Finding Freedom Beneath the Unclouded Night Sky

Hello dear friends,

Have you ever taken a long stroll in the night?

One night last week I went for a walk at around 3AM. At first it was a little creepy, but after a while, it was wonderful. I meandered along. There was no moon. The stars were brilliant. 

I recognized a couple constellations: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Ursa Major is also known as the Big Dipper. Before the Civil War, runaway slaves referred to it as the Drinking Gourd. I live in a place where runaways likely passed through the night on foot in pursuit of freedom in the North. They looked to the Drinking Gourd as a guide. It is a symbol of freedom.

Crickets chirped. Owls hooted. Deer barked as I approached their beds. I captured this picture of two bucks butting heads. They didn't notice me for a long time. I stood still, hidden in the shadows. So much to see and experience in the night time!

I thought about Jane Eyre. Last I saw her, she was curled up on the heath in darkness:

Night was come, and her planets were risen: a safe, still night: too serene for the companionship of fear. We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when his works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence.

If you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, unable to rest -- perhaps a night walk will help you sort things out. 

When I got back from my ramble, I slept like a baby til morning.

Peace & Joy,
Adriana

Road-trip to Ripley: Wrap Up

I haven't taken much time to post on my beloved Classical Quest this summer. As fall is approaching, I'm ready to get back into my groove and wrap up this three part series about my exciting trip to Ripley, Ohio!

A few months ago, I read Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. I became intrigued by the novel's world-wide influence and fascinated by the person Abraham Lincoln referred to as "the little woman who wrote the book that started this great [Civil] war." I learned quite a bit about what it takes to become an influential writer from studying her life and asking myself this question: "How Did She Do It?"

While digging up stuff about the Beecher family, I learned about the town of Ripley, Ohio, which was a key location for the Underground Railroad. Many brave citizens of Ripley aided runaway slaves in their pursuit of freedom during the 1800s, the most famous of which was the Reverend John Rankin who lived in a small house on a hill overlooking town. Harriet Beecher Stowe was known to have made visits to the Rankin House. She based one of her characters in Uncle Tom's Cabin on the account she heard from Rev. Rankin of a real woman who sought shelter in his home. 

Of course, once I realized that a trip to Ripley would be feasible, I started making plans! My friend Christine from The Good, The Pure and The Lovely joined me along with her mother and three sons.

Upon arrival in Ripley, we set out to explore Front Street.

Then we drove up the rather steep hill to the Rankin House. In my last post, I described the first floor of the home as well as my favorite artifact on display -- Reverend Rankin's Bible.

We left off peering up the stairs, pondering the many weary souls who may have hidden themselves in the eaves of the small house to avoid capture.

Let us ascend the stairs together.

"Eliza's Settee" was designed for display at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933-34.

View of the Ohio River

"One Hundred Steps to Freedom"

Related posts:

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Inspiration: A Visit to the Rankin House

Road-trip to Ripley: Front Street

How Did She Do It?

Harriet Beecher Stowe's Inspiration: A Visit to the Rankin House

Road Trip to Ripley: Part Two

These bullet holes have been made in the last thirty years as a statement against what the Rankin House represents.

After the Civil War, when Henry Ward Beecher was asked, "Who abolished slavery?" He is said to have responded, "The Rev. John Rankin and his sons did it." 

A view of the Rankin House through a bullet hole in the sign.

During the years before the Civil War, the Rankin Family aided over 2,000 fugitive African Americans whom they sent toward freedom in Canada. Their home, perched high above the town, is visible from Front Street. For desperate souls in need of refuge, it became a "lighthouse for freedom".

One Hundred Steps to Freedom

Harriet Beecher Stowe made several visits to the Rankin House, where she listened to first hand accounts of the Rankins' experience as conductors on the Underground Railroad. One particular story inspired a critical scene in Stowe's incendiary novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Stowe constructed  the character of "Eliza" from what the Rankins told her about a real woman. The same tale is now inscribed upon a plaque by the river:

In the winter of 1838 a slave woman and her baby began their journey to freedom. To avoid capture in Kentucky she crossed the ice floes in the Ohio River to the safety of the Ripley shore...

From Ripley, the real Eliza climbed Liberty Hill to the Rankin House taking the One Hundred Steps to Freedom, which are still accessible today.

Runaways entered through the kitchen door, on the right.

Once they were safe inside, fugitives could at last breathe a sigh of relief.

Guests were greeted with a welcoming fire and food.

This doll was hand sewn by a local resident, recently deceased. At one time, her "Eliza" dolls were for sale. The last one now graces the mantel.

Portrait of Rev. John Rankin: Presbyterian minister, loving husband, father of thirteen children, and conductor to freedom for thousands.

Proof I was really there!

The Rankins did not have a piano in their home. This one was constructed in town at the "Ohio Valley Piano Company".

Reverend Rankin's Bible, published in 1793

Viewing Rev. Rankin's Bible was the highlight of my journey. I think it could safely be assumed: this was the Book that made the man.

My house has been the door of freedom to many human beings, but while there was a hazard of life and property, there was much happiness in giving safety to the trembling fugitives. They were all children of God by creation and some of them I believe were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. ~ Reverend John Rankin

Reverend Rankin's inkwell

Wallpaper from the 1800s

Tucked into a corner, I discovered the familiar image of one of the Rankins' most famous guests, Harriet Beecher Stowe.

In my next post, we'll go upstairs, where runaway slaves were sometimes hidden.

First post in this series:  Road Trip to Ripley: Front Street

More on Harriet Beecher Stowe: How Did She Do It?

Other posts on Uncle Tom's Cabin: The Power of Love  &  My Soundtrack for Uncle Tom's Cabin