In 2013, Lorraine McConaghy and Judy Bentley published FREE BOY: A True Story of Slave and Master (Seattle: University of Washington Press).FREE BOY explores the decision of slave Charles Mitchell to flee his master James Tilton, on September 24, 1860, following a tiny Puget Sound Underground Railroad. Black residents of the British Crown Colony of Victoria had approached Mitchell in secret, in the small town of Olympia, Washington Territory, to encourage him to stow away on the international mail steamer Eliza Anderson. After Mitchell made his life-changing decision, the steamer’s black cook hid him in a pantry on board ship. But the boy was discovered during the voyage, and the ship’s captain was determined to return him to his owner.
When the Eliza Anderson arrived at Victoria, a crowd of Mitchell’s supporters met the vessel, expecting him to walk onto the dock to freedom. Instead, the captain had imprisoned the boy on board. Mitchell was released from the ship by the local sheriff, spent the night in jail, and was then declared free to join the welcoming black community in Victoria.
Meanwhile, Mitchell’s master, James Tilton, protested again the actions of Victoria authorities and was indignant at what he saw as Charles Mitchell’s ingratitude. Tilton’s racial views were radicalized and hardened after the boy’s escape. In 1865, when Mitchell had been living free in Victoria for five years, Tilton ran for office in Washington Territory as a frank white supremacist. FREE BOY follows the twined biographies of master and slave in the context of the late antebellum and Civil War period.
In an innovative agreement with BlackPast.org, the authors have chosen to post all of the FREE BOY supporting primary documents related to Mitchell’s enslavement and eventual freedom as well as those showing the history of James Tilton. Charles Mitchell was a boy – just turned 13 – when he made his life-changing decision to flee slavery. BlackPast.org hopes that teachers find his story of interest to their students, and that work with the document scans, easy-to-read transcriptions and classroom inquiry activities below can help students fulfill history and social studies learning requirements.
Documents Providing Background on Slave and Free Man Charles Mitchell, 1818-1870
1) Deed of Mortgage, Estate of Jacob Gibson, September 14, 1818
Document Description: This four page deed lists the names of slaves at Marengo Plantation
Document Ownership: Land Records, Circuit Court for Talbot County, Maryland, September 14, 1818
Document Source Electronic Address: n.a.
Easy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry Activity
2) 1836 Petition Gibson/Tilton Slave Estate Sale, 1836 Judgment
Document Description: Washington D.C. petition asking Edward Gibson to sell two slaves to satisfy a judgment against James Tilton, administrator of the Gibson estate.
Document Ownership: Public Domain
Document Source Electronic Address: n.a.
Easy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry Activity3) Slave Census-Marengo Plantation, Talbot County, Maryland, (1850)
Document Description: Census record showing unnamed family including 3 year old slave, Charles Mitchell, and unnamed slave mother.
Document Ownership: Ancestry Proprietary Database
Document Source Electronic Address: research via local public library subscribing to this database
Easy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry Activity4) Federal Census, Olympia, Washington Territory (1860)
Document Description: Census shows James Tilton family and slave Charles Mitchell.
Document Ownership: Heritage Quest Proprietary Database
Document Source Electronic Address: research via local public library subscribing to this databaseEasy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry Activity5) Federal Census, Baltimore, Maryland (1870)
Document Description: Census shows entries for Charles and Rebecca Mitchell.
Document Ownership: Heritage Quest Proprietary Database
Document Source Electronic Address: research via local public library subscribing to this database
Documents Related to the Seizure and Liberation of Charles Mitchell
6) Affidavit-Fleming, September 26, 1860
Document Description: Affidavit protesting British authorities’ seizure of slave (Mitchell) from steamer Eliza Anderson by Capt. John Fleming, Crown Colony of Victoria, September 16, 1860.
Document Ownership: British Columbia Archives
Document Source Electronic Address: http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/bcarchives/
Easy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry Activity7) Three affidavits protesting Mitchell’s imprisonment on Steamer, September 25, 1850
Document Description: Affidavits (x3: William Davis, James Allen, William Jerome) protesting imprisonment of Charles Mitchell on steamer, Eliza Anderson, September 25, 1860.
Document Ownership: Washington State Archives
Document Source Electronic Address: n/a
Inquiry Activity
8) Letter James Tilton to Henry McGill, October 30, 1860
Document Description: Letter protesting seizure of slave Charles Mitchell from the steamer, Eliza Anderson, October 30, 1860.Document Ownership:Washington State Archives
Document Source Electronic Address: n/a
Easy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry Activity
Newspaper Articles Concerning the Flight of Charles Mitchell to Crown Colony of Victoria, Canada, Septemer 24, 1860
9a) Pioneer Democrat (Olympia, Washington Territory) “Fugitive Slave Case,” September 28, 1860
Document Description: newspaper article reporting Charles Mitchell’s escape from Olympia, W.T. to Crown Colony of Victoria on September 24, 1860
Document Ownership: Google NewspapersDocument Source Electronic Address: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=nDos0PVUvP8C&dat=18600928&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
Easy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry Activity9b) Puget Sound Herald (Steilacoom, Washington Territory), “A Slave Case,” October 5, 1860
Document Description: newspaper article reporting Charles Mitchell’s escape from Olympia, W.T. to Crown Colony of Victoria on September 24, 1860
Document Ownership: Washington Secretary of State-Historic Newspapers OnlineDocument Source Electronic Address: http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/newspapers.aspx
Easy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry ActivityDocument Description: newspaper article reporting Charles Mitchell’s escape from Olympia, W.T. to Crown Colony of Victoria on September 24, 1860
Document Ownership: University of Victoria – Digital Collections – the British Colonist Online
Document Source Electronic Address: http://www.britishcolonist.ca/display.php?issue=18600927
Easy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry ActivityDocument Description: newspaper article reporting Cha rles Mitchell’s escape from Olympia, W.T. to Crown Colony of Victoria on September 24, 1860
Document Ownership: University of Victoria – Digital Collections – the British Colonist Online
Document Source Electronic Address: http://www.britishcolonist.ca/display.php?issue=18601004
Easy-to-Read Transcription
Inquiry Activity9e) Daily Evening Bulletin (San Francisco, California), “A Runaway Slave Case,” October 18, 1860
Document Description: newspaper article reporting Charles Mitchell’s escape from Olympia, W.T. to Crown Colony of Victoria on September 24, 1860
Document Ownership: Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers – Gale Group proprietary database
Document Source Electronic Address: research via local public library subscribing to this database
Newspaper Articles Concerning the Race for Washington Territorial Delegate – Spring 1865 – Republican Arthur Denny vs. Democrat James Tilton (Former Master of Charles Mitchell)
Inquiry Activities for All Newspaper Articles Concerning Election 1865
Document Description: Newspaper article promoting Tilton’s candidacy for territorial delegate, 1865
Document Ownership: Google newspapers
Document Source Electronic Address: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VY6XGRaXF-sC&dat=18650422&printsec=frontpage&HL+EN
Document Description: newspaper article promoting Tilton’s candidacy for territorial delegate, 1865
Document Ownership: Washington Secretary of State-Historic Newspapers Online
Document Source Electronic Address: http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/newspapers.aspx
Document Description: newspaper article promoting Denny’s candidacy for territorial delegate, 1865
Document Ownership: Washington Secretary of State-Historic Newspapers Online
Document Source Electronic Address: http://www.sos.wa.gov/history/newspapers.aspx
Document Description: newspaper article promoting Tilton’s candidacy and listing territorial Democratic platform, 1865
Document Ownership: Google newspapers
Document Source Electronic Address: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VY6XGRaXF-sC&dat=18650422&printsec=frontpage&HL+EN
10e) Washington Democrat (Olympia, Washington Territory), “Keep It Before the People,” May 20, 1865
Document Description: newspaper article promoting Tilton’s candidacy for territorial delegate, 1865
Document Ownership: Google newspapers
Document Source Electronic Address: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VY6XGRaXF-sC&dat=18650520&printsec=frontpage&HL+EN
10f) Washington Democrat (Olympia, Washington Territory), “Shall the Negro Vote?,” May 13, 1865
Document Description: newspaper article promoting Tilton’s candidacy for territorial delegate, 1865
Document Ownership: Google newspapers
Document Source Electronic Address: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VY6XGRaXF-sC&dat=18650513&printsec=frontpage&HL+EN
10g) Washington Democrat (Olympia, Washington Territory), “Sectional,” May 13, 1865Document Description: newspaper article promoting Tilton’s candidacy for territorial delegate, 1865
Document Ownership: Google newspapers
Document Source Electronic Address: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VY6XGRaXF-sC&dat=18650513&printsec=frontpage&HL+EN
10h) Washington Democrat (Olympia, Washington Territory), “General Tilton’s Loyalty,” May 27, 1865
Document Description: newspaper article promoting Tilton’s candidacy for territorial delegate, 1865
Document Ownership: Google newspapers
Document Source Electronic Address: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VY6XGRaXF-sC&dat=18650527&printsec=frontpage&HL+EN
Newspaper Article Concerning the Death of Charles Mitchell
Document Description: newspaper article reporting the death of Charles Mitchell, 1876
Document Ownership: University of Victoria – Digital Collections – the British Colonist Online
Document Source Electronic Address: http://www.britishcolonist.ca/display.php?issue=18760222
Photos and Drawings Concerning Slave Charles Mitchell and Master James Tilton
Inquiry Activities for All Photos and Drawings Concerning Slave and Master
12a) Portrait Photograph, James Tilton, no date
Image Ownership: University of Washington Special Collections
Document Source Electronic Address: http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/
12b) Artist’s Portrait, Charles Mitchell, as a boy of 13Image Description: cover art by R. Gregory Christie (artist) for FREE BOY
Image Ownership: University of Washington Press
Document Source Electronic Address: n.a.
12c) Photograph, Steamer Eliza Anderson
Image Description: the ship on which Charles Mitchell escaped slavery
Image Ownership: Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society
Document Source Electronic Address: http://www.pugetmaritime.org
12d) Drawing, Crown Colony of Victoria, British Columbia, 1860
Image Description: the town to which Charles Mitchell fled slavery, to freedom
Image Ownership: U.S. Library of Congress
Document Source Electronic Address: http://www.loc.gov/index.html
12e) Drawing, Olympia, Washington Territory, 1860
Image Description: sketch of the town from which Charles Mitchell fled slavery; from the notebooks of U.S. Navy Lieutenant James Alden
Image Ownership: Washington State Historical Society; reprinted p 20, Gordon R. Newell, Rogues, Buffoons and Statesmen (Hangman Press, 1975)
Document Source Electronic Address: http://www.washingtonhistory.org