Ellen and William Craft
by Sofia Zafar, Jasmine Hurrell, Kira Eldridge

Anti -slavery campaigners, Ellen (1826-1891) and William (1824-1900) Craft are most prominently associated with Philadelphia, which is frequently regarded as the critical starting point of their journey to freedom. Here, the Crafts would meet William Still, a key figure in the abolitionist movement, supporting their escape from Georgia as they would endure an arduous journey evading slave-hunters. Yet, the Crafts ’ connection to Surrey must not be overlooked. Despite the couple’s short stay in Ockham, a small village in the borough of Guildford, their time there had an impact not only on their transformative journey, but also on Surrey’s history and culture.

William Craft was born into enslavement in Macon, Georgia, later apprenticed as a carpenter. While he was permitted to receive fees for his labour, his enslaver took the majority of his earnings. At sixteen years old, he met Ellen after his enslaver sold him to settle gambling debts. Ellen was born in Clinton, Georgia, to Maria, a mixed-race enslaved woman, and Major James Smith, a prosperous plantation owner who enslaved her mother. Smith’s wife, desperate to conceal any evidence of her husband’s infidelity, would later gift eleven-year-old Ellen to her daughter, Eliza Cromwell Smith, as a wedding present. There, Eliza remained as a house servant until 1846. When Ellen and William were granted permission to be married, they were unable to live together, separated by their individual slave owners. With great resolve, they planned to journey together to Pennsylvania for their freedom. Given Ellen’s lighter complexion, she leveraged this to navigate the racial, gender and class boundaries imposed upon her, disguising herself as a disabled white man, with William posing as her enslaved attendant , in order to travel with greater safety.

Following their initial escape in 1850, they settled in Boston, where William established a furniture business and Ellen worked as a seamstress. However, their stable life was soon disrupted when the United States Congress enacted the Fugitive Slave Act, which mandated that states such as Boston, where slavey was abolished, could no longer offer sanctuary to individuals escaping enslavement. As the Crafts were compelled to flee, they sought refuge in England, eventually settling in Ockham Park, where they became part of the trade school established to offer a basic education to young people in rural areas. They began as students, acquiring literacy skills in reading and writing, and soon taught there as teachers of carpentry and sewing. They also began touring within Surrey and across the country, delivering lectures against slavery, and quickly emerged as prominent figures in the abolitionist movement. They advocated for the end of slavery and encouraged a boycott of goods produced by slave labour. During their nearly two years in Surrey, Ellen and William Craft became well-known voices in the local community, and three of their children were baptised in Ockham Church. Their time in Surrey, not only provided them with safety but also allowed them to further their abolitionist efforts, inspiring many with their courage and commitment. In 1868, following the American Civil War, they returned to the United States, settling on a farm in Charleston with their eldest daughter until their deaths. In recognition of their significant contributions, a tribute was unveiled in Ockham in 2018, honouring their efforts and the enduring legacy of their fight for freedom.

Further reading: Craft, E. & and Craft, W. ([1860] 1999) Running a Thousand Miles for Freedom: The Escape of William and Ellen Craft from Slavery. Athens: University of Georgia Press.

Craft, E. (1852) Open Letter to the Anti-Slavery Advocate From Ellen Craft , 29 December . [Letter] Massachusetts Spy.

McCaskill, B. (2015) Love, Liberation, and Escaping Slavery: William and Ellen Craft in cultural memory, Athens: The University of Georgia Press.

Still, W. ([1872] 2018) The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts, London: Arcturus.

Woo, I. (2023) Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom, London: Bonnier Books

Exploring Surrey's Past: Stephen Lushington and the Crafts: enslaved fugitives in Ockham