Celebrating Harriet Tubman

Cambridge, Dorchester County, Maryland

Harriet Tubman, also known as Araminta “Minty” Ross, was born in slavery around March 1822 in Dorchester County, Maryland. In 1849, Harriet escaped from slavery and later became one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad. Not only did she free herself, but over time she went back and rescued her entire family as well as at least 70 others from slavery. (Her father was a freed man, however he did not leave his family when the new plantation owner reneged on the original owner's promise to free Harriet's family upon the old owner's death.)

Harriet and her family eventually settled in Auburn, New York. During the Civil War, she worked as a spy and a nurse. In later years, she worked odd jobs to take care of her parents and family. Although she married again to Nelson Charles Davis, a man 22 years younger than she, he preceded her in death. She worked on many great causes including the Women's Suffrage Movement and a project with the AME Zion Church, but her life was not easy and she often lacked sufficient income. On March 10, 1913. HarrietTubman died at age 90 in the home founded by the AME Zion Church in her honor in Auburn, New York. 

Did You Know: The Mural above was painted Charles E.T. Ross, a descendant of Harriet Tubman and resident of Cambridge, Maryland in Dorchester County. The backside of the mural pictured below was designed and painted by Charles Ross and Stanley C. Ford.