Nancy HAGAN

Abt 1780 - 1880  (~ 100 years)

• Name	Nancy HAGAN
  Born	Abt 1780	Fayette County, Pennsylvania
  Gender	Female
  Noteworthy	Assisted runaway slaves
  Religion	Quaker
  Census	1850	Nicholson, Fayette, Pennsylvania
  Buried	1880	Mt Moriah Baptist Cemetery, Smithfield, Fayette, Pennsylvania   [1]
  Died	21 Jul 1880	Fayette County, Pennsylvania
  Person ID	I5654	Main
  Last Modified	7 Feb 2024

  
  

  Family	David SUTTON,   b. Abt 1782, Fayette, Fayette, Pennsylvania ,   d. 1833, Union, Fayette, Pennsylvania  (Age ~ 51 years)
  Last Modified	12 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F1342	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - Abt 1780 - Fayette County, Pennsylvania Buried - 1880 - Mt Moriah Baptist Cemetery, Smithfield, Fayette, Pennsylvania Died - 21 Jul 1880 - Fayette County, Pennsylvania  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Documents

  SUTTON-underground-railroad Story about Nancy Sutton and the Underground Railroad

  
  

  Histories

  The Sutton farm was a stop on the Underground Railroad

  
  

• Notes

  The Morning Herald, Uniontown, PA 19 Mar 1947 page 4 David Baxter, a slave owner, and his wife came to Fayette county prior to the Civil War from Rockingham county, Virginia, and bought a farm known as Baxter’s Ridge which adjoined the Sutton farm in Smithfield. They brought with them many slaves. At Mr Baxter’s death he willed the property to his slaves and they continued to live there. Quite a few years before the Civil War there were many underground railways and stations located from Virginia through to what is now known as Morgantown and Baxter Ridge … on to Brownsville, Little Washington and Canada. The runaway slaves would be helped through to Canada by people at these different stations. Baxter’s Ridge is located about three-quarters of a mile from the Sutton farm which was owned by David Sutton and his wife, Nancy. The Suttons, now deceased, are the grandparents of Mrs Maude Jones, Lincoln Street; Mrs Adda Brownfield, Baltimore, Md, Mrs Dempsey Miller and David Sutton, Smithfield. David Sutton resides on the old farm with Mrs. Miller. Nancy Sutton was a fearless woman and known around the countryside as a kind, generous woman. The slaves living on the Baxter land worked for Mrs Sutton and knew her to be a person of trust. One cold winter night Mrs Sutton was awakened by a loud pounding on her door. Upon answering the knock she found a colored man standing there. He told her 14 runaway slaves and their children had come by boat to the Baxter farm. The men at the Baxter farm were afraid they would be caught sheltering them so they hid them down by the waterfall on the Sutton farm. The man also told Mrs Sutton the children were barefoot and some were very sick and asked her for help. Mrs Sutton didn’t hesitate. At daybreak she went to Smithfield and bought shoes for the children, medicine for the sick at Dr Mathiots, food and warm clothing. After dark that night she took the provisions to the slaves at the waterfalls. The next day the master of the runaway slaves appeared on the scenes hunting them. Milton Sutton - 10 year old son of the Suttons, met the master while he was taking the cows to pasture. The master offered the boy a handful of money if he would give him any information of the whereabouts of the slaves … but Milton told him nothing. A search was made but the men failed to look near the falls. There was a reward offered for the return of the slaves. Many local people in the Smithfield area helped in the search but they were not found. Mrs Sutton made trips to the falls after dark and administered to the sick and bringing them hot food. After several weeks the search was given up and the slaves started on their way through the underground passage. At Brownsville they were cared for by a Quaker and his wife who were in charge of the Brownsville station. From there they traveled to Little Washington and on into Canada. The Sutton farm at that time consisted of 300 acres extending to Georges creek in Nicholson and Springhill townships, back as far as the old colored church, bounded on the north by the Harden farm, east by Dr Fairchild’s farm. The Suttons also owned all the land that is now the Sackett and Romesburg farms.

  
  

• Sources

  [S96] Find a Grave, database and images, 113445550.