January 1849
Events
- January 1849Harriet Tubman Escapes Slavery and Begins Rescue Missions
Araminta Ross — Harriet Tubman — escaped from Dorchester County, Maryland, traveling alone 90 miles to Philadelphia. She then returned south at least 13 times, personally guiding approximately 70 enslaved people to freedom via the Underground Railroad, including her own parents. Enslavers posted rewards reaching $40,000 (combined) for her capture. She was never caught and never lost a passenger.
- January 1849Harriet Tubman Escapes Slavery and Begins Rescue Missions
Harriet Tubman escaped from Dorchester County, Maryland, traveling 90 miles alone to Philadelphia. She then returned south at least 13 times, personally guiding approximately 70 enslaved people to freedom. Enslavers posted rewards reaching $40,000 combined for her capture. She was never caught and never lost a passenger.
- January 1849Avery College Founded in Pittsburgh for Black Students
Charles Avery, a Methodist minister and antislavery philanthropist, endowed Avery College in Allegheny City (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania — one of the few institutions granting degrees to Black Americans before the Civil War. The college trained Black teachers and professionals who spread across Pennsylvania and Ohio. Among its graduates were leaders in the AME and AME Zion churches and later Reconstruction-era politicians.