The Abolitionists Network

The Abolitionists Network. . , John Parker , Former slave John Parker led a dual life-by day working as an iron molder in his foundry and machine shop, by night he was an Underground Railroad conductor, ferrying fugitive slaves across the Ohio River. Parker worked secretly with the Rankin family and led many fugitive slaves to their home. He wrote of Rankin, "At times attacked on all sides by masters seeking their slaves, [John Rankin and his sons] beat back their assailant, and held its threshold unsullied.", The Beecher and Stowe Family , While visiting his sons who attended Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, Rev. Rankin spoke with the family of Lyman Beecher and Professor Calvin Stowe of his experiences operating a station on the Underground Railroad. The story of a fugitive slave who found shelter with the Rankins in 1838, after crossing the icy Ohio River with her child, captured the attention of Beecher's daughter and Stowe's wife, Harriet., While writing her novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe used Rankin's real life account to inspire her fictional character, Eliza. Uncle Tom's Cabin became a major best-selling book and was among the influences leading up to the Civil War., After the war, Rev. Henry Ward Beecher was asked, "Who abolished slavery?" He replied, "Rev. John Rankin and his sons did it."