Delco Abolitionist Descendant Helps Unveil New USPS Forever Stamps

HAVERTOWN, PA — A Delaware County man with ties to the abolition movement helped unveil a new stamp that's part of a series honoring the men and women who helped end slavery in the United States.

On March 9, the U.S. Postal Service honored 10 courageous men and women who helped guide enslaved people to freedom by unveiling the new Underground Railroad Stamp series in Chruch Creek, Maryland.

Among the abolitionist honored by the stamps is Thomas Garrett, a Quaker from Upper Darby.

And his descendant, Bob Seeley from Havertown, helped honor the man who was instrumental in the Underground Railroad.

Garrett helped more than 2,700 people to freedom, including Harriet Tubman.

Seeley addressed the standing room only crowd on March 9 with an inspirational speech, delivering it in first person from Garrett's perspective.

A full transcript of the speech is below.

Other abolitionists honored by the Forever stamps are Catharine Coffin, Frederick Douglass, Laura Haviland, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Jacobs, William Lambert, the Rev. Jermain Loguen, William Still, and Tubman.

Seeley told Patch he has been lecturing and researching the Underground Railroad for more than 35 years in schools, colleges, churches, and even on radio and TV.

The Thomas Garrett Pennsylvania Historical Marker in Drexel Hill features his words. He was also instrumental in getting the National Park Service to recognize land in Arlington National Cemetery as a site on the Underground Railroad.

Seeley said more than 20 years ago, he and others penned a letter to the United States Postal Service requesting an Underground Railroad stamp. Among those in the letter was then Sen. Joe Biden, Seeley said.

Below is Seeley's full speech

Thank you for inviting me to the unveiling of this beautiful Underground Railroad Stamp Series, I am honored. We all worked together to end slavery.

Let me tell you a little about myself, my name is Thomas Garrett. I was born August 21, 1789, to Thomas and Sarah Price Garrett. I was an American abolitionist, who fought with many brave people, for over fifty years to end slavery. In 1813 a free woman employed by my family in Upper Darby, PA was kidnapped by a slave catcher. I rescued her from being sold into slavery, and on that day I had a vision from God to dedicate my life to end slavery. In 1822 I moved to 227 Shipley St. in Wilmington,

Delaware and open a hardware business. For over forty years, I made many deliveries and pickups in Maryland, in Delaware and in Pennsylvania. I would boycott goods made by slave labor, I would send letters to the newspapers, I would sign petitions, I would join several anti-slavery societies and I would support equal education of all people. By my last count, with the help from many of my friends in Wilmington, my wife Rachel and I helped more than 2,700 brave people to freedom on the Underground Railroad including God’s unwavering disciple, Harriet Tubman, her brave parents, and many other brave passengers. Freedom Seekers would traveled by carriage, by train, by boat, or by foot, many of the brave freedom seekers, traveled by foot northward and eastward through the streams, and over the hills.

Sometimes they could hear barking dogs in a distance. Tired, wet, and cold, they found their way to my house in Wilmington, where Rachel and I gave them food, clothes, medical care, rest and many times a carriage with one of my trusted caring friends, who attended one of the African American Churches in Wilmington, Delaware. I would send these brave freedom seekers into the free state of Pennsylvania to my family, my faith partners, and to the office of my friend William Still, who recorded their information in a journal, saving the history of the Underground Rail Road. I was threatened, harassed, and assaulted. In 1848 I was unjustly convicted and fined $5400.00 by Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, who would later rule on the Dred Scott case, for helping the Hawkins family escape slavery. This fine almost bankrupted me, but I vowed to double my efforts to end slavery.

Novelist and abolitionist, Harriet Beecher Stowe, followed my trials and used them as the
basis of the “good Quaker” character. In 1860 a large reward was offered for my arrest by the state of Maryland. I wrote to the state of Maryland and said if you double the reward, I will turn myself in. In June of 1862, I was part of a group of abolitionists from Longwood ( 3 men and 3 woman) who met with President Lincoln to encourage him to end slavery without delay. President Lincoln started drafting the Emancipation only days after our meeting. After the passage of the 13th Amendment to end slavery, my brave African- American friends in Wilmington, Delaware, who worked with me on the road to freedom, honored me, with parades, letters, and a beautiful engraved silver tea service.

We all worked together and we all celebrated together. Let us continue To honor, let us continue to Educate and let us continue to celebrate the many brave people that traveled north to freedom and the many brave people that helped them on the road to freedom. We were unwavering in our pursuit of freedom and equality for all people.

Thank you for this honor, I am humbled.