Eliza Ann Elizabeth Howard - North Buxton, ON - Underground Railroad Sites on Waymarking.com

Eliza Ann Elizabeth Howard was born into slavery in Maryland in 1817. After fleeing to fee Pennsylvania, she and her husband William Parker set up a refuge for others fleeing slavery in the south.

Following their arrest in 1851 following the Christina (PA) riots, Eliza and her husband stood trial for treason. It was during the trial and subsequent events that the laws of Pennsylvania concerning the return of former slaves to their previous owners were overturned and reformed.

She and her husband fled to Canada via the Underground Railroad and settled near here in 1852. She died in 1889.

The marker text reads:

ELIZA ANN ELIZABETH HOWARD
wife of William Parker

Died May 23, 1889, aged 82 years.

"Blessed are the dead who die in Christ.
She was attender mother here
And in her life the Lord did fear
We trust our loss will be her gain
And that with Christ she's gone to reign."

Eliza's grave marker bears the inscription above. Although the marker is severely weathered and faded, her memory, strength and courage will live on in our hearts forever.

Eliza was a women's rights pioneer and a heroine in the tumultuous time preceding the Civil War. Always ready, willing, and able to take up arms and join in the fight for her freedom; for the freedom of those who were with her as she fled from slavery in Maryland; and for the freedom of her neighbours and friends in Christiana, Pennsylvania when slave catchers came calling.

She was among the more than 40 Blacks and Whites arrested following the Christiana Riots in 1851. The riots began at Eliza and her husband William's home in Christiana where they were providing shelter and protection to men being sought by their former owner. The resultant trials brought pressure and ultimate change to laws that would eventually prevent slave catchers from taking the runaways and Free Blacks from the (free) state of Pennsylvania. The riot, trials and resultant political pressure between free and slave states have been considered pivotal event in US history. Upon her release Eliza fled, fearing retribution, and followed the Underground Railroad and her husband to Canada. They settled in Raleigh Township in 1852.

Donated by
Michele Annette Parker Samuels and Family
Great-Great-Granddaughter of William and Eliza Parker

The grave and marker are located on CR 6 (Shadd Road), next to the Buxton National Historic Site of Canada

Address: AD Shadd Road North Buxton, ON CA Web site: [Web Link] Site Details: 24/7 Open to the public?: Public Name of organization who placed the marker: Michele Annette Parker Samuels and Family

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