Charity Still

Sidney (later renamed Charity) was born enslaved in the eighteenth century on a plantation owned by Saunders Griffin in the Caroline County, Maryland. When she was a child, their enslaver killed her father.James P. Boyd, William Still: His Life and Work to This Time, Extracted from William's Still The Underground Railroad Records ( Philadelphia: William Still Publisher, 244 South Twelfth Street,1886/ Republished by the South Jersey Culture & History Center, 2023). {{ISBN|9780997669954}}

Sidney met Levin Still (or Steel) while enslaved in Maryland. They had four children together before Levin bought his freedom and moved to Shamong Township, New Jersey.Andrew Diemer, Vigilance: Life of William Still, The Father of the Underground Railroad. (Published Alfred A. Knopf, 2022) [https://dr-james-still-historic-site.square.site/product/vigilance-the-life-of-william-still-father-of-the-underground-railroad/63?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false]{{ISBN|9780593534380}} She escaped with her four children, all very young, and reunited with Levin Still in New Jersey. A few months later, Charity and all the children were kidnapped and reenslaved in Maryland. On her next escape, she left behind her two sons, Levin Jr. and Peter, and reached New Jersey again with her two daughters, Mahalah and Kitturah. The older sons remained enslaved; one died from cruel treatment, and the other, Peter, eventually gained his freedom and reunited with Charity Still in 1850.{{Cite book |last=Pickard |first=Kate E. R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eW1AAAAAYAAJ |title=The Kidnapped and the Ransomed: Being the Personal Recollections of Peter Still and His Wife "Vina," After Forty Years of Slavery |last2=Furness |first2=William Henry |date=1856 |publisher=W. T. Hamilton |language=en}} He purchased his freedom and was reunited with his mother in 1850. He lived the rest of his life in Burlington Township, New Jersey.

She gave birth to 18 children, and 4 of those children are assumed to have died at childbirth.{{Cite web |title=Family record ("Catalogue of Children of Leven Still and Charity his wife") |url=https://stillpapers.org/items/show/57 |access-date=2023-02-20 |website=Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries}}

Levin and Charity Still moved into a secluded area of the Pine Barrens, Shamong Township, New Jersey, where their other children were born to prevent another kidnapping. Their youngest son was William Still (c. 1821–1902), a Philadelphia businessman who worked with the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. In his obituary in The New York Times, William was described as "The Father of the Underground Railroad".[https://www.nytimes.com/1902/07/15/archives/william-still-dead-negro-known-as-father-of-the-underground.html "William Still Dead.; Negro Known as 'Father of the Underground Railroad' -- Once a Slave, He Died Very Wealthy."], The New York Times, July 15, 1902. Accessed February 18, 2025. The term "Underground Railroad" for the network of people, vehicles, and buildings used to aid people escaping slavery. He assisted hundreds of people seeking freedom. Another son, James Still, was denied formal medical training and worked as an herbalist healer in the African-American community.Still, James Dr. Early Recollections and Life of Dr. James Still [https://books.google.com/books?id=bwZFAQAAMAAJ Dr. Early Recollections and Life of Dr. James Still] (J.B. Lippincott & CO. 1877. Originally published by author./ Republished by South Jersey Culture & History Center, 2015) James's home and medical office were located in Medford, New Jersey.

Charity Still died in 1857 at the age of about 92. One of Charity Still's granddaughters was William's daughter, Caroline Still Anderson (1848–1919), who became a physician.

{{reflist}}

{{Commons}}

• Francine C. Still Hicks, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ReAGBwAAQBAJ A Girl Named Charity] (Balboa Press 2015). {{ISBN|9781504327244}}. A picture book for young readers based on the life of Charity Still.
• Lurey Khan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=VPwthRKc8F0C&dq=%22Charity+Still%22&pg=PA221 William Still and the Underground Railroad: Fugitive Slaves and Family Ties] (iUniverse 2010). {{ISBN|9781440186264}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Still, Charity}}

Category:1770s births

Category:1857 deaths

Category:18th-century American slaves

Category:Underground Railroad people

Category:People from colonial Virginia

Category:People from Shamong Township, New Jersey

Category:18th-century African-American women

Category:18th-century African-American people

Category:19th-century African-American women

Category:19th-century African-American people