Underground Rail Road Quilt Codes?

Question

I'm in the middle of a debate about the codes that people may have stitched into quilts to aid slaves escaping to freedom along the underground railroad. I have half a dozen reputable web sites that say such codes are a myth. Can any of you give me a credible web site ( with an .edu domain, if possible) that SUPPORTS the story?

Note I don't need your opinions, unless you've published your findings - I need links. Thank you.

PS I knew nothing about the subject two weeks ago. I stumbled into it by accident. It turns out debates about Underground Railroad codes are to the Quilting world what Chain Link Death Matches are to Professional Wrestlers.

Wow! You folks restored my faith in YA. Tough to chose; you were all helpful, accurate nd well-written. GM wins the 10 points by virtue of calling all those people for me.

Ann Michelle - Your link shows how high emotions can rise among the believers and non-believers.

Murkglide - the link you gave me cites Raymond Dobard and Jacqueline Tobin, who cite Ozella McDaniel Williams.

Genevieves Mom -
I had seen the Quilter's muse article. It is, as you say, very credible.
The NSA has another page,
http://www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00011.cfm
that swallows the Raymond Dobard and Jacqueline Tobin book hook, line and sinker.
Thank you for the contacts. You went WAY beyond the call of duty (or curiosity) on this one.
I too noticed all the "pro" have just one source, Dobard & Tobin.

Chris - Roane State just parrots Dobard & Tobin, as does Stephanie Bohde of Oakland.edu

Dutch132004 - Your links don't work for some reason. I found the NSA site in another search. I'll try to get the Oberlin one to come up.

Southron - one of my Morgan relatives visited the South in 1864. He was in the 118th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. One of my Pack relatives was already there. He was in the 10th Virginia Sharpshooters. Small world, eh? The Flathead Valley CC site is balanced, but doesn't cite anyone except our old friends Dobard & Tobin.

Answer 1

I don't believe it, either. The most credible source I know of is actually from a quilter's magazine where they carefully debunked the myth with pretty credible evidence.

http://www.quiltersmuse.com/an-american-quilt-myth.htm

There are a couple of colleges that I know have done quite a bit of research on the Underground Railroad because of one of its major termination points being Port Huron. They would be St. Clair Community College and the University of Michigan. I'll try to find a professor or two for you who might be able to shed more light on this.

BTW, I did find an article on it from the National Security Agency. They seem to debunk it, too. I'd call them credible on the issue of codes. :-)

http://www.nsa.gov/museum/museu00033.cfm


On the other hand, there are several lesson plans for teachers that are posted on the Underground Railroad Living Museum site that teach about the secret codes. I'm curious that they would endorse this in a curriculum if there's not merit to it.

http://www.the-ugrr.org/home/links.asp?ID=4



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Found a few contacts for you:

Prof Kim Davis, director of the Adrian College Sojourner Truth Technical Training Center, a comprehensive center for Underground Railroad Research Training

De Witt S. Dykes Jr., associate professor of history, Oakland University

Marsha MacDowell, Michigan State University Museum curator of folk arts


From the calls I made last night, these were considered the best able to either definitively answer your question or point you to someone who could.

What's curious in the responses you've received is that the bibliographies of almost all of the "pro-code" articles base their conclusions almost solely on the same work by Tobin and Doubard. Ultimately, I think they're the only ones advancing this theory. To decide where you fall on the question, I guess it comes down to you really need to determine for yourself whether you find them credible scholars.

Answer 2

I made the mistake of doing a dissertation about the fallacy of the "Underground Railway" and you would have thought I was the Klans' Grand Wizard. You might have heard there is considerable proof that Davy Crockett did not die fighting as we always thought, he was hung after the battle. I say did that make him any less the hero? Heck no, he was and is a hero! So the "Underground Railway" really got only a few hundred slaves to freedom does that make them any less heroes? Again Heck no, if it were but one person they would still be the hero. But, when you are driving the car you can demand anything you want to demand. The reason why I bring this up here are some of the sites I used they are Edu and GOV but keep in mind I caught and I still catching hell over it.

God Bless You and Our Southern People.

Answer 3

Quilt Codes

Answer 4

Hey Ted - Try this one from No Such Agency www.nsa.gov/publications/publi00011.cfm and one from Oberlin College. www.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/threads_of_freedom/threads2.html
Oberlin which was either the first or one of the first integrated colleges has a long civil rights history. Their achieves might be a good place to look, also some of the Society of Friends(Quaker) colleges like Swathmore, they had a lot to do with the underground railroad

Answer 5

Fascinating subject, especially for those who are benefitting monetarialy. I could really care less, but this website shows a history between someone trying to get proof and a lady who claims to have written proof. Hope you find what your looking for.

Answer 6

Try http://www.roanestate.edu/library/quiltcode.htm and http://www2.oakland.edu/oujournal/files/SP2005_70-79.pdf These might be of some help.

Answer 7

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