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Ohio inventions and firsts · Achievement · 1858

Oberlin-Wellington Rescue

On September 13, 1858 abolitionists from Oberlin rescued fugitive John Price from a U.S. marshal in Wellington; of 37 indicted, Simeon Bushnell and Charles Langston were convicted. Three participants later joined John Brown's Harpers Ferry raid.

At a glance

Year
1858
Place
Oberlin and Wellington, Lorain County ZIP 44074 · Lorain County

The story

The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 let slave catchers pursue escaped people into free states and required citizens to help. Many people in northern Ohio refused. On September 13, 1858, abolitionists from Oberlin and Wellington forcibly freed John Price, an escaped slave held by a U.S. marshal, and sent him on to Canada by the Underground Railroad.

A federal grand jury indicted 37 rescuers. After state and federal negotiations, only two went to trial: Simeon M. Bushnell, who was white, and Charles Henry Langston, who was Black. Both were convicted and got light sentences, 60 days for Bushnell and 20 days for Langston.

They challenged the law through habeas corpus, but the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the Fugitive Slave Law by a 3 to 2 vote. The ruling brought a Cleveland rally of over 10,000 people. The rescuers helped get the repeal of the law added to Ohio's Republican platform in 1859.

Three of the participants, Lewis Sheridan Leary, John A. Copeland and Shields Green, joined John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. The case drew nationwide attention by telegraph.

Timeline

  • 1850: The Fugitive Slave Law is passed. (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1858-09-13: Abolitionists rescue John Price from a U.S. marshal. (Wellington, OH) source
  • 1858: A federal grand jury indicts 37 rescuers; only Bushnell and Langston are tried and convicted. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1859: Repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law is added to Ohio's Republican platform. (Ohio) source
  • 1859: Three rescue participants join John Brown's raid at Harpers Ferry. (Harpers Ferry, VA) source

What it changed

  • 37 indicted, two convicted.
  • Over 10,000 attended a Cleveland rally after the Ohio Supreme Court ruling.

Why it matters

Defiance of the Fugitive Slave Law.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.