Mary Meachum (1801-1869), wife of John Berry Meachum. She and her husband were both freed persons engaged in the efforts of the Underground Railroad through their church, home, and school. On the early morning of May, 21st of 1855 nine enslaved persons including four owned by Henry Shaw; Esther, her two children, and one unnamed male made their break for freedom utilizing the Underground Railroad with the assistance of Mary Meachum. They attempted crossing the Mississippi River to the free state of Illinois. Unfortunately bounty hunters awaited them and they were soon captured and Mary Meachum would be jailed for the attempt. The location of this historic event on the banks of Mississippi River north of downtown St. Louis is today memorialized as the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing.
John Berry Meachum, husband of Mary Meachum. He and his wife were both freed persons engaged in the efforts of the Underground Railroad through their church, home, and school. A pastor and founder of the oldest black church in Missouri he was also a skilled carpenter. A trade he taught to those he assisted, a skill that afforded him income to help free enslaved people by buying their freedom. As an educator he operated a school which taught both free and enslaved black students. When the state of Missouri banned all education for blacks in 1847 he circumvented the law by teaching classes on a steamboat on the Mississippi River. The efforts of John and Mary Meachum are today celebrated with the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing.
Newspaper account of the capture and arrest of Mary Meachum and enslaved persons attempted crossing of the Mississippi River to freedom in Illinois on May 21, 1855. See IMAGE 0146.
Newspaper account of the capture and arrest of Mary Meachum and enslaved persons attempted crossing of the Mississippi River to freedom in Illinois on May 21, 1855. See IMAGE 0153.
Newspaper account of the capture and arrest of Mary Meachum and enslaved persons attempted crossing of the Mississippi River to freedom in Illinois on May 21, 1855. See IMAGE 0152.
