JERMAIN WESLEY LOGUEN
 Jermain Wesley
Loguen was born a
slave on February 5,
1813, near Nashville,
Tennessee.
 His father was David
Logue, a plantation and
distillery owner. His
mother was a slave named
Cherry.
 Jermain’s nickname was
Jarm. He looked a lot like
his father and his father
didn’t like that. His father
and his uncles all beat him
a lot and treated him
meanly. Several times he
was beaten so severely
that he could have died.
 His father always promised that he
would not sell Cherry and her children,
but the day came when David was
going to lose his plantation. So he had
to sell them to make some money. He
sold them to his brother, Manasseth
Logue. Manasseth was just as mean as
David, especially when he was
drinking. When he drank, he would go
into a rage and beat and torture Cherry
and her children.
One day Manaseth’s
distillery burned to the
ground. He needed some
money so he decided to sell
Jarm’s younger brothers and
sisters.
 The day the children were
taken away, Manasseth
was drinking. Both Cherry
and Jarm were very upset
and Manasseth ended up
beating them. Jarm was
beaten so badly that he
nearly died. Soon after
this, Jarm began to plan
his escape.
 Jarm decided that he was definitely going to run
away and if he couldn’t make it to freedom, he
would die trying. Sometime in 1834 a childhood
friend told him about a free state named Illinois.
He told him that it would take less than a week
to get there by horseback. The plans were that
three of them would go together, but one of
them backed out at the last minute. So Jarm and
John left.
 Things didn’t go as planned. They were
nearly captured by slave catchers,
 almost drowned while crossing a partially frozen river,
then got lost and ended up just about where they had
started! They were hungry, they were cold, they were
afraid, but after many days, they finally reached
Indiana.
 From there, they were told to follow the North Star to
Canada. Along the way they got lost again. It was hard to
follow the North Star when it was cloudy, foggy or rainy.
 When they reached Detroit, Michigan, they
counted their money and found they only
had $.50.
 They separated to look for a cheap, out of
the way place to stay. Jarm crossed over to
Canada and John stayed in Detroit.
John trusted the wrong men – these
men ended up stealing his horse and
Jarm’s saddle.
When Jarm found out about the theft,
he felt so bad that he and John separated
for good and never saw each other again.
Jarm got a job in Canada. He made $10 a month
clearing land for a farmer.
 Neighbors saw how
hard he worked and
allowed him to go to
the Sabbath School to
learn how to read. He
was 24 years old.
At this time, he decided to
change his name. Since
Jarm was his slave name,
he decided to call himself
Jarmain instead. He took
Wesley as his middle
name and added an n to
the end of his last name so
now he was Jarmain
Wesley Loguen.
 Jarm
 Jarmain
 Wesley
 Logue + n
 Jarmain Wesley
Loguen
 In 1836, Loguen moved from Canada to New York. He held
a lot of different jobs and began to learn more about
freedom, slavery and politics. He went to school and even
established a school for black children.
 In 1840, Loguen married
Caroline Storum.
 Loguen became a minister
in the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church.
 In 1846, he came to
Syracuse to preach and to
give antislavery lectures.
1400 block
 He and his wife bought some land and built an apartment for runaway slaves
that became an important station on the Underground Railroad. He became
known as the "Underground Railroad King."
October 1, 1851
 Church bells started to
ring. That was the
signal that slave
catchers were in town!
Soon it was announced
that a fugitive, Jerry,
had been taken. Loguen
organized people to
help rescue Jerry.
A great mob formed and the Jerry Rescue got underway. Violence
soon broke out and several people were injured.
Even Jerry was hurt. His head was cut and a rib was broken.
But the rescuers were able to carry Jerry out to a carriage.
Later he was hidden under a wagon seat and covered with
hay.
 They took him to Mexico,
 then Oswego,
 then across Lake Ontario
 to Kingston, Ontario. They kept moving him so he
wouldn’t be captured again.
Why was the Jerry Rescue
important?
 When Jerry arrived in
Canada, this showed
everyone in the United
States that the Fugitive
Slave Law could not be
enforced.
 In the next few weeks,
25 people were charged
for their role in the
Jerry Rescue. All but
seven of the men fled to
Canada, including
Loguen.
 In Canada, Loguen
wrote a letter to the
governor of N.Y. He
said that he would
return to Syracuse and
stand trial for his role in
the Jerry Rescue but
only if if would not be
tried as a fugitive slave.
 The governor said no
but in 1852 Loguen
decided to come back
anyway.
 By 1855 Jermain Loguen
and his wife had six
children.
 Loguen was so involved in
the Underground Railroad
that people called him the
“Underground Railroad
King.”
 He continued to work for
freedom until he died on
September 30, 1872.
 He was buried in the
Oakwood Cemetery in
Syracuse.
Mural painted by London Ladd
http://www.flickr.com/photos/medubside/sets/72157601153516578/
CITATIONS
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