The Mitchems of Harrison County, Indiana: An Underground Railroad Saga
This presentation will shed light on an important, yet little-known, Underground Railroad saga that played out over a period of years and across four states. Paul and Susannah Mitchem, average Virginians, reportedly planned an exodus from their home state because of their distaste for slavery. The couple accompanied and protected a group of escaped slaves along the journey so that they would not be exposed to the ravages of escaping enslavement. Paul Mitchem inherited some slaves and emancipated some of them while still living on the east coast. However, about 1800, the Mitchems relocated to North Carolina, purchased land there and increased the number of slaves that they owned from 20-48 (at times abolitionists purchased slaves to later emancipate them). Then, within a ten-year period, the Mitchems moved to Kentucky where Susannah Mitchem’s brothers lived. In Kentucky, they purchased more land. By 1814, the number of their slaves had swelled to about 90. After living in Kentucky for about five years, the colony completed its journey by entering Indiana Territory, settling in Harrison County, and emancipating over 100 enslaved persons. Original deeds of emancipation are located in the oldest deed record books in Harrison County.
Maxine F. Brown is a native and current resident of Corydon, Harrison County, Indiana. Brown is the sixth generation of her family to live in this historic community. Brown's ancestry dates to 1814-1815 in this area when along with about 100 others, her great, great, great grandmother, Milly Mitchem Finley, and Milly's five children were emancipated on May 9, 1815. Brown's family was a part of an unusual in- migration of enslaved persons that is an example of Underground Railroad activity. Another one of Brown's ancestors, her great, great grandfather, Alford Brown, escaped enslavement in Kentucky and successfully reached Canada, where he stayed until after the Civil War. Brown started her career as a program officer with the Lilly Endowment, Inc., became the first executive director of the Louisville Foundation, the executive vice president of the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and the president of the Fund for Women, Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky. Brown founded a race-relations initiative, NETWORK (New Energy to Work Out Racial Kinks) in 1990 and in 1987, purchased and rehabilitated the 1891 Corydon Colored School, now the Leora Brown School that was adapted for reuse as a cultural/educational center. She is the recipient of many awards and in 2011 was awarded the Eli Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indiana Historical Society. She is serving as a co-chair of Indiana Freedom Trails.
Maxine F. Brown is a native and current resident of Corydon, Harrison County, Indiana. Brown is the sixth generation of her family to live in this historic community. Brown's ancestry dates to 1814-1815 in this area when along with about 100 others, her great, great, great grandmother, Milly Mitchem Finley, and Milly's five children were emancipated on May 9, 1815. Brown's family was a part of an unusual in- migration of enslaved persons that is an example of Underground Railroad activity. Another one of Brown's ancestors, her great, great grandfather, Alford Brown, escaped enslavement in Kentucky and successfully reached Canada, where he stayed until after the Civil War. Brown started her career as a program officer with the Lilly Endowment, Inc., became the first executive director of the Louisville Foundation, the executive vice president of the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and the president of the Fund for Women, Inc. in Louisville, Kentucky. Brown founded a race-relations initiative, NETWORK (New Energy to Work Out Racial Kinks) in 1990 and in 1987, purchased and rehabilitated the 1891 Corydon Colored School, now the Leora Brown School that was adapted for reuse as a cultural/educational center. She is the recipient of many awards and in 2011 was awarded the Eli Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indiana Historical Society. She is serving as a co-chair of Indiana Freedom Trails.