I am finishing the final edits on a book I’ve written dealing with St Paul as a former Slave. I’ve published an article on the topic for Christianity Today earlier this year, appearing as the front page featured story. Over the last few days, before I send the book to my publisher, I’ve been thinking about the issue of slavery and our family. My brother, Gary, passed away a month ago in Pennsylvania and he has done research on our family’s past.
On a dirt road, not far from our hometown in Pennsylvania, there is a historic marker indicating the site of the home and tannery of John Brown, the abolitionist. Although John Brown moved around a great deal, he spent more time here than anywhere else. In 1826 Brown bought 200 acres of land in Randolph township, moved his family, cleared the land and built a tannery. His wife and two sons are buried here. John Brown’s deep Christian faith convinced him that slavery had to be abolished. At the height of his business, Brown hired 15 workers and used the tannery, his barn and home to hide escaped slaves. In 1857 John Brown organized and led the fateful raid on Harper’s Ferry in Virginia. The raid failed and John Brown was tried and hanged. One of my ancestors, Samuel Stufflebeam, was probably one of Brown’s collaborators in Pennsylvania and helped with the underground railroad. The underground railroad (conducting escaped slaves to freedom in the north) was a secret network of associates who provided safe houses for slaves. My great, great (I don’t know how many “greats”) uncle John Brown Stufflebeam (son of Samuel Stufflebeam) was named after John Brown.
