Crucial Network Conductors and Collaborators

Tubman's successful missions relied heavily on a trusted network of station masters, financiers, and organizers across the eastern seaboard.

William Still

Philadelphia station master: Documented the stories of self-emancipated individuals and supplied Tubman with essential funds, shelter, and transit connections in Pennsylvania.

Thomas Garrett

Wilmington station master: A Delaware Quaker who aided thousands of freedom seekers, frequently hiding Tubman and securing shoes and carriage travel for her passengers.

Frederick Douglass

Rochester safe house host: Celebrated abolitionist leader whose Rochester home sheltered Tubman and her parties on their perilous route north toward Canada.

Lucretia Mott

Abolitionist and organizer: Philadelphia reformer who mobilized anti-slavery networks, gathered critical financial aid, and championed Tubman's frontline missions.

Sydney Howard Gay

New York Journalist: An abolitionist who used telegraph code, “One M. (Or one F),” to forward freedom seekers without detection.

Maria G. Porter

A member of the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society who sheltered Tubman’s parents, Benjamin and Rit Ross, in June 1857. Her society collected clothing and food to send on to Canada.

John Bowley

A man who smuggled Tubman’s niece Keziah and her two children into a boat and delivered them to Tubman, who hid them in Baltimore until they could be transported to freedom.

G.A. Lewis

Wrote to Still in October 1855 about a group of eleven freedom seekers. He split the group up for safety while waiting for Still’s advice.

John H. Hill

A fugitive himself, he appealed for help in freeing John Willis, showing that people stayed involved through family networks even after their own escape.

The Levertons and the Society of Friends

Quakers: Abolitionists who aided Tubman during her own escape. Quaker households also sheltered fugitives across Pennsylvania, and a Quaker man helped save the Ennals party.

Catherine Clinton

Historian, Author of Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom: She emphasizes Tubman’s lived experience and faith, and argues that Tubman’s reputation as “Moses” came from her deep belief that God had personally called her.

Kate Clifford Larson

Historian, Author of Bound for the Promised Land: She argues that Tubman’s success depended on an intricate network of Black and white allies, including Quaker stationmasters, free Black watermen, and antislavery societies.