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.

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.

Acquaintances began to refer to him as "Smallwood of the Yard" although surviving muster and pay records do not show him directly employed by the navy.

[7][8] At Ebenezer, Smallwood and his family found fellowship, and camaraderie and had the opportunity to take part in a progressive and active religious community.

According to Smallwood, Torrey immediately invited him to help plan the escape of a slave family owned by George E. Badger.

But escape plans fell apart when the mother opted to try to raise money for her family's freedom instead.In 1842 -1843 Thomas Smallwood began writing letters to the Albany Patriot, an abolitionist paper, published by Charles Torrey.

At least once, Captain John H. Goddard, the leader of Washington's police force and de facto antislavery patrol, searched the Smallwood household as a fugitive slave fled out the back door.

[3]Smallwood and Torrey's first fugitive party was a group of 15 men, women, and children who successfully escaped to Canada.

With material support from northern abolitionists such as Thomas Garrett, Torrey and Smallwood met the escapees in Washington.

[2] Smallwood lived the rest of his life in Toronto, where he operated a saw mill and became a prominent member of the city's black leadership.

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.

[15] From 1846 to his death in 1883, Thomas Smallwood worked many jobs which were captured through the home and city directories in Toronto, Ontario.

[16] Similarly, his son William Smallwood (1861-1927), took on the role as bricklayer in the year of 1874, alongside his father on Chestnut Street.