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MN90: Eliza Winston’s Case for Freedom

Home > MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds > MN90: Eliza Winston’s Case for Freedom

Eliza Winston was supposed to be free. But her husband died before he could pay off Richard Christmas, her owner. Britt Aamodt looks at how a trip to St. Anthony, Minnesota, in 1860, helped Eliza Winston of Mississippi plan her escape from slavery.

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Producer: Britt Aamodt

Editorial support: Emily Krumberger

Mixing & mastering: Chris Harwood

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Transcript

MN90 Intro: Welcome to MN90: Minnesota History in 90 Seconds.

Eliza Winston was supposed to be a free woman, but her husband died before he could pay off the last bit owed to Richard Christmas for her freedom. So here she was, summer 1860, steaming up the river from Mississippi to Minnesota with her owner Richard Christmas, his invalid wife and their daughter. This was a vacation for the Christmas family, an escape from the southern heat, a chance for Richard Christmas to get away from the running of his plantation, Shiloh, with its thousands of acres and 160 slaves. But this vacation was work time for Eliza, who had three people to look after. But it was also a time of planning, because in 1860 Minnesota was a free state, and Eliza had encountered in this vacation community of St. Anthony, a woman named Emily Gray, a well-connected community member, an abolitionist and a free black woman. It was through Emily Gray and her connections that Eliza Winston of Mississippi got her day in a Minnesota court. And despite an angry mob of pro-slavery whites, she received her freedom on August 21, 1860.

MN90 Outro: MN90 is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Online at mn90.org.