Pictured is Alec Caskey, (1811-1869) youngest son of “Old Jim” Caskey who assisted his father as one of the conductors on the Underground Railroad.
We continue this week talking about the Caskey family and the role they played in helping to transport runaway slaves north to Canada. Just how many slaves were helped to escape I really don’t know. A written record was not kept as this would have been dangerous for all parties involved if such a thing were to be discovered.
The telling of the stories first began while Grandma G was recovering from a fall in which she had broken her leg one day in January 1962. Grandma G had always been a tomboy and now even in her 70’s she was still very active and never gave a thought about an icy sidewalk. As usual, I walked to her house everyday after school for tea and cookies. Once there, we might play a game of Flinch or maybe just talk until mom would stop and pick me up. Mom taught school and we always checked on Grandma G every day. She lived in town with lots of neighbors but didn’t enjoy the luxury of a phone (hard to imagine). She had provided a home and cared for both of her parents until they passed away, but now she lived alone. This particular January day was cold with three inches of snow on the ground. As I walked into Grandma G’s house that day, she was sitting in her favorite chair with a towel wrapped around her leg. She looked pale. She always greeted me at the door with a big hug. This time she just sat there. I knew something was wrong. She tilted her head and said oh, honey I have hurt myself. I need you to go to the neighbors to call your dad. I turned around to go back out when I saw dad bounding up Grandma G steps two at a time. As soon as he saw what had happened, he picked Grandma G up in one big sweep and off to the hospital they went. Upon their return Grandma G was in a cast from her toes to her hip. She was going to need someone to stay with her around the clock. I was elected to stay with her from the time I arrived home from school until I left the next morning. I would also take care of her on the weekends. As I look back now that was a pretty tall task for a little girl of eleven, but I loved every minute of it. Probably one of the reasons I decided to become a nurse. It was during this period that Grandma G told me the bulk of her stories.
Grandma G didn’t have a television, so most of the time we would play games like Fox and Geese. This wasn’t like any of the game’s kids have today. We used buttons and a board Grandma G had created herself. Grandma G had gone through the depression and she made do with what she had. As we played, Grandma G would tell me stories of days gone-bye. Grandma G was a good story teller and as she talked, I would imagine how the people looked, even down to the expressions on their faces. She would always begin her stories with, “Now this is how it happened back in the day!” I would laugh and we were off on another adventure.
This particular story began when “Old Jim” and his youngest son, Alec (short for Alexander) Caskey had obtained word from his son, Rev. James Caskey of Ripley of the need for help. It seems that some cargo had been in storage for a while and would need to be transported northward before they were found. Bounty hunters had been reported to be in the area. So, there was an urgency to move them quickly. By this point in the story my heart would be pounding as I could imagine the bounty hunters with their
dogs hot on their trail. Some times the human cargo was guided to the safe homes by foot through the woods, fields and underbrush using the dark of night as their cover. However, in this instance, they would be traveling from Red Oak in Brown County to a safe house in Adams County. In this case a wagon for transport would be needed. The Caskey’s had been chosen for the task as they were known to make several trips a month to the town of Ripley to visit with family and those involved in the affair thought this wouldn’t raise any eyebrows.
Next week we will continue this adventure on the Underground Railroad in Adams County, Ohio.
