Sydney Howard Gay (Author of Jam Madison)

Contents:

• SYDNEY HOWARD GAY
• GAY, SYDNEY HOWARD
• SYDNEY HOWARD GAY FACTS FOR KIDS
• SYDNEY HOWARD GAY PAPERS, 1748-1931
• GAY, SIDNEY HOWARD

SYDNEY HOWARD GAY

In 1855 and 1856, Sydney Howard Gay, the edor of the weekly abolnist publitn, the Natnal Anti-Slavery Standard and a key operative the unrground railroad New York Cy, cid for unknown reasons to meticuloly rerd the arrival of fugive slav at his office. The rultg two volum, which he lled The Rerd of Fugiv, ss the Gay Papers at the Rare Books and Mancript Library of Columbia Universy, where has remaed, until recently, virtually untouched. Gay terviewed the fugiv, who numbered well over two hundred men, women, and children and rerd their stori.

It ntas referenc to well-known dividuals like Harriet Tubman, who passed through New York Cy twice durg the years, and ltle-known figur such as Louis Napoleon, a black porter who worked Gay’s office and was the key operative meetg fugiv who arrived New York and assistg them on their journeys to eedom.

GAY, SYDNEY HOWARD

But at s heart lie the arrtg stori of the fugiv themselv, as Gay, an acplished journalist, rerd them. This webse reproduc the Rerd of Fugiv, both high rolutn imag of all of s pag (as well as of a few separate sheets on which Gay rerd the experienc of addnal naway slav), and a searchable transcript. It also clus a spreadsheet piled by Profsor Eric Foner, that summariz the rmatn noted by Gay and William Still bed wh data om other sourc.

x Sydney Howard Gay papers.

Sydney Howard Gay was the edor of the weekly abolnist publitn, the Natnal Anti-Slavery Standard and a key operative the unrground railroad New York Cy. Over two years, he meticuloly rerd the arrival of fugive slav at his office two volum he lled The Rerd of Fugiv, which is clud the Gay Papers at the Rare Books and Mancript Library of Columbia Universy.

SYDNEY HOWARD GAY FACTS FOR KIDS

An acplished journalist, Gay terviewed over two hundred men, women, and children and rerd the stori of well-known and lser-known, yet stmental, fugiv, cludg Harriet Tubman. The Omeka se, Sydney Howard Gay’s Rerd of Fugiv, reproduc the recently redisvered Rerd of Fugiv, both high-rolutn imag of all of s pag and a searchable transcript. It also clus documentatn about 172 dividual slav, piled by Profsor Eric Foner, that summariz the rmatn noted by Gay and William Still bed wh data om other sourc.

Catapano created a Wikipedia entry for Sydney Howard Gay (none existed) and clud lks to Dr. Foner’s books, to the archive of the Natnal Anti-Slavery Standard (Gay’s abolnist newspaper), and to our exhibn. An unrgraduate stunt at Columbia Universy who was workg on a this about the reer of New York journalist Sydney Howard Gay first told historian Eric Foner about the existence of this book, Gay’s Rerd of Fugiv.

SYDNEY HOWARD GAY PAPERS, 1748-1931

Foner, one of our guts on the most recent episo of our History of Amerin Slavery podst, ed the material Gay’s Rerd to wre his book Gateway to Freedom: The Hidn History of the Unrground Railroad. Gay’s book rerds the cimstanc of the fugiv before they me north to New York, rout taken and dangers dodged between their pots of parture and his office, and, often, their reasons for leavg.

” Gay rerd some tails about those fay stctur, notg when fugiv scribed plans for rng wh people left behd.

GAY, SIDNEY HOWARD

Gay also noted how much money he spent on each fugive. The name of Louis Napoleon, a black llaborator who would often serve as the naways’ first pot of ntact wh Gay’s office or physilly rt fugiv to their next statns, appears many tim. Sydney Howard Gay’s Rerd of Fugiv, Book 1 (1855), p.