Erastus Hussey (1800–1889) was an important person who worked to end slavery. He helped people fleeing slavery by managing a station on the Underground Railroad. He also helped start the Republican Party. To care for his family, he worked as a farmer, teacher, businessman, legislator, and editor.

Personal life

Erastus Hussey was born on December 5, 1800, in Scipio, Cayuga County, New York. He grew up on a farm on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. He improved his school education by reading books from a large library and later became a schoolteacher. He saved his earnings to travel west. He first walked 140 miles (230 km) to Buffalo, New York, then took a boat to Detroit. He arrived on September 25, 1824, and the next month, he became the first buyer of land in Plymouth, Michigan.

On February 21, 1827, Hussey married Sarah E. Bowen, whose parents were Lucretia and Benjamin Bowen. The Husseys had a daughter named Susan, who married Henry B. Denman, who was her father’s business partner during the 1840s. Hussey died on January 21, 1889, at his home in Battle Creek. Sarah died on March 22, 1899, in Battle Creek.

Career

Hussey moved to Plymouth and lived on a 160-acre farm. He worked as a wheat farmer from 1827 to 1836. In September 1838, he moved to Battle Creek and opened a general store there in 1839. In 1843, Henry B. Denman became his business partner. Together, they ran a dry goods store called Hussey & Denman until 1847.

He supported free education, which was funded by a general tax. He served as a director of the school system for three years and also worked as a trustee. His wife, Sarah, started the Ladies' Library Association.

In 1847, he became the editor of the anti-slavery newspaper, Michigan Liberty Press. In the spring of 1849, a fire destroyed the newspaper’s building. Originally a member of the Whig Party, he later joined the Liberty Party, which had stronger opposition to slavery. He was part of Michigan’s Anti-Slavery Society.

Hussey held several positions in city government. He was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives and served in the Fifteenth Legislature in 1850. On July 6, 1854, he attended the "Under the Oaks" convention in Jackson, Michigan, where the Republican Party had one of its first meetings.

Representing Calhoun County, he worked on the Printing committee. As a Republican, he was elected to the Michigan Senate and represented Calhoun County in the 13th district during 1855 and 1856. He served on committees for Finance, Federal Relations, and State Prisons. He helped introduce the Personal Freedom Act of 1855, a law meant to stop former slaves from being captured and sent back to slavery. This law was also known as the Personal Liberty Bill.

Battle Creek became a city in 1859, and Hussey was one of its first aldermen. He was a delegate at the 1860 Republican National Convention, where Abraham Lincoln was chosen as the presidential candidate. In 1867, he was elected mayor of Battle Creek.

Underground Railroad

Hussey learned about the Underground Railroad when a man from Indiana, John Cross, asked if Hussey would operate a station in Battle Creek. The Husseys were strong Quakers who strongly opposed slavery. By 1840, they began hiding escaped slaves in their home. Soon, their home became one of the main stations on the Underground Railroad. Their station was located along the Central Michigan Route, which had stops every 15 miles between Cass County and Detroit, Michigan. Stations on this route included Climax, Battle Creek, Marshall, Albion, Grass Lake, Ann Arbor, Plymouth, and Detroit, where travelers crossed into Canada (Sandwich First Baptist Church).

As a station master on the Underground Railroad, Hussey helped more than 1,000 or 2,000 people escape slavery. The Husseys aided Samuel Strother, who later settled in Battle Creek. Hussey once described some of the people who passed through his and his wife’s home:

He once heard that a group of slaveowners was traveling through Michigan. He printed warnings on newspaper broadsides, telling them not to enter Battle Creek. He traveled west within the state to Niles, where he met the slaveowners and gave them the handbills. The slaveowners did not visit Battle Creek.

Legacy

• A historical marker was placed at the location of their home, where they ran an Underground Railroad station.
• A bronze statue of Erastus Hussey, his wife Sarah, and Harriet Tubman was created by Ed Dwight. It is located in Battle Creek's Linear Park. Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, it is the biggest memorial to the Underground Railroad, standing 14 feet (4.3 m) tall and 28 feet (8.5 m) wide. It honors all people who helped enslaved individuals escape to freedom, despite the danger of being imprisoned, injured, or killed.
• A historical plaque at the Kellogg Foundation Headquarters in Battle Creek includes a quote from Hussey: "I have fed and given protection to over 1,000 fugitives, and helped them travel to Canada." The plaque also states that when asked if any stationmaster was paid, Hussey replied, "No…. We were working for humanity."