Freedom Seeker Stories From Salem
Recall the documented stories of freedom seekers that are relevant to the Lewelling House.
Freedom seekers found ways to find people they could trust to help them. Some even became friends and family.
Description
(The Lewelling House is a two-story, brown, limestone house with a full front porch. It has two solid green front doors, one on each side of the gray wooden steps leading up to the porch. On the second floor, there are four windows with green shutters equally spaced across the front of the house. There are two windows with green shutters on the ground floor, one beside each of the front doors. The sign hanging from the porch roof over the steps reads “Lewelling Quaker Museum.”)
(Dave Helman is dressed in black pants and a long-sleeved white shirt with large buttons. He has on a black vest and is holding a beige hat with a short rounded top with a wide brim.)
(Cathy Helman is dressed in a long-sleeved black dress with a high collar. She has tied a yellow and white striped apron at her waist.)
[Abby Brown] Tell me about stories that are documented that are relevant to the Lewelling House.
[Dave Helman] On June 2, 1848, nine slaves became freedom seekers of Missouri. They came north here to Salem. We believe one of them, a young Black man of 23 named John Walker, may have been here ahead of time; made some contacts, figured out the route and perhaps gained some assistance from the people in Salem. Then, went back to Missouri and came northward with his family.
[Abby] Wow. So he went back into danger zones to do some more work.
[Dave] That is one way of finding out where you're going and who could be trusted and who could not be trusted.
[Cathy Helman] Henry and Nellie Pickard took in a Black child. A little girl, baby actually, from a freedom seeker who was on his way to Canada. He was afraid the baby wouldn't make the journey and so left them. Henry and Nellie raised that little girl. She grew to adulthood and came back to the Pickard family in 1937 to thank them for taking her in and raising her with Pickard's 17 other children.
[Announcer] Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by the following supporters.
(Text on screen - The Coons Foundation, Pella, Gilchrist Foundation)
(Text on screen - Iowa PBS Education)