A Book on the Underground Railroad

This map of the Ohio River Valley is from the book Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America. You won't find the town of Chesapeake on it but it is located below Gallipolis - look for the letter "u" in Portsmouth and let your eyes drop below it to the river. That's the area where my ancestor Jacob Suiter lived. Some say he sheltered escaped slaves. There's also a family story that my mother's ancestors sheltered slaves - see Peggy's comment at the bottom of the post linked here.
Seeking information on the underground railroad, I listened to the audio version of Bound for Canaan by Fergus Bordewich. It's a fascinating book, full of exciting stories of courage, religious conviction, sacrifice, and civil disobedience.

In the thirty years leading up to the Civil War, around 100,000 slaves made their way to freedom. Most who were successful were from the border states, and many were assisted by white citizens who could see that slavery was cruel and unjust. But there were penalties for helping escapees, sometimes severe ones, so most of the participants kept their activities secret.

This is an enjoyable and inspiring book that raises questions about civil disobedience that we must ponder in order to understand the complexity of our history. I certainly enjoyed the audio version, although I found myself wanting to see maps and pictures so I checked out a hardcopy book from the library.