Hannah Toliver

Released
Date of birth:27. 12. 1805
Date of death:24. 02. 1874
Age:68† Deceased
Gender:Female
Race:Black
Era:1800s
State:Kentucky
Support
Abolitionism Underground Railroad
No image available

Biography

Hannah Toliver was a free Black woman arrested in 1864 for violating Kentucky's law against "enticing a slave," for aiding the escape of an enslaved man held by William Murphy of Kentucky. Tried and found guilty, she was sentenced to seven years in prison; she served seven months and eighteen days before being pardoned by Governor Thomas Bramlette. Her case shows the Underground Railroad still operating during the Civil War — the Emancipation Proclamation had not freed the enslaved in Union-loyal Kentucky.

Case

Charges: "Enticing a slave" (Kentucky) — aiding the escape of an enslaved man in 1864.
Incarcerated: 1864
Sentence: Sentenced to seven years; served seven months and eighteen days before being pardoned by Governor Thomas Bramlette. Verdict as recorded: Yes — tried and found guilty.
Convicted: Yes

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