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William Still (1821–1902)

William Still (October 7, 1821 – July 14, 1902) was an African-American abolitionist, conductor on the Underground Railroad, writer, historian and civil rights activist.

Early life and family

William Still was born October 7, 1821 in Burlington County, New Jersey, to Sidney (later renamed Charity) and Levin Still. His parents had come to New Jersey from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. William was the youngest of eighteen siblings. His siblings included Dr. James Still (1812–84), known as "the Doctor of the Pines;" Peter Still, Samuel Still, Mary Still, a teacher and missionary in the African Methodist Episcopal Church; Mahala Still (Mrs. Gabriel Thompson), and Kitturah Still, who moved to Pennsylvania.

William's father Levin was the first of the family to move to New Jersey. Born a slave, he had saved enough to purchase his freedom and had been manumitted in 1798 in Caroline County, Maryland. Levin eventually settled in Evesham near Medford. Levin's wife Charity, then a slave in Maryland, escaped with their four children. Charity and her children were recaptured and returned to slavery, but she escaped a second time and, with her two daughters, found her way to Burlington County to join her husband. The two sons she left behind, Levin Jr. and Peter, were sold to slaveowners in Lexington, Kentucky, and then later, sent to Alabama in the Deep South. Following her escape to New Jersey, Charity had 14 more children with her husband Levin, of whom William was the youngest.

Marriage and family

In 1844, William Still moved from New Jersey to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1847, he married Letitia George. William and Letitia had four children who survived infancy. Their oldest was Caroline Matilda Still (1848–1919), a pioneer female medical doctor. Caroline attended Oberlin College and the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia (much later the Medical College of Pennsylvania); she was married, first to Edward J. Wyley, and after his death, to the Reverend Matthew Anderson, longtime pastor of the Berean Presbyterian Church in North Philadelphia. She had an extensive private medical practice in Philadelphia and was also a community activist, teacher and leader.

William Wilberforce Still (1854–1914) graduated from Lincoln University and subsequently practiced law in Philadelphia. Robert George Still (1861–1896), was a journalist who owned a print shop on Pine at 11th Street in central Philadelphia. Frances Ellen Still (1857–1930) became a kindergarten teacher (she was named after poet Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, who lived with the Stills before her marriage). On the 1900 U.S. Census William Still said he had two children, William W. and Ellen, still living in his household, as well as a daughter-in-law.

Career

William Still became an abolitionist, working with the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society.

Family

His brother Levin Still, Jr. died while enslaved. Peter Still and most of his family escaped from slavery with the help of two brothers named Friedman, who operated mercantile establishments in Florence, Alabama and Cincinnati, Ohio. Kate E. R. Pickard wrote about Peter Still and his family in her book, The Kidnapped and the Ransomed: Recollections of Peter Still and his Wife "Vina," After Forty Years of Slavery (1856).

After reaching Philadelphia, Peter Still sought William Still's help as a member of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society to find other family members he (Peter) hadn't seen since the age of six. The brothers had no idea they were related. Upon hearing Peter's story, William recognized the history his mother had recounted many times. After hearing that his older brother Levin was whipped to death for visiting his wife without permission, William shouted, "What if I told you I was your brother!" Later Peter and his mother met after having been separated for 42 years.

Another of their brothers was James Still. Born in 1812, James wanted to become a doctor but said he "was not the right color to enter where such knowledge was dispensed". James studied herbs and plants and apprenticed himself to a white doctor to learn medicine. He became known as the "Black Doctor of the Pines". James' son, James Thomas Still, graduated from Harvard's School of Medicine in 1871.

The three prominent Still brothers: William, James, and Peter, settled with their families in Lawnside, New Jersey. To this day, their descendants have an annual family reunion every August. Notable members of the Still family include the composer William Grant Still, professional WNBA basketball player Valerie Still, professional NFL defensive end Art Still, and professional NFL defensive tackle Devon Still.

Abolitionism

In 1847, three years after his arrival in Philadelphia, William Still began working as a clerk for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. When Philadelphia abolitionists organized a committee to aid runaway slaves reaching Philadelphia, Still became its chairman. By the 1850s, Still was a leader of Philadelphia's African-American community.

In 1859 he attempted to desegregate the city's public transit system, which had separate seating for whites and backs. In 1865 the Pennsylvania legislature passed a law to integrate the streetcars across the state.

He opened a stove store during the American Civil War, and operated the post exchange at Camp William Penn, the training camp for United States Colored Troops north of Philadelphia. After the war, Still owned and operated a coal delivery business.

Underground Railroad

Often called "The Father of the Underground Railroad", Still helped as many as 800 slaves escape to freedom. He interviewed each person and kept careful records, including a brief biography and the destination of each person, along with any alias adopted. He kept his records carefully hidden but kept accounts in order to help reunite family members. One of the fugitive slaves he helped was his own older brother Peter, whom he had never met.

Still worked with other Underground Railroad agents operating in the South and in many counties in southern Pennsylvania. His network to freedom also included agents in New Jersey, New York, New England and Canada. Harriet Tubman traveled through his office with fellow passengers on several occasions during the 1850s.

After the Civil War, Still published an account of the Underground Railroad, based on the secret notes he'd kept in diaries during those years. His book is a source of many historical details of the workings of the Underground Railroad. He is one of the many who helped slaves escape from the southern United States.

Youth Organizations

Still also had a strong interest in the welfare of black youth. He helped to establish an orphanage for black youth and he also helped to organize the first YMCA for African-Americans in Philadelphia.

In popular culture

• Stand by the River (2003), a musical based on his life was written and composed by Joanne and Mark Sutton-Smith

See also

• Stand by the River, a musical about the life of William Still

External links

• PBS: Underground Railroad – The William Still Story
• Maryland State Archives: Legacy of Slavery – Case Studies of Maryland Freedom Seekers
• Spartacus Educational: William Still
• New York News: William Still
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