Saint or Demon?: The Legendary Delia Webster Opposing Slavery

Co-published with Pace University Press, this definitive biography of Delia Webster is a fascinating study of a New England spinster who played an important part in the Underground Railroad. Driven by her religious and humanitarian values, Webster smuggled slaves through her 600 acre farm and across the Ohio River from the slave state of Kentucky. This determined abolitionist persevered through the destruction of her farm, theft of her possessions, four incarcerations, and threats of violence to assist runaway slaves in gaining their freedom during the middle of the nineteenth century. She also attempted to establish a 'free labor' farm, and she used her skills as a teacher to establish vocational and academic schools for free blacks and poor whites.