When Henry was twenty-eight years old, he had paid nearly the whole of the stipulated sum to his master and was anxiously looking forward to the next Christmas as the day on which he was to have his free papers, but before that day the old man died, and as, by the laws of the State of Kentucky, no contract made with or by a slave was valid, the heirs refused to acknowledge Henry’s claim, although he was prepared to pay the small balance due. They also seized him and sent him to the New Orleans market where such mechanics as he was would sell for from $3,000 to $5,000.
It was a hard case for poor Henry, but he never gave up the hope of obtaining his freedom, and watching his opportunity he managed to escape on a vessel, on which he had worked making repairs at New Orleans. When the ship was in the Gulf of Mexico, four or five days out, he was discovered on board. The captain and crew respected him for his industry and good behavior as well as for his excellent workmanship as a mechanic; therefore they did not betray him at Baltimore where they landed him, but gave him as good counsel as they could in relation to his best route to Canada. He had some money, and providing himself with a pass written by himself, he left Baltimore and traveled sometimes in the day and sometimes in the night until he came into this State, near Bradford, Pa. Passing the Alleghany Reservation, near Great Valley, thence by the way of Ellicottville, he arrived at SpringAdlle one evening and went into a hotel. There was some kind of a gathering there and the bar-room was full of men, so Henry went to the landlord and said, “Please, sir, can you tell me, is there a praying Christian about here?” “Yes,” said the landlord, “there is one just around the corner.”
“Here, George, show this man where Deacon E—— lives.”
