Thomas Smallwood

Thomas Smallwood (1801–1883) was a freedman, "a daring activist and searing writer" who worked alongside fellow abolitionist Charles Turner Torrey on the Underground Railroad. The two men created what some historians believe was the first branch of the underground railroad that ran through Washington, D.C., which they operated from 1842 to 1844. After their involvement ceased, the network continued to exist in Washington for another two decades. Smallwood also wrote for Torrey's Albany, New York antislavery newspaper, Tocsin of Liberty, as its Washington correspondent.

Biography Thomas Smallwood was born into slavery in Prince George's County, Maryland on 22 February 1801. As a small child, he and his sister Catherine's ownership was transferred through inheritance to Sarah and the Rev. John B. Ferguson. The Reverend Ferguson taught young Thomas Smallwood to read and write. He later filed a deed of manumission in 1815 when Thomas was fourteen, pledging to set him free at age 30 in exchange for $500 and filed a similar manumission for his sister Kitty. Smallwood was freed in 1831 and began work in Washington as a shoemaker. From 1822 to 1830, Smallwood was a strong advocate for the African Colonization Society. However, he was misled on the true beliefs that this society stood for. He believed their goal was to abolish slavery, however, it was the opposite, they wanted to get rid of the free African population by relocating them to Africa. At Ebenezer, Smallwood and his family found fellowship, and camaraderie and had the opportunity to take part in a progressive and active religious community. Many African Americans during this period found Methodism congenial. The appeal of this relatively new religion was both the emphasis on individual personal conversion, and in theory, the equality of all the faithful before God. Slaves and free people of color took part in adult classes, religious instruction, and gained the opportunity in church sponsored adult classes to learn to write and read scripture. Attendees included a wide range of community leaders including diarist Michael Shiner, Moses Liverpool, Nicholas Franklin and Sophia Bell all leaders in the African American community. In 1836 Thomas Smallwood was in the same adult class no.16, as Michael Shiner's wife Phillis. thumb

Then, in early 1842, Smallwood read about Charles Turner Torrey, an antislavery activist who was jailed in Annapolis, Maryland for attempting to report on a legislative convention of Maryland slaveholders. Smallwood became familiarized with Torrey through his wife because she worked in his home.

By Smallwood's own account Elizabeth actively and continually assist him in organizing escapes. He wrote she was able to find a generous benefactor to aid those fleeing North and praised her presence of mind and ingenuity to remove obstacles.

Career and life in Toronto From 1846 to his death in 1883, Thomas Smallwood worked many jobs which were captured through the home and city directories in Toronto, Ontario. During this period, he worked in the saw business as a saw sharpener, setter, filer, and dresser. These jobs began on York Street, carried into Queen Street West, and ended on 18 Elizabeth Street. From 1874 to 1878, Smallwood also took on a second job as a bricklayer. Similarly, his son William Smallwood (1861-1927), took on the role as bricklayer in the year of 1874, alongside his father on Chestnut Street.