Editing William Still (section)

== Underground Railroad Work ==

Still's role in the Underground Railroad combined organizational leadership with direct assistance to freedom seekers. When escaped slaves arrived in Philadelphia—often exhausted, hungry, and terrified of recapture—Still was frequently the first person they met. He interviewed each arrival carefully, recording their names, their enslaver's names, the circumstances of their escape, and other biographical details. This documentation served multiple purposes: it could help reunite separated families, it provided evidence of slavery's cruelties, and it preserved the stories of people whose lives might otherwise have been lost to history. Still took security precautions to protect his records, but he preserved enough to compile his monumental post-war book.<ref name="still"/>

The work was dangerous. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 strengthened slaveholders' ability to pursue escapees into free states, making anyone who assisted them liable to severe penalties. Slave catchers regularly visited Philadelphia, sometimes kidnapping free Black residents to sell into slavery. Still developed elaborate security measures, using coded communications, trusted couriers, and a network of safe houses throughout the city and its suburbs. He worked closely with other abolitionists including Robert Purvis, Harriet Tubman, and the Quaker communities of Germantown and Chester County. His calm competence under pressure and his ability to coordinate complex operations made him indispensable to the network's functioning.<ref name="khan"/>