January 29

Harriet Tubman 

Abolitionist, Union Spy during the American Civil War and Humanitarian; Harriet Tubman is believed to have been born under the name (Araminta Ross) on (January 29, 1820-1822?) in Dorchester County, Maryland. There is some uncertainty about her exact birth date.  Her birth is recognized by some as January 29th, while others refer to her being born in March.    Tubman escaped slavery and worked to free other slaves by using the Underground Railroad (a secret passage that guided and protected slaves on their way to freedom from the South to the North). On September 17, 1849, Tubman escaped slavery from the Popar Neck Plantation in Maryland with her brothers Ben and Harry.  Shortly afterward, her brothers changed their minds about the escape and returned to the plantation with Harriet.  But freedom was on her mind and in her heart, so she soon escaped again and returned later to help her family flee to freedom.  Harriet Tubman was one of America's leading abolitionist during the nineteenth century and is said to have began her work on the Underground Railroad on April 20, 1853. Born as a slave, Tubman lead hundreds of slaves to freedom via the network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.  She died on March 10, 1913 in Auburn, New York.