In the spring of 1837, a carpenter named James Sagurs was hired by Captain Daniel Philbrook of Camden and Edward Kelleran of Cushing to repair the vessel Susan (occasionally referred to as the Boston). The Susan had shipped a cargo of lime and hay from East Thomaston, Maine, to Savannah, Georgia, and was to be repaired in that town. While repairing the ship, James Sagurs often brought along his slave, Atticus. Atticus enjoyed speaking freely with the sailors from Maine, and from them, he learned how to make a living in the free states. As a ship’s carpenter, he had unrestricted access to the Susan and was able to thoroughly acquaint himself with the vessel. On May 4, Atticus concealed himself upon the Susan and only revealed himself to the Mainers once several days at sea had elapsed. Once the ship pulled into port in East Thomaston, Maine, Kelleran took Atticus to his farm on Brooklyn Heights, where the fugitive reportedly worked for some days. Concurrently, James Sagurs realized the disappearance of his slave on the Susan and hired a vessel from Savannah to sail in pursuit of the cargo ship. After he arrived in East Thomaston, Sagurs filed papers at the law office for the arrest of Atticus as a runaway slave and had D.N. Piper search Mr. Kelleran’s farm, but to no avail. In the hopes of receiving the $20 reward posted by James Sagurs, two local men, whose names remain unknown, pretended to befriend Atticus and persuaded him to move to another location (Swan’s barn). Instead, they led him to East Thomaston, where he was soon rushed onto a ship and transported back to Savannah, Georgia.
About 50 years after the incident, it is rumored that Atticus, then an elderly man, approached a grandson of Captain Philbrook, who happened to be loading a ship in Savannah, Georgia, and said, “I hear you are from Maine. I went there once in a vessel whose master was Captain Daniel Philbrook. I was a slave then…” Although it was indeed Atticus, he was a free man under a new name and controlled a gang of stevedores (men who load ships).
Note: The Atticus incident sparked a large legal battle between the states of Maine and Georgia, but was gradually forgotten and never quite resolved.
Bibliography
Eaton, Cyrus. History of Thomaston, Rockland, and South Thomaston,
Maine. Hallowell: Masters, Smith &Co., Printers, 1865.
Cyrus Eaton described the history of Thomaston, Rockland, and South Thomaston, beginning with the arrival of
European settlers and finishing with a genealogical table of the towns’ inhabitants. Thousands of events were related in a chronological order, and concise histories of residents were also provided in this secondary source.
Robinson, Reuel. "History of Camden and Rockport, Maine." Google
Book Search. 13 Apr. 2009. <http://books.google.com/books?id=
Jm8UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA246&lpg=PA246&dq=Atticus,+escaped+slave
&source=bl&ots=X-p6QUkFVe&sig=SmH73-0-Wothp9-fUD2N1kE
xXtU&hl=en&ei=ciPeSZ3HFZDvlQfxt7Vd&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct
=result&resnum=1>.
The history of Camden and Rockport, Maine, was depicted by Reuel Robinson, a former citizen of Camden. The actual book was published in 1907 and described, in chronological order, major events and happenings of the towns and their citizens. It is a secondary source.