The Parker Sisters

"The Parker Sisters impresses by the breadth and depth of Lucy Maddox’s impeccable research as well as by its engaging, at times genuinely suspenseful writing. The brisk narrative of the kidnapping of two free black sisters across the Mason-Dixon Line comes to life here, as it is anchored in newspaper coverage and records of legal as well as extralegal procedures. Maddox is a skillful historian who enters a single case so fully that the Fugitive Slave Act becomes understandable in a very direct way—as does the history of these borderlands and the meaning of emancipation for the lives of the protagonists. This is an outstanding book."
—Werner Sollors, Henry B. and Anne M. Cabot Research Professor of English Literature, Harvard University, and author of African American Writing: A Literary Approach

"The Parker Sisters is a real page-turner. Maddox tells a remarkable story—in fact, a set of interconnected stories—interweaving them in a suspenseful way. Maddox provides a very different perspective on the domestic slave trade, revealing both the vulnerability and the strength of the African American population. People betray one another and stand by one another—and the lines of race and of free and enslaved status are often blurred. A great many characters take part in this complex tale of abduction, murder, courtroom drama, behind-the-scenes deal making, and general lawlessness. The Parker Sisters is a riveting read!"
—Julie Winch, Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Boston, and author of Between Slavery and Freedom: Free People of Color in America from Settlement to the Civil War

"In this compact and engrossing story, Maddox uses the 1851 kidnappings of Elizabeth and Rachel Parker in Pennsylvania to demonstrate how antebellum slavery transcended state boundaries.... Maddox expertly contextualizes the Parker kidnappings, keeping her eye on the larger legal and political issues.... (She) dramatically renders the subsequent legal trials in thrilling detail, yet never loses sight of the kidnappings’ historical importance in the deep divisions among Americans regarding slavery and abolition."
—Publishers Weekly

"Maddox relates a gripping narrative of two free African American girls in mid-19th-century Pennsylvania.... The use of primary sources such as diaries and newspapers enriches the account of the Parker girls, their kidnappings and entry into slavery via Baltimore and then New Orleans, as well as the resulting trials. VERDICT: This book should be read by all who have an interest in freedom and civil rights. There is much to learn about the history of slavery that is still being discovered by historians such as Maddox."
—Library Journal (starred review)

"(A) thoroughly researched account of...the abduction of the sisters Elizabeth and Rachel Parker.... Maddox places the incident within the context of both the sectional conflict, particularly with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, and the experiences of the Parker family over several generations.... The author is sensitive to the nuances of race relations and antislavery sentiment in the North.... In all, the book is a masterful recreation of events, based on extensive use of primary sources. The kidnapping of the Parker sisters is a story worthy of this effort."
—Pennsylvania Heritage

"Maddox focus(es) on the kidnapping of free blacks in the pre–Civil War North, illuminating a little-known but tragic aspect of antebellum US history.... Maddox demonstrates that the resulting furor can mostly be attributed to Northern reactions to the infamous Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the acrimony between Maryland and Pennsylvania over fugitive slaves and the kidnapping of free African Americans.... Maddox ha(s) performed Herculean tasks by scouring newspapers, court records, and secondary works to bring to light aspects of slavery and race relations that often pass unnoticed in most accounts of life in the antebellum US."
—Choice

"Maddox eloquently tells the tragic story of human trafficking along the Pennsylvania-Maryland border."
—Main Line Today

"This interesting story embodies many of the issues relating to race and slavery that Americans were struggling with in the decade before the Civil War. Maddox ably reconstructs the narrative of the complicated cases, the kidnapping charges, and the murder of Rachel’s employer and would-be rescuer, Joseph Miller. The author effectively utilizes primary sources, especially court records and newspapers."
—Journal of American History

"The Parker Sisters tells the remarkable stories of the two sisters’ abductions into southern slavery, and the equally remarkable story of their eventual liberation by their white neighbors. These events have never before been told in detail, and Maddox’s extensive research has revealed a case of extraordinary complexity.... In addition to the fascinating narrative, Maddox raises three important points about the complexity of relationships between blacks and whites, and northerners and southerners, in the antebellum era.... Maddox does a commendable job of placing an important story in a meaningful context."
—American Historical Review

"In this lithe, well-researched, and readable volume, Lucy Maddox dives deep into an antebellum episode, evoking important reminders about the period in the process.... Intriguingly, Maddox suggests that Elizabeth Parker, who was sold in New Orleans, before being returned to Philadelphia, may have preferred urban slave life.... The chief virtue of this book is that by digging into this incident, an issue—kidnapping—that is often part of the story of the hardening of attitudes in the lead-up to the Civil War, is made instead to highlight the contingencies behind that hardening. The benefits of this sensitive treatment are many.... (R)eaders gain a keen sense of the connections, literal and figurative, that made this event an affair worthy of wider notice.... (T)he story of the Parker Sisters serves as a microhistory—an occurrence that lays bare the fibers of the world in which it took place and that illuminates the tensions that producer wider changes thereafter."
—Journal of Southern History

"Maddox has pulled together a remarkable and fascinating story that addresses the monumental issue of slavery in the midcentury United States at the local, regional, and national levels. She adds layer upon layer of complexity to our understanding of the national attitude toward slavery, abolition, and the economic motives underpinning support for both. She also offers insightful commentary on the everyday lives of free black women and how for some, like Elizabeth Parker, slavery held out the promise of stability and certainty. The book is sure to spark fruitful conversation.... (A) valuable and scholarly contribution to the literature on the twilight of slavery and should be on the reading list of every scholar of the Civil War era."
—Civil War History

"(Maddox) brings to life the various people involved in the women's kidnapping, the notorious Thomas McCleary and John Merritt, and the sectional politics that caused the Parker sisters to be victims of the illegal and fraudulent trafficking of free African Americans. In describing the lived experiences of free black women in a contested political environment, showing how their freedom was easily subject to slave traders' and catchers' nefarious actions, and documenting how their status as persons who lived in a rural community changed after the war, Maddox makes an important contribution to the literature on the transition from slavery to freedom."
—Philadelphia Magazine of History and Biography

"The story is told with authority, elegance, and reliability and is supported by both crucial primary and secondary sources.... (T)he case study is one that historians of slavery should be aware of because Maddox presents thoroughly researched information with laudable detail."
—Journal of African American History

"The Parker Sisters offers a well-researched local history of antebellum Chester County, and it stands as a useful case study of the effects of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 on a particular border community.... Maddox paints a rich and disturbing picture as to the vulnerabilities faced by nominally free African Americans on the Pennsylvania side of the line and, in doing so, demonstrates that most white residents of Chester County were not particularly sympathetic to the cause of antislavery.... The result is a compelling account of human trafficking on the eve of the American Civil War"
—Slavery and Abolition