Born To Be Free

Born To Be Free. .

"I was a stranger in a strange land; and my home, after all, was down in Maryland, because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there. But I was free, and they should be free." , Harriet Tubman to Sarah Bradford in Scenes in the Life of Harriet Tubman, 1868

, Harriet Tubman was born in 1822 and named Araminta "Minty" Ross. Her parents Harriet "Rit" Green and Ben Ross were enslaved by different owners here in Dorchester County, Maryland. By law, children of African Americans inherited their legal status from their mother. For that reason, Minty and her siblings were the property of Edward Brodess of Bucktown a few miles away., From the age of six, Minty was hired out to other planters who were often abusive and cruel. In her teens, she received a severe blow to her head that nearly killed her. Some years later, she went to work for Dr. Anthony C. Thompson, who owned vast tracts of timber and had hired some of her siblings. Around 1844, Minty married John Tubman, a freeman, and changed her name to Harriet Tubman., Escape To Freedom , Harriet and her siblings hoped they would be freed when their owner, Edward Brodess, died in 1849. When they realized that was not likely, they feared being taken and sold in the Deep South. Harriet knew it was time for her to go. One night she snuck away alone. Following the North Star and hiding during the day, Harriet Tubman eventually found her way to Pennsylvania, where she made plans to rescue her family left behind.