Secret Lives of the Underground Railroad in New York City ─ Sydney Howard Gay, Louis Napoleon and the Record of Fugitives

In this history, authors Papson and Calarco describe and analyze Sydney Howard Gay's Record of Fugitives, 1855-, and his association with Louis Napoleon in assisting with the Underground Railroad. Gay was a wealthy white abolitionist who edited an anti-slavery newspaper. Napoleon was an illiterate former slave who is described as an "engineer" of the Underground Railroad credited with helping to free up to 3,000 slaves. The Record of Fugitives was Gay's journal, in which gave frequent accounts of his activities with the Underground Railroad. In the first part of the book, the authors set up the context, give biographies of Gay and Napoleon, and relate some incidents, such as a police slave-hunt" that took place when a former slave was freed by a judge. The second part extensively annotates theRecord of Fugitives. Appendixes contain transcribed lists of slaves, with their names, owners' names, dates of travel, money involved, etc. Annotation c2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Don Papson was awarded the 2012 Underground Railroad Free Press Prize in Leadership for co-founding the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association and establishing the North Star Underground Railroad Museum. He lives in Plattsburgh, New York, and blogs at www.secretlivesoftheundergroundrailroadinnyc.com. Tom Calarco is a professional writer whose antislavery research is widely recognized. He was awarded the 2008 Underground Railroad Free Press Prize for advancing the knowledge and study of the Underground Railroad. He lives in Ohio.