Last updated: June 15, 2024
Place
The Gilbert Family
You stand at the steps leading up to Jefferson Rock and eventually the Storer College campus. This story recounts the journey of the Gilbert family as they strive for freedom. Isaac Gilbert and his family—wife Sarah and three children—sought to liberate themselves from slavery. Susan Harding held Isaac Gilbert in bondage, while Dr. James Logie enslaved Isaac Gilbert’s wife and three children. Isaac Gilbert and enslaver Susan Harding made an arrangement, granting him permission to rent out his own time. Susan Harding benefited from this agreement, collecting $110 annually from Isaac. Due to his income, Isaac managed to save a substantial amount of money. By December of 1858, he initiated a legal monetary deal to buy his family out of slavery. Dr. Logie set a purchase price for Gilbert's family at $1,400 in gold.
An enslaved person could not complete this process, so Isaac negotiated a deal with town mayor Fontaine Beckham. Beckham agreed to accept Isaac's money, purchase Sarah and the kids, and retain the bill of sale, enslaving them until Isaac had secured his freedom. Upon Isaac's emancipation, Fontaine would release the bill of sale to him. In January of 1859, Beckham recorded his last will and testament, stating that upon his death, Sarah and the children were to be emancipated. That fall, Fontaine Beckham was shot while watching the John Brown Raid. With his death, his will was fulfilled, resulting in the manumission of Sarah Gilbert and the three children. They were the only enslaved people freed as a direct result of the John Brown Raid. During the Civil War, Isaac worked for the U.S. Army Quartermaster and an express company. He gained freedom through the war. The family purchased a house in Harpers Ferry, helped build a church, and the children attended school at Storer College.
If you continue up the steps, beyond Jefferson Rock, through the cemetery, you can visit the Storer College campus. Walk the grounds of the campus with our Storer College self-guided tour.
Who are you willing to go to the ends of the earth for?
An enslaved person could not complete this process, so Isaac negotiated a deal with town mayor Fontaine Beckham. Beckham agreed to accept Isaac's money, purchase Sarah and the kids, and retain the bill of sale, enslaving them until Isaac had secured his freedom. Upon Isaac's emancipation, Fontaine would release the bill of sale to him. In January of 1859, Beckham recorded his last will and testament, stating that upon his death, Sarah and the children were to be emancipated. That fall, Fontaine Beckham was shot while watching the John Brown Raid. With his death, his will was fulfilled, resulting in the manumission of Sarah Gilbert and the three children. They were the only enslaved people freed as a direct result of the John Brown Raid. During the Civil War, Isaac worked for the U.S. Army Quartermaster and an express company. He gained freedom through the war. The family purchased a house in Harpers Ferry, helped build a church, and the children attended school at Storer College.
If you continue up the steps, beyond Jefferson Rock, through the cemetery, you can visit the Storer College campus. Walk the grounds of the campus with our Storer College self-guided tour.
Who are you willing to go to the ends of the earth for?