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Author James Morgans, The Underground Railroad on the Western Frontier, reports that often slaves escaping from particularly brutal slave masters would not reveal that master’s name in order to be sold to a different master. They hoped that the next master would not be so cruel. This could save their lives, as they knew remaining or being returned to the cruel slave master would end in a premature death. Some slaves ran away with no more intention than to find another slave master in order to save their own life.  Now this is truly choosing between the lesser of two evils.

“George W. Logan first came in 1852 to the Sauks and Foxes of the Missouri who still live on the State Line between Kansas and Nebraska. Previous to this he had joined “the army of invasion” organized by Owen Lovejoy and other abolitionist for the purpose of destroying slavery.  As a member of that order, he was assigned to border duty and went to Civil Bend Iowa from which place he examined both sides of the River to Lamar, Missouri . . .He was forced to operate, with eleven others assigned to that territory, in working on an underground railway from Lamar to Civil Bend. When this route was laid out on the east side of the river, he returned to Illinois and was married the 30th of December, 1852 to Miss Ann Eliza Keathley at Sand Prairie, Cass county Illinois at the home of Perry Fuller and returned west with his wife to Atchison county, Missouri, where they lived in an abandoned house built by fur traders on the bank of the Missouri, living there for one year. He lived on the border from 1852 to 1857.”

I found Owen Lovejoy was a brother to Elijah Lovejoy who was murdered by a pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois in 837. This incident radicalized many early abolitionists. Owen Lovejoy was a lawyer, Congregationalist minister and an early Republican congressman from Illinois. He was  a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad.

They sent Dr. Grant over to Elmwood tell some supporters to have boats at the river front the next night. The remainder of the Immortal 10 were scouting out escape routes to the river front. Silas Soule was sent inside the jail claiming to have message for Dr. Doy from his wife. When Soule returned, he advised that it would take 2 hours of unmolested work to break into the jail. They went back the the original plan.

I could find no information with an internet search about the free state paper  in St. Joe nor Dr. Edwin Grant.

After the rescue, it was well known that the Gardner family was involved in the Underground Railroad.  All the Immortal  10 had a  $500.00 reward on their head. A  freedom seeker named Napoleon Simpson was  staying and working on the Gardner farm. Mr. Simpson had previously escaped further north and returned to liberate his wife in Missouri. John Stewart had made one attempt and found Mr. Simpson’s  wife too sick to travel. Some  bounty hunters paid a late night visit to the Gardner cabin. A gun battle ensued. Mr. Simpson was shooting his Sharps rifle and received a fatal wound. His last words to  Joseph Gardner were, “fight, fight hard!”

Joseph Gardner was involved in the attempted rescue of Aaron Stevens from a jail in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Stevens was captured with John Brown at the raid on Harpers Ferry. Joseph Gardner and fellow  member of the Immortal 10, Silas Soule, were unable  to free Stevens and returned to Kansas.

Joseph Gardner became a First Lieutenant in the 1st Kansas Colored and fought at the Battle of Island Mound. He was wounded and reportedly died later in a field hospital.