Address of Robert E. Seeley, Descendant of Thomas Garrett Before the Delaware General Assembly, May 16, 2023
The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program is excited to announce that we have received support from the National Park Service to document the legacies of one of the least understood social movements in American history: the Underground Railroad. Over the next 2 years, the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) will record interviews with Underground Railroad descendents and representatives for the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Oral History project.
On Tuesday, May 16th, the Delaware General Assembly passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 57 honoring the life of Thomas Garrett, who helped more than 2,400 people to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Introduced by Delaware Senator Elizabeth Lockman, the full title of this resolution is: Supporting a Forthcoming Federal Resolution Recognizing Thomas Garrett as a Heroic Abolitionist. In a powerful speech to the assembly, Proctor Program friend and collaborator—and descendent of Thomas Garrett—Robert E. Seeley underscored the impact and timeliness of this momentous occasion. At the conclusion of his address, both chambers of the Assembly rose to give Mr. Seeley a standing ovation. Here is the text of his remarks:
“I want to thank Sen. S. Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman and her staff for this awesome resolution to honor Thomas Garrett. I want to thank Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester and her staff for introducing House Resolution 180 on Feb 28th, and I want to thank all the members of the Delaware Senate here today. There are many people and organizations over the last 30 years who have supported me in my many lectures and presentations in colleges, schools, churches, civic organizations, TV, radio, to educate people about my Garrett family and the many heroes, enslaved or free, who dedicated their lives to end slavery and fight for equality: The National Park Service UGRR Network to Freedom Program, Delaware Historical Society, New Castle Court House Museum, the City of Wilmington, Delaware State University, Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation, the Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware, the Harriet Tubman Museum & Education Center, Wilmington Friends Meeting, the Shadd, Burris, Hunn and Alston families, and a few individuals: Debbie Martin, Cassandra Marshall, Bayard Marin, Robin Brown, Robin Krawitz, Willis Phelps, Jr., Kate Clifford Larson, Bev Laing, Cindy Snyder, Bradley Skelcher, Pat Lewis, Darleen Amobi , Gary Buss, …….and so many more. Some of my Garrett family members are here today. I ask them to stand.
Thomas Garrett was born August 21,1789 and died January 25, 1871. Thomas was an American abolitionist, who fought for over fifty years to end slavery. In 1813 a free woman employed by our family in Upper Darby, Pa was kidnapped by a slave catcher. Thomas rescued her from being sold into slavery, and ON THAT DAY Thomas had a vision from God to dedicate his life to end slavery. In 1822 he moved to 227 Shipley St in Wilmington, Delaware. Thomas would go on to boycott goods made by slave labor, publish letters to the newspaper editor, sign petitions, and join several anti- slavery societies. By his count, Thomas Garrett helped more than 2,700 people to freedom on the Underground Railroad including Harriet Tubman’s parents and other passengers. For his efforts, he was harassed, and assaulted. In 1848 he 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 Thomas Garrett, but he vowed to double his efforts to end slavery. Novelist and abolitionist, Harriet Beecher Stowe, followed the trials of Garrett and John Hunn and used them as the basis of the “good Quaker” character in her influential anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In 1860 a substantial reward was offered for Thomas Garrett’s arrest by the state of Maryland. In June of 1862 Thomas Garrett was part of a group of abolitionists from Longwood who met with President Lincoln to encourage an end to slavery without delay. President Lincoln started drafting the Emancipation only days after this meeting. African-American friends, who worked with Thomas on the road to freedom, honored him with parades, letters, and a beautiful engraved silver tea service. Thomas Garrett died IN PEACE knowing he fulfilled THE WILL OF GOD in his life. Thomas Garrett’s body was carried on the shoulders of six African-American men, up the hill to the Wilmington Friends burial ground, his final resting place.
LET US Continue To Honor, LET US Continue To Educated and LET US Continue To Celebrate the many brave people TRAVELING THROUGH or LIVING IN Delaware, they were unwavering in the pursuit of FREEDOM AND EQUALITY FOR ALL PEOPLE….…… THEY WORKED TOGETHER.”
The Samuel Proctor Program is honored to be a custodian of the words and reflections of Robert E. Seeley. In transmitting his speech before the Delaware General Assembly to SPOHP, Mr. Seeley exhorted us with the following message: “We need to honor, we need to educate and we need to celebrate so many forgotten heroes left out of the textbooks. My hope is that these heroes will not be forgotten anymore.” The Proctor Program will continue to use oral history research and teaching to promote the stories of freedom fighters like Thomas Garrett, conductors and freedom seekers of the Underground Railroad as well as the “forgotten heroes” from all walks of life.