION
"ARE NOT MADE FOR US,
"AND WE ARE NOT BOUND TO OBEY THEM.
"IF A FIGHT OCCURS, I WANT THE WHITES TO KEEP AWAY.
"THEY HAVE A COUNTRY AND MAY OBEY THE LAWS,
BUT WE HAVE NO COUNTRY.'"
WOW.
QUITE A STATEMENT, ISN'T IT?
YEAH, IT IS QUITE A STATEMENT.
HE'S MAKING IT CLEAR THAT HE AND HIS GROUP ARE GONNA FIGHT.
AND SARAH AND LEVI POWNALL WERE QUAKER,
SO THEY DID NOT BELIEVE IN VIOLENCE.
SO AFTER THIS CONVERSATION, WHAT DID WILLIAM PARKER DO?
DID HE LISTEN TO SARAH,
OR DID HE STAY AND TRY TO FIGHT A BATTLE?
HE ARMED HIMSELF.
ON THE MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 11th,
EDWARD GORSUCH AND THE POSSE THAT HE'D COLLECTED
IN PHILADELPHIA --
NOW, THAT INCLUDED MEMBERS OF HIS OWN FAMILY,
HIS SON DICKINSON GORSUCH,
AND A NUMBER OF POLICE THAT CAME UP THE ROAD
YOU SEE ACROSS THE VALLEY HERE.
THEY SURROUNDED THE HOUSE.
THEY'RE ARMED.
PARKER AND HIS MEN AND HIS VERY BRAVE WIFE, ELIZA,
ARE IN THE HOUSE.
THEY'RE ALL ARMED.
WHEN IT BECOMES PRETTY CLEAR
THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A CONFRONTATION,
ELIZA, WHO HERSELF IS AN ESCAPED SLAVE,
TAKES A HORN AND TRUMPETS ACROSS THE VALLEY.
MAYBE AS MANY AS 60 PEOPLE, MOSTLY AFRICAN-AMERICANS,
DROP THEIR WORK IMPLEMENTS,
AND THEY COME RUNNING HERE TO THE HOUSE.
SO IT WAS BASICALLY A BATTLE.
IT WAS A BATTLE.
OH, MY GOD.
Narrator: ZOOEY DESCHANEL IS IN CHRISTIANA, PENNSYLVANIA,
WHERE SHE JUST LEARNED THAT VIOLENCE OVER SLAVERY
ERUPTED ON HER FAMILY'S FARM.
SLAVE OWNER EDWARD GORSUCH KNEW TWO OF HIS ESCAPED SLAVES
HAD TAKEN REFUGE IN WILLIAM PARKER'S HOUSE.
WITH AN ARMED POSSE, GORSUCH SURROUNDED THE HOUSE
AND DEMANDED HIS SLAVES SURRENDER.
I MEAN, I CAN'T IMAGINE BEING SARAH AND LEVI POWNALL
LOOKING OUT THEIR WINDOW
AND SEEING BASICALLY A BATTLE ON THEIR LAND.
I THINK IT MUST'VE HURT THEM,
AS PEOPLE OF DEEP QUAKER CONVICTION,
TO SEE VIOLENCE ABOUT TO HAPPEN ON THEIR PROPERTY
RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM AND TO BE POWERLESS TO STOP IT.
RIGHT.
SO TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE BATTLE STARTED.
THE TWO GROUPS COLLIDED OUTSIDE THE HOUSE.
SHOTS WERE FIRED ON BOTH SIDES.
EDWARD GORSUCH WAS KILLED.
[ GASPS ]
HIS SON DICKINSON WAS ALMOST KILLED, SHOT,
BEATEN TO THE GROUND.
THERE WAS A MELEE.
THE POLICE RAN.
[ SCOFFS ] MY GOODNESS.
MOST PEOPLE WERE FRIGHTENED OF BLACK PEOPLE,
AND THEY WERE FRIGHTENED OF BLACK PEOPLE
WITH WEAPONS IN THEIR HANDS,
BEATING, SHOOTING WHITE PEOPLE, EVEN THOUGH...
THEY WERE DEFENDING THEMSELVES.
EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE DEFENDING THEMSELVES.
THE FUGITIVES WERE NOT CAPTURED.
THEY WERE SAVED, AND THEY WERE PROTECTED.
[ GASPS ] THAT'S AMAZING.
SO WHAT WAS THE AFTERMATH OF THE CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE?
EVERYBODY KNEW ABOUT THIS.
NEWSPAPERS ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
REPORTED ON WHAT HAPPENED HERE.
PRESIDENT FILLMORE IS FOLLOWING IT.
THE PRESIDENT'S CHIEF ADVISOR TOLD HIM,
"THERE HAS TO BE A REACTION.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS TO ACT."
OKAY.
THIS LED TO A REIGN OF TERROR IN LANCASTER COUNTY.
IT WAS SAID AT THE TIME
THAT NEGROES WERE HUNTED LIKE PARTRIDGES...
[ GASPS ]
...ACROSS LANCASTER COUNTY.
[ SCOFFS ]
THEIR HOMES WERE INVADED.
PEOPLE WERE DRAGGED OUT, ARRESTED, INTERROGATED, BEATEN.
WHITE ABOLITIONISTS WERE ALSO DRAGGED IN
BY THE AUTHORITIES.
PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN TO THEM.
SO TO BE AN ABOLITIONIST AT THIS TIME
MUST HAVE BEEN DANGEROUS.
WOW.
YOU KNOW, YOU ALWAYS THINK,
"ABRAHAM LINCOLN FREED THE SLAVES,"
BUT THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT ASSISTED.
PEOPLE LIKE WILLIAM PARKER, HIS WIFE, ELIZA PARKER,
EMANCIPATED THEMSELVES.
RIGHT.
THEY DIDN'T WAIT FOR ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
AND THEY DID IT WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF PEOPLE
LIKE SARAH POWNALL.
OKAY, SO, THE CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE HAPPENED HERE.
MY ANCESTORS ARE RIGHT OVER THERE ON THAT FARM.
WHAT DID THEY DO?
THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION,
AND THERE'S A LOT TO SAY ABOUT IT.
LET'S GO OVER TO MOORES MEMORIAL LIBRARY IN CHRISTIANA,
AND I THINK YOU'RE GONNA SEE THINGS THAT'LL INTEREST YOU.
OKAY, GREAT.
LET'S GO.
Zooey: IT'S SHOCKING TO THINK
THAT THIS SORT OF VIOLENT TURNING POINT
IN THE ROAD LEADING UP TO THE CIVIL WAR
HAPPENED ON MY ANCESTORS' PROPERTY.
IT SEEMS TO SPEAK ABOUT A GOVERNMENT
THAT WAS INCREDIBLY FLAWED.
SO I'M REALLY PROUD THAT MY ANCESTORS WERE INVOLVED
AT THIS TIME IN THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M EXPECTING TO SEE.
I THINK I KNOW WHO SARAH POWNALL IS.
I THINK I KNOW HOW SHE WOULD REACT TO THIS.
I THINK SHE WOULD HELP WILLIAM PARKER AND HIS FAMILY,
AND I'M JUST HOPING TO SEE SOME EVIDENCE OF THIS.
I'VE ASKED THE LIBRARY TO PULL SOME DOCUMENTS FOR US.
I CAN'T WAIT.
"SOME RECOLLECTIONS OF A LONG AND UNSUCCESSFUL LIFE"
BY GEORGE STEELE.
[ CHUCKLES ]
HE HAD A SENSE OF HUMOR.
LET'S GO TO PAGE 10.
OKAY.
LET'S START THERE.
INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT THIS IS.
"WHEN THE FIGHTING WAS OVER AT THE RIOT HOUSE,
"PARKER AND LEVI POWNALL JR. RAN TO GET A HORSE AND WAGON,
"BUT BEFORE THEY GEARED UP,
"A NEIGHBOR BROUGHT THE WOUNDED MAN OVER.
"AT NIGHT THE DAY OF THE RIOT,
"DICKINSON GORSUCH -- THE WOUNDED MAN --
"WAS NOT EXPECTED TO LIVE.
"THERE WERE A GREAT MANY OF HIS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
"IN THE POWNALL HOUSE,
AND THE HOUSE WAS SURROUNDED BY A CROWD."
INTERESTING.
SO THEY ACTUALLY TOOK IN...
DICKINSON GORSUCH, THE SON OF EDWARD GORSUCH.
I'M SO SURPRISED.
WELL, I GUESS THEY WERE SORT OF KINDLY QUAKER FOLK,
AND IF THERE WAS AN INJURED MAN, THEY WOULD TAKE HIM IN.
"ELIZABETH POWNALL, WHO AFTERWARDS BECAME MY WIFE..."
SO THIS WAS WRITTEN BY THE SON-IN-LAW OF SARAH POWNALL.
EXACTLY.
OKAY.
"...AND HER SISTER ELLEN WERE WASHING DISHES IN THE KITCHEN
"WHEN PARKER AND PINKNEY WALKED IN
THROUGH THE OUT KITCHEN DOOR."
CAN YOU JUST REMIND ME WHO PINKNEY IS?
HE WAS WILLIAM PARKER'S BROTHER-IN-LAW.
RIGHT, SO THEY'RE IN HOT WATER, AND THEY HAVE TO FLEE.
OKAY.
"FORTUNATELY, THE GIRLS HAD PRESENCE OF MIND ENOUGH
"TO BLOW OUT THE CANDLES AND OPEN THE STAIR DOOR
AND MOTION TO THE TWO MEN TO GO UP STAIRS."
SO THEY CONCEALED THEM.
YES.
WOW. THIS IS AMAZING.
"THEN, MRS. SARAH POWNALL,
"WHO WAS THE BEST AND MOST CAPABLE WOMAN I EVER KNEW,
"WHISPERED TO THE GIRLS, 'GET A CLEAN PILLOW CASE
"AND FILL IT WITH BREAD AND MEAT.'
"THERE WAS A WHISPERED REMONSTRANCE,
"'ALL THESE PEOPLE IN THE HOUSE TO FEED
"AND BARELY ENOUGH BREAD FOR BREAKFAST.'
"MRS. POWNALL WHISPERED BACK, 'MIX MORE BREAD.'
"THE PILLOW CASE WAS FILLED.
"LEVI POWNALL JR. WENT UPSTAIRS
AND PROVIDED THE MEN WITH CLOTHES AND HATS."
SO HE GAVE THEM DISGUISES.
"GEORGE POWNALL TOOK THE PILLOW CASE OF FOOD
"OUT TO THE ORCHARD
"AND LEFT IT AT THE FOOT OF THE QUEEN APPLE TREE."
SO THAT'S MY THREE-TIMES GREAT-GRANDFATHER.
SO HE WAS PASSING FOOD TO THEM,
AND HIS BROTHER LEVI POWNALL JR. WAS DISGUISING THEM.
"AT A FAVORABLE TIME,
"THE TWO COLORED MEN WERE BROUGHT DOWN,
"AND THE TWO MISS POWNALLS WALKED BESIDE THEM TO THE GATE.
"IF THE GUARDS SAW THEM,
THEY SUPPOSED THEM TO BE CALLERS ON THE YOUNG LADIES."
THEY HAD THE ENEMY IN THEIR HOUSE,
AND THEY WERE ABLE TO DISGUISE PARKER AND PINKNEY
AS GENTLEMEN CALLERS.
YES.
"ONE MORNING, WHEN THE POWNALL FAMILY CAME DOWN,
"THEY FOUND A LETTER UNDER THE FRONT DOOR
"ADDRESSED TO ELIZABETH B. POWNALL.
IT SAID PARKER IS SAFE IN CANADA."
SO THAT'S PRETTY EXTRAORDINARY.
IT WAS AN INCREDIBLY HEROIC OPERATION.
CLEARLY, IT WAS VERY COMPLEX.
IT WAS UNDERTAKEN WHILE THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY
WAS UNDER HOSTILE OCCUPATION.
THAT WOULD SEEM, TO ME, THAT THEY HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE.
NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.
THIS IS PROOF THAT YOUR ANCESTOR SARAH POWNALL
AND HER ENTIRE FAMILY
WERE DEEP, DEEP, DEEP IN THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
WOW.
IT'S SO ENCOURAGING TO THINK THAT AT THIS TIME,
A WOMAN COULD HAVE BEEN DOING SOMETHING THIS BRAVE
AND THIS CUTTING-EDGE AND THIS POLITICAL.
IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO THINK THAT THIS IS MY FAMILY.
INDEED.
SO, IT SOUNDS LIKE
CHRISTIANA WAS IN REAL TURMOIL AT THIS POINT,
AND I'M WONDERING, WHAT HAPPENED IN THE AFTERMATH
AND WHERE THE POWNALLS WERE IN ALL OF THIS?
THE POWNALLS WERE NOT ARRESTED, REMARKABLY,
CONSIDERING THAT WE KNOW THEY WERE HARBORING
THE TWO MOST WANTED MEN IN LANCASTER COUNTY.
RIGHT.
38 OF THEIR NEIGHBORS, BLACK AND WHITE, ARE ARRESTED,
PUT ON TRIAL FOR TREASON
FOR MAKING WAR AGAINST THE UNITED STATES,
FOR DARING TO FIGHT BACK.
WOW.
THEY SEE THOSE NEIGHBORS -- AT LEAST ONE OF THEM --
GOING TO TRIAL FOR TREASON.
NOW, IT TOOK THE JURY ONLY 15 MINUTES TO ACQUIT THAT MAN
BECAUSE THE EVIDENCE DIDN'T BACK IT UP.
GOVERNMENT WAS SO HUMILIATED BY THAT DEFEAT
THAT IT ABANDONED CHARGES AGAINST THE REMAINING PEOPLE,
AND THE RESULT WAS A COLLAPSE, REALLY, OF FEDERAL PROSECUTIONS.
NOW, THERE'S A MAN
WHO IS SO AFFECTED BY WHAT'S HAPPENED HERE
THAT IT HELPS EMBITTER HIM
AGAINST THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.
HE'S A FRIEND OF THE GORSUCH FAMILY.
HIS NAME WAS JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
OH, MY GOD.
OH, MY GOD.
ZOOEY DESCHANEL HAS JUST LEARNED
THAT THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
FAILED TO CONVICT ABOLITIONISTS OF TREASON
AFTER A HISTORIC EVENT
ON HER FOUR-TIMES GREAT-GRANDPARENTS' FARM,
WHICH ANGERED A NOTORIOUS MAN -- JOHN WILKES BOOTH.
AND BOOTH WRITES HOW DEEPLY HE WAS ANGERED
BY THE CRIME COMMITTED AGAINST THE GORSUCH FAMILY
AND HOW IT WAS NEVER PAID FOR.
AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS
JOHN WILKES BOOTH IS CARRYING WITH HIM IN 1865.
WAS THE ANGER ABOUT THE CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE.
YEAH, AND ASSASSINATES ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
THAT'S INCREDIBLE.
[ CHUCKLES ]
OPEN THIS.
OH, MY GOODNESS.
[ CHUCKLES ]
THERE SHE IS.
THAT'S SARAH POWNALL? WOW.
SHE HAS A VERY KIND FACE.
YES.
[ CHUCKLES ]
THIS IS WONDERFUL TO SEE.
THIS MEANS SO MUCH MORE TO ME
KNOWING WHAT SHE DID IN HER LIFE
AND WHAT KIND OF A PERSON SHE WAS.
I FEEL I HAVE A REAL RESPECT FOR THIS GREAT WOMAN.
IN FACT, I THINK TO ME, SHE'S A HERO.
AND I JUST ADMIRE HER INTELLIGENCE AND HER BRAVERY.
THEY BELIEVED IN A HIGHER LAW
THAT REQUIRED THEM TO DO THE RIGHT THING,
RATHER THAN SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED TO BE LEGAL
BUT WAS MORALLY WRONG.
YEAH.
'CAUSE THIS IS SO MUCH GREATER THAN JUST A FAMILY.
THIS IS A HUGE MOVEMENT
AND LED TO THE FREE COUNTRY WE LIVE IN NOW.
SHE MADE A DIRECT CONTRIBUTION TO THAT HERE AT CHRISTIANA.
WELL, THAT'S REALLY AMAZING.
SO, I KNEW 'CAUSE I HAD READ IT IN MY FAMILY TREE
THAT SARAH POWNALL HAD PASSED AWAY IN SEPTEMBER OF '52.
SHE DIED WITHIN THAT YEAR OF THE RESISTANCE.
DO WE KNOW HOW SHE DIED?
I DON'T THINK WE DO.
PERHAPS THE STRESS OF THE RESISTANCE
REALLY WEIGHED ON SARAH.
I'VE BROUGHT YOU A MAP OF THE SADSBURY CEMETERY.
SO SHE'S BURIED NOT FAR FROM HERE.
A FEW MINUTES' DRIVE.
I THINK I'M GONNA GO PAY MY RESPECTS.
I'VE BECOME SO ATTACHED TO THIS PERSON OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS,
AND TO SEE HER FACE AND PUT A FACE WITH THE NAME
AND STORY AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT SHE DID
REALLY COMPLETED THE PICTURE.
I WAS REALLY SAD TO LEARN THAT SARAH POWNALL DIED
RIGHT AFTER THE CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE
BECAUSE SHE DIED BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR
AND BEFORE EMANCIPATION.
TO NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SEE THAT IN HER LIFETIME
IS SORT OF SAD.
SO VISITING SARAH POWNALL'S GRAVE
I THINK WILL BE A REALLY SWEET ENDING TO THIS JOURNEY.
I CAN SEE SOME OF THE QUALITIES THAT I SEE IN SARAH POWNALL,
YOU KNOW, IN MY GRANDMOTHER -- IN GRANNY.
AND TO SEE HOW FAR BACK IT GOES IS REALLY EXCITING.
TO TRULY UNDERSTAND HOW EXTRAORDINARY IT WAS
FOR A WOMAN AT THIS TIME TO BE INVOLVED POLITICALLY
LIKE SARAH POWNALL WAS IS JUST INCREDIBLE.
AND IT MAKES ME REALIZE HOW MUCH WE CAN CHANGE.
IT MAKES ME REALLY INSPIRED
TO ENCOURAGE THE NEXT GENERATION OF STRONG WOMEN.
I DON'T THINK I COULD'VE POSSIBLY BEEN PREPARED
FOR HOW MOVING AND AMAZING THIS JOURNEY WAS.
AND I DON'T THINK I COULD'VE EVER IMAGINED
I CAME FROM SUCH HEROES.
THIS JOURNEY MAKES ME WANT TO BE A BETTER PERSON,
AND YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE ON BEING INSPIRED.