John Van Zandt (died 1847) was an
Underground RailroadThe Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists who aided the...
hero. He is believed to have been the basis for John Van Trompe, a character in
Uncle Tom's CabinUncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the United States, so much in the latter case that the novel intensified the...
. While living in
Evendale, OhioEvendale is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,090 at the 2000 census.Evendale was the home of John Van Zandt, a participant in the Underground Railroad....
, he often illegally harbored slaves in his basement and helped them escape. In the 1840s, he was caught and excommunicated from
SharonSharonville is a city in Hamilton and Butler Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 13,804 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sharonville is located at ....
Methodist Episcopal Church, SouthThe Methodist Episcopal Church, South, or Methodist Episcopal Church South, was the so-called "Southern Methodist Church" resulting from the split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church which had been brewing over several years until it came out into the open at a conference...
, of which he was a trustee and helped found, for "immoral and un-Christian conduct." Despite this, he continued to harbor slaves, but was caught again.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'John Van Zandt' Start a new discussion about 'John Van Zandt' Answer questions from other users |
John Van Zandt (died 1847) was an
Underground RailroadThe Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists who aided the...
hero. He is believed to have been the basis for John Van Trompe, a character in
Uncle Tom's CabinUncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the United States, so much in the latter case that the novel intensified the...
. While living in
Evendale, OhioEvendale is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,090 at the 2000 census.Evendale was the home of John Van Zandt, a participant in the Underground Railroad....
, he often illegally harbored slaves in his basement and helped them escape. In the 1840s, he was caught and excommunicated from
SharonSharonville is a city in Hamilton and Butler Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 13,804 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sharonville is located at ....
Methodist Episcopal Church, SouthThe Methodist Episcopal Church, South, or Methodist Episcopal Church South, was the so-called "Southern Methodist Church" resulting from the split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church which had been brewing over several years until it came out into the open at a conference...
, of which he was a trustee and helped found, for "immoral and un-Christian conduct." Despite this, he continued to harbor slaves, but was caught again. He then lost all his land and property, and his eleven children were scattered across the country to various relatives.
On June 19 2005, Sharonville
United Methodist ChurchThe United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which traces its roots back to the evangelical, holiness, revival movement of John and Charles Wesley within the Anglican Church. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It contains both liturgical and...
(the pro-slavery Southern faction rejoined the mainline Methodist Church in the 20th century) made newspaper articles across the country when it restored Van Zandt's membership and about a dozen Van Zandts (or Van Sandts) travelled to the city to receive a letter of apology for the expulsion of their ancestor.