Felicity Times newspaper article, "Its Tracks were Clouded," July 6, 1893

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;t Collisions And 'Derailments^ Were. Unknown.
Recollectid'iis     Of    The     '•Under Ground Railroad" Of Antebell- .* uni Days. ,._
N    ante-bellum    da}*s   and   "slavery times,"  Felicity.    Clermont county
Ohio, was both fauioii,s,,aii![i„.ijLlfamous
I as an ''abolitioirtpwiu''    And "it was iio
lie either."   Not Ouly was it known   and
hailed by members   of an   enslaved  and
downtrodden race of people, but, it was
'accursed, arjathematized and threatened
by slave owners far   south  of. the  Ohio
\ River and'Mason's and   Dixon's  famous
i imaginary   line.    It is a. fact_ tliat_ the
; slave feh in his innermost soul that if he
I co'Eld only feaclr''Felicity" he^ vi"a§^ siafe
\ from his   pursuliig owner and his  posse
of officers, citizens  and bloood hounds,
and ready to be ticketed and tx-ansferred
by comparatively easy stag;es toXiiUa.cla-
ian soil; where1? He reniained,   he   was
absolutely and forever   free. . Moreover
his owner not only accepted   the tlieory
of his chattel but gnashed his teeth and
i^gured his losses according to the long-
cohtinued practice thereof.
As already stated this place wgs_a_jii:£h_; minent statfou on tlie way and the bu.si- ness of~atfling and abetting runaway slaves was practiced for years, by a co¬ terie of proiriiuent citizens. They were, imder the conditions, as then existing, denominated "abolitionists" and gloried in the faith-aaffarTfs~i5factfces.
They made no concealment of their ^ purposes, except such as were necessary i to promote the intercits of the employ-i ment in which they were engaged, for j the promotion of which they gave large \ ly,.not only of their time, but of their j means. Among them were Lewis Miller, j the appar£nt_chier oi>eiatPr, .Joseph Parrish. Senior, *Moses Larkin, James W. South, Dr. M. Gibson Rev. Smith Poage, \ Joseph Hayden;"James   Sowards,  James,'
Hayden, 'David House}, Fred.-Edwards; Jack Melvin, Rev. John Pettjoha; T)e- I Deloss"S. Waits; William J.   Reese, W.   S.:
Barber an3 others. Except DoctorGi^ i son andjosepli Hayden, all \vMk' pllS55fl' I to their revCkl-i'll""" EVfl'lo their latest day I they never concealed their identity with, I the movement, and glorified themselves j at its unvai-ying success, up to the time i when, by the emancipation of the slave^ I its further application was   unnecessary-^
OLIVER PERRY vSPKNCER FEE. ' 1
But there were ptherB.still more close* ly identiffeTrwith the operations of the' "under-gFound road," who for every rea-: son then conceivable, couMtiot afford to disclose their relationship therewith. In those days, the Democratic party in its composite form was tlie pro-slavery par¬ ty." Neverthel£,s.S-it contained many in- dividE^l-ffl^Jlll??^^ who were "rank abol- itiojiista"., Ancl again maiiy of them were very prominent and altogether in¬ fluential and successful in   the   councils
and -rampatghs   of their party.    Hq.f]
their connection with the "^bolitionists" and more"pai ticulary with the" '^^nder- grouhdTaa^lroad" e\'eJi been suspeffed, it wouldTiay_e* sealed their political 'doom and closgd theii" career.s as influential inembers of the party. Hence, as will be readily understood, their every move¬ ment was not only closely guarded by themselves but by their outspoken co- laborers, the "abolitionists" as afcft-esaid, as Avell as others stroiig in the secrets of| the organization.
The easilj' and quickly to be recogniz-| ed features shown in the   precedinsj cut, are those of.,i9Ji.e,0i4io^\S<:^^4e^^^ alert, active and;es"sentially liberal   man- ^ge1^6rthe "road,"    He was a veritable Higli ?riest in its councihs and his move¬ ments were planned, executed and con¬ cealed after the manner that.characterlz- isd Mm  as   pre-eminently   shrewd, audi among other things, several times in iiisi ownlater years;   prompted   that   other: great politican as well as eminent lawyer: \^and jurist, Hon. Phillip   Berin   Swing