Beyond the River: A True Story of the Underground Railroad

Rating:
Summary: Beyond the River earns 'Notable Book' designation
Review: Ann Hagedorn offers the reader a captivating perspective on America's struggle with slavery in her work, "Beyond the River." The uniqueness of her work eminates from two particular aspects of her work, both of which begin with the way she takes her subject out of the macro world of politics and economics into the smaller world of the lives of the people effected by the souths 'peculiar institution.' Looking slavery through the eyes of individuals, the reader gains a far greater appreciation of the suffering, torment, and most of all, the fear generated by those who stood in opposition.

Interesting also is the location the author focuses on, the Ohio River where on one side men are free and on the other live in chains. Most texts present slavery at great distances, like The Carolinas an and New York. Here we see just how intimate the slavery and the abolitionist could be and the blood spilled by both sides.

Most importantly, Hagedorn writes in a cool clear voice that is enjoyable and informative. She delivers facts and passion in the same sentence without ever becoming melodramatic or shrill. Readers who enjoy this fictional work may also want to look at "Cloudsplitter," Richard Bank's novel on The Brown family's war on slavery.

Rating:
Summary: Bringing heroes to life
Review: As a child growing up in Cincinnati, I often heard vague stories about the Underground Railroad, about houses along the Ohio River's edge which had secret cellars and tunnels, about some of the men and women who worked to set the slaves free. In photographs, the freedom fighters appeared old and desiccated to my child's eye, making it difficult to imagine the heroic and dangerous lives they led. This book vividly brings those heroes to life in this "War Before the War" by focusing primarily on a tiny corner of the world (Ripley, Ohio) and an abolitionist leader, John Rankin. The research is so extensive that at times, one might feel bogged down by details but then again, it was those details (especially some of the cold, hard economic ones) which made the story so real and immediate, and demonstrated the power and control the Southern states had over the nation. For example, a major concern for slavers was the fact that every escaped slave represented a loss of "capital" and they wanted somebody to pay for that. So, when the Suspension Bridge was proposed across the Ohio River between Covington and Cincinnati, it was stipulated that the bridge's owners would be financially liable for any slaves using it as a means of escape. By the way, Cincinnati is the home of the soon-to-open National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond the River earns 'Notable Book' designation
Review: Beyond the River was just named one of the American Library Association's Notable Books for 2004. The annual list is highly regarded and identifies 25 very good, very readable and very important books.

This is a tremendous honor for Beyond the River and one that is richly deserved; this book lovingly weaves together tales of the abolitionist heroes in the town of Ripley, Ohio in the years leading up to the Civil War.

Rating:
Summary: popular history at its best
Review: By reaching back to pre-Civil War newspapers, letters and court documents, Hagedorn paints a vivid picture of what it felt like living on the knife edge between slavery and freedom. She makes a reader actually understand the bravery of these Ohio abolitionists by showing us their daily lives, and what it was like to risk your life to help another person to freedom. Once I got into the story, I could not stop reading this compelling history, and I'm usually a reader of fiction rather than non-fiction. Hagedorn's gift for research is matched only by her ability to weave those facts into a fascinating story of these people, this town and a momentous era in our nation's history.

Rating:
Summary: INTRIGUE AND CLUTTER
Review: I have mixed sentiments about this book: on the one hand I found it possessed enough intrigue and solid history to retain my interest; on the other, it contained a number of very lengthy block quotations and name lists to clutter an otherwise solid prose delivery.
The story itself, how the UNDERGROUND RAILROAD originated, and the heroism of early abolitionists such as John Rankin is well worth telling, and re-telling. Hagedorn certainly shines on that account. In addition to capturing the drama of the many harrowing escapes of desperate slaves and the abolitionists who aided them, she provides a good historical foundation, showing the significance of towns like otherwise obscure Ripley,Ohio in their role as a conduit for the Underground RR.
The "River" is obviously the Ohio River, the barrier between slave Kentucky and free Ohio. The author shows how there were mixed sentiments on the divisive and ultimately intractable issue of slavery on both sides of the river. And how abolitionism was a fragmented movement that gained momentum and transformed into a deafening roar.
The theological underpinnings of the pros and antis is also given considerable discussion; Rankin - the central figure, is a minister. Connections with the incendiary novel - UNCLE TOM'S CABIN are integrated into the narrative in a judicious manner.
My biggest criticism of the book is the clutter created by lists of names. Used primarily for geneological purposes, but also showing who attended what school, these lists sometimes consumed nearly an entire page, and disrupted the narrative flow. Instead of attempting to weave them into the narrative, I think they could have been assigned to an Index.
My only other objection, was the inclusion of extended block quotations, at times, running several pages in length. On balance, Hagedorn handles her primary sources well, however with the length of the aforementioned quotations, I sometimes found myself backtracking to regain the original point. That may just be a private prejudice of mine in terms of reading style, rather than a major defect of the book.
Overall, there is enough history, good research, and human drama to justify giving this a solid , but not great rating of four.

Rating:
Summary: Celebrating the people of the Underground Railroad
Review: I have read and reread Beyond the River by Ann Hagedorn. I have found the book to be compelling and believable. Ms. Hagedorn takes us beyond where most Americans are comfortable when it comes to examining the history of slavery, race, gender and class in America. With firm, powerful language, and with documented historical accuracy, she allows the reader to understand that Abolition was more complicated than the hiding of helpless people of African decent by the good Whites in the North and the bad Whites in the South. Ms. Hagedorn makes us understand that most Whites in the North did not support Abolition, and most Abolitionists did not support what we would today call integration.
She immerses the reader in the physical, political, and cultural landscape of Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and the America of the 1830s-1860s. Her depiction of the "face off" between the sons of John Rankin, their mother (Rankin was out of town during the incident), and an armed group that attempted to burn the Rankin barn places the reader in the middle of the action.
When a man can pass on a noble idea to his sons and daughters, as well as to his neighbors, he has left a legacy. Sons and daughters often run from the awesome weight associated with their parents' "Moral Crusades." John Rankin's son Lowry resisted his father's urgings to become a "Major" in the war against slavery until hi witness the sale of a Black woman docked at Ripley (the Kentucky border extends north to the low water mark of the Ohio River) to a young man. The young woman was to serve as a mistress, a "sexual toy," to her new owner and in the tradition of the day she had no say in the matter. Ms. Hagedorn's description of the physical examination of the Black woman who was reduced to physical intrusions reserved for prostitiutes, felons and farm animals confronts the reader with a major unspoken element of slavery, sexual exploitation.
Interracial cooperation between Black and White Abolitionists did not occur on a widespread basis in America, but in the region which includes Ripley,Ohio a few partnerships of longstanding existed between Rev. John Mahan (Sardinia, Ohio), John D. Hudson (Gist Settlement), Moses Cumberland, and several other Black people who in the Gist Settlement became involved in several violent confrontations with those who assisted the "Slave Regime". During one confrontation in the Gist Settlement during wich time a group of 18 'vigilantes' were attempting to take Moses Cumberland into custudy the Black residents, John Mahan and his supporters rallied to his support. In the violence that followed John Hudson's sister Sally was shot in the back. Un-armed, Sally Hudson scratched, kicked, bit, fought, outfought Grant Lindsey, and another man on Sunday, April 30, 1839. Breaking free, Sally ran towards her home only to be shot, her spine severed: two weeks later she died.
Ann Hagedorn's pen has revived Sally Hudson's brave story, she has rescued Ms. Hudson from obscurity, and the trite images too often reserved for women. She captured Sally's fire, she has given Sally Hudson's passion for freedom, life and Sally's spirit is as big as that of any man who has walked thi earth. Ann Hagedorn allows us to legitimately, and with historic accuracy, expand the definition of Abolitionist Heroes to include women, youth, people of African descent, and to understand that the most heroic were those who had been enslaved and most of the time made the most diffucult part of their journey with the help of other enslaved people.
Using the larger than life images of John Rankin, and John Parker as a palette, Ms. Hagedorn celebrates the secret weapon of the Underground Railroad, people of conscience, and good will.
Carl Westmoreland, Senior Advisor, National Underground Freedom Center

Rating:
Summary: Telling the real story beyond reproach!
Review: Lest we forget, the celebrated links that make up parts of history are rooted with the ties that bind and the legacy in which they are allowed to preserve that history. One such entity is the Underground Railroad and the product that fueled it - runaway slaves. This underground path to freedom forged a way not only for escaped slaves to reach freedom, but gave certain status to those that deserve a proper place in American history as heroes, both unsung and noted. Beyond The River is author Ann Hagedorn's gift to historic content embellishing such a storied and misunderstood part of a young nation coming to grips with "the war before the war". In it, she details with facts a well-documented historical accuracy. These are the stories and mindsets of those whom would dedicate their lives to the abolishment of slavery, and the harboring of the slaves fleeing it.

What give this book direction and a pervading sense of identity are the incumbent figures that are tantamount to its success. With this in mind, it could very well serve as a biography of John Rankin, one of Ohio's most active "conductors" on the Underground Railroad. Rankin (1793-1886), a Presbyterian minister and abolitionist in Ripley, where the Ohio River separated the free state of Ohio from the slave state of Kentucky, was equally well known among the enslaved and their enslavers. Hagedorn tries to bring to life the story of Rankin, his family, free blacks and the other forgotten heroes on the front line who assisted hundreds of blacks on the trek to freedom with other analogies that tend to make her efforts uneven. Rankin's story is inspiring and albeit, may have a place among the legacies that make legends of people, but tend not to be as captivating as those of the other heroes who are secondary characters in the book. One of the more poignant stories is that of a slave woman's nighttime escape across the icy river with her two-year-old (and the woman's risky return across the Ohio three years later to rescue her daughter and seven grandchildren from a Kentucky slaveholder). And there are others. The author brilliantly chronicles threats of midnight assassins, riots in Cincinnati and a pivotal trial in Kentucky in the 1830s, along with other detail descriptions of survival angst of the period. Hagedorn's relocated to Ripley to insure the book's completion, in my opinion was wise and led to the inspiration for the vivid prose, and wherewithal to bring these historical figures to a wider audience.

If you're a history buff and a bibliophile to this type of collecting, this book should find its place among the others for legitimacy. The gift of research and meticulously giving reference to time and place makes this an enjoyable read. I recommend it for yet another documentation of a process to understand that the most heroic were those who had been under bondage, making the most difficult part of a journey with the help of other enslaved people. Undoubtedly, this will always be an interesting sidelight to other historical content, but will be specific for readers willing to take a chance on this book.

Rating:
Summary: A Book that Makes You Think
Review: So you think you know all about the Underground Railroad, the secret network that fugitive slaves used to escape bondage? Try this quiz:

1. Once they reached one station of the UGRR, how did fugitives reach the next station?

2. What role did women and children play in the UGRR?

3. What religious group do you associate with the UGRR?

So those questions are easy? Try these:

4. What connection did Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, have with Ripley?

5. How many years did the citizens of tiny Ripley, Ohio serve as major players in the Underground Railroad?

Ann Hagedorn answers all these questions and more in Beyond the River. In her skillful hands, a century and a half fades away and the people of Ripley spring to life. By day, they live a surprisingly civilized life-- none of those rustic log cabins and barefooted trips to the outhouse that you read about in many attempts to bring history alive. By night, the sophisticated network of friends and neighbors bands together for one purpose: "a solemn promise to fight slavery until it is dead or the Lord calls me home."

As a girl in the 1960's, I traveled through Ripley, Ohio a couple of times a year to visit my grandparents. I knew a little about the Rankin family and the Underground Railroad from reading the historical marker near Rankin House, but until Ann Hagedorn's book, the story of Ripley was lost history. Read Beyond the River the first time for the gripping story, the second time for the historical accuracy, and the third time for the inspiration to make our world a better place.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond the River
Review: This is a fascinating piece of work about human endurance. It demonstrates that major events can occur in small places. I noted one lapse in historical accuracy. On page 68, discussing the early attendees at the Lane school, the author mentions one Henry B. Stanton "...who would one day serve in Lincoln's Cabinet." The only Stanton in Lincoln's Cabinet was Edwin M., who was the Secretary of War.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: What a compelling story of the heroes of the underground railroad movement along the Ohio River! I am not usually a reader of history, but this book was an enjoyable read. I literally couldn't put it down. Ms. Hagedorn's style makes history come alive.