A brief history of the Underground Railroad in Hollidaysburg
I was given the opportunity to present to the Adam Holliday chapter of the Daughters of the America Revolution on October 3, 2020, a PowerPoint presentation on the Underground Railroad and its connection to Hollidaysburg. The link above is the PowerPoint. The links and scanned news articles below are the primary documents.
If you are interested in learning more about the Adam Holliday chapter of the DAR, copy and paste this web link into a web browser: http://pssdar.org/chapter_sites/adamholliday.php
The Union Cemetery, which houses the remains of William Nesbit, William Jackson and David Brown, is located on North Montgomery Road. The Hollidaysburg Senior High is located on this same road. If you go past the cemetery, you will see the Hollidaysbug Public Library which is located on 1 Furnace Road and Scenic Pine Drive.
The Altoona Black Community presented a resolution on the death of the Honorable Samuel S. Blair of Hollidaysburg and his impact on being involved in the Underground Railroad. Altoona Mirror December 10, 1890, pg. 4
William Nesbit’s death notice in the Altoona Mirror October 26, 1895 pg. 4
Obituary of William Nesbit Altoona Tribune October 28 1895 pg. 5
Obituary of William Nesbit Altoona Tribune October 28 1895 pg. 5 (a)
Death of William Nesbit Altoona Tribune October 28 1895 pg. 4
Dr Crawford Irwin’s obit Alt Tribune Oct 9 1900 pg 5 Dr Crawford Irwin’s obit Alt Tribune Oct 9 1900 pg. 5 (a)
David Brown speaks about the Underground Railroad in Hollidaysburg in Altoona’s Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Sept 2, 1913, pg. 14 Altoona Mirror. Mount Zion presented a program on the 50th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Obituary of William Jackson of Hollidaysburg March 29 1916 pg. 3
Altoona Mirror’s article on the death of David Brown, March 15, 1920, pg. 13
Funeral Services for David Brown March 16 1920 pg. 9 Alt Tribune
Report of Funeral Service of David Brown Alt Tribune March 17 1920 pg. 11
Chimney Rocks was mentioned in an article written on the presence of the Underground Railroad in Bellefonte in 2005. In 1856, Andrew Gregg Curtin, an UGRR conductor, and future Pennsylvania Governor, attempted to rescue Henry Thomas, who had been stolen by slave catchers. Henry Thomas was an ex-slave employed at the Pennsylvania House Hotel in Bellefonte. Curtin was unable to rescue Thomas in Centre County, however the rescue party found and secured Henry’s safety when they found him at Chimney Rocks (the story mentions Huntingdon rather than Blair County as the place of Chimney Rocks). The story was first documented in 1909 by Rev. William H. Mills, Sr., an AME minister from Bellefonte.
“Riots, Rumors, and Stories: The Underground Railroad and Abolitionists in the Valleys of the Susquehanna Region”
https://susquehannagreenway.org/sites/default/files/UGRR_tour_expansion.pdf
Rev. Mills of Bellefonte was the grandfather of the singing group “The Mills’ Brothers”
There is other documentation stating that fugitive slaves were sent through Hollidaysburg to other boroughs, towns and cities.
Stories about UGRR in South Central PA
