washington region

Recounts the twelve-day pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth, covering the chase through Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, with a discussion of Abraham Lincoln as a father, husband, and friend that examines the impact of his death on those close to him.

Documents the events of the 1848 escape attempt by Emily Edmonson on board the Pearl, discussing the contributions made by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Emily's subsequent education, and her history-changing teaching career.

1848: Emily Edmonson was among seventy-six fugitives caught on the Pearl during America's largest slave escape attempt. She was to be sent south - unless her father paid ransom.

Narrative text, informative sidebars, photographs, and illustrations describe the attempt to escape slavery by Emily Edmonson and her family and the ramifications of it.

Recounts the twelve-day pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth, covering the chase through Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, with a discussion of Abraham Lincoln as a father, husband, and friend that examines the impact of his death on those close to him.

John Weems, a former slave, was a peaceable hard-working farmhand. His wife, Arabella, and their seven children were slaves of Adam Robb who allowed the family to live together under the same roof for a price. When Robb died in 1847, his debt-ridden heirs cared more about the family's auction value than keeping them together. As John watched, they were sold and split apart. He resolved to buy all of them back before they left the area forever. As the news spread, the family's plight captured the imagination of abolitionists in the United States and Britain. In the meantime, they did not wait for John to accumulate the money to purchase their freedom and many of them attempted escape. The Weems' story has been painstakingly researched by the Canadian author, himself a descendant of former slaves who made it to Canada.