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In 1866 James Anthony realized how much he loved his wife. He loved her with a powerful self sacrificing love. The sort of love you might read about in the bible. A pure and genuine love-that landed him in jail. And that was only the beginning. Joseph loved her so much that he stood up on an auction block and sold himself into slavery for seven and a half years. He did all these things to keep his wife-no matter how extraordinary the cost. Joseph's story demonstrates the commitment needed to endure a slave-era marriage.

Joseph was a freeman that married a slave woman-a common practice of the time. When she was sold away from him he vowed to get her back no matter what the cost. He pack himself into a neighbors cart-but was discovered and thrown in the county jail for a night-luckily with a warning. Maybe the jailer saw the pain in his eyes-the desperation. Either way the jailer let Joseph go free. Eventually he found he found his bride. He decided they would escape to Canada so they would never be separated from one another again. For individuals like Joseph leaving the United States was his only option for sanctuary.

Slavery began in during the 1600's in the United States. By the year 1860 there were almost four million slaves living in the south. They made up almost 1/3 of the population. Religious leaders and philosophers started to speak out against slavery. A long history of resistance began. When a slave escaped it was no longer safe for him stay in the free states of the North. Thousands of fugitive slaves fled the United States going to Mexico or Canada where they could live as free, voting citizens and even purchase land.

Those who fled to Canada crossed over at Lake Erie and they traveled on to Nova Scotia and British Columbia but the majority settled in southwestern Ontario. Canada vowed not to return fugitives and slave owners and bounty hunters had no jurisdiction in Canada. It became a land of milk and honey-a promised land for most runaway slaves. They formed communities and towns some even owned farmland. Canada was crucial in the success of the Underground Railroad.

Learn more about this author, R. Warner.
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