Blairsville in Indiana County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Dr. Edward Emerson & Dred Scott
The Blairsville Area Underground Railroad
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 15, 2022
1. Dr. Edward Emerson & Dred Scott Marker
Ethelred "Dred" Scott was born enslaved in Virginia in 1795. In 1830, Dred's owner, a planter named Peter Blow, sold Dred to an US Army surgeon named Dr. John Emerson. Dr. Emerson was the brother of Blairsville's first physician, Dr. Edward P. Emerson.
Dred is famous for a series of lawsuits he and his wife Harriet Robinson of Bedford, PA filed to secure their freedom. They argued from 1846 to 1857 that their presence in the free territory of Missouri required their emancipation. The "Dred Scott Decision" of 1857 was the court decision which found that Dred and Harriet, as slaves, were not recognized legal U.S. citizens and therefore could not sue for their freedom.
On this site, Dr. Edward Emerson operated his "druggist" business. Edward Emerson was also a physician, mill owner, hotelier, and SLAVE OWNER. According to the US Census of Blairsville taken in 1830, Emerson owned a male slave under the age of ten years. The identity of the young man Emerson enslaved is unknown.
[photo captions]
• 1830 US Census of Blairsville, PA. The slave schedule was listed on the following page.
• Blairsville, 1856
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Industry & Commerce • Law Enforcement. A significant historical year for this entry is 1795.
Location.
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. George Wilkinson and the Kidnapping of 1858 (within shouting distance of this marker); Chester C. Davis and the Kidnapping of 1858 (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Site of Former Associate Reformed and United Presbyterian Churches (about 400 feet away); Samuel McCune Safehouse (about 500 feet away); Blairsville Veterans Memorial (about 500 feet away); St. Peter's Episcopal Church and Rectory (about 500 feet away); Blairsville Armory (about 600 feet away); Fugitive Slave Rescue (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Blairsville.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Passport to Freedom: The Blairsville Area Underground Railroad
Also see . . .
1. Dr. Edward P. Emerson.
As soon as they commenced the build Blairsville, in 1819, he moved into the town and practiced medicine there and in the surrounding country till his death in 1861. He was the first(Submitted on November 28, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)physician in Blairsville. Dr. Edward Emerson was the older brother of Dr. John Emerson. The younger Emerson is a footnote in history. He was once the owner of Ethelred “Dred” Scott.
2. Marker detail: Ethelred “Dred” Scott
2. Dred Scott v. Sandford.
A landmark 1857 decision of the United States Supreme Court that held that the United States Constitution was not meant to include American citizenship for people of black African descent, regardless of whether they were enslaved or free, and so the rights and privileges that the Constitution confers upon American citizens could not apply to them. The Supreme Court's decision has been widely denounced, both for its overt racism and for its crucial role in the start of the American Civil War four years later.(Submitted on November 28, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 15, 2022
3. Dr. Edward Emerson & Dred Scott Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on November 28, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 28, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 182 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 28, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
