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Eliza Winston

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Eliza Winston (1830–?) was an American slave who was emancipated from her owners while with them on vacation in a free state.

1860 advertisement for the Winslow House

In 1860 Winston, a thirty-year-old slave, was visiting St. Anthony, Minnesota with her owners, Richard and Mary Christmas of Issaquena County, Mississippi. During that time it was typical for wealthy southern tourists to travel to cooler climates by steamboat up the Mississippi River during the summer months. The Christmases, their five-year-old daughter, Norma, and Winston were staying at the Winslow House when she gained her freedom with the help of Ralph and Emily Grey, who were free black citizens.[1][2] According to her deposition, she and her late husband had previously purchased her freedom, but Ralph Christmas had purchased her from her previous owner, Mr. Gholson, and did not honor her emancipation.[3] Minnesota was a free state, and Judge Charles Vandenburgh agreed to hear her case.

The judge sent the sheriff to the Winslow House to take her into custody, but by then they had moved to a country house on Lake Harriet. When the sheriff arrived, the Christmas family at first hid her, but then didn't resist further when she was located.[2] The following day, after a hearing, the judge ruled that Winston was a free woman. The Saint Anthony Weekly Express opined that the event would damage the tourism trade.[2] That evening, a pro-slavery mob surrounded the Grey's home and demanded her return to the Christmases, but with the aid of the underground railroad she was already on her way to Ontario.[1]

According to interpretations of the Dred Scott case of 1857, Winston would return to slavery upon her return to a slave state.[2] She voluntarily returned to the Christmas family in Issaquena County before the Civil War broke out.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Eliza Winston Case". Issaquena Genealogy and History Project. 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  2. ^ a b c d Gilman, Rhonda R. (1989). The Story of Minnesota's Past. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 108–110. ISBN 0-87351-267-7.
  3. ^ "Eliza Winston's Account of Her Case". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
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