author
Wilbur Henry Siebert
1866–1961
A longtime Ohio State historian, he became one of the earliest scholars to document the Underground Railroad in a systematic way. His work gathered memories, letters, and local accounts that helped preserve stories that might otherwise have disappeared.
1 Audiobook
The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom: A comprehensive history
by Wilbur Henry Siebert
About the author
Born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1866, Wilbur Henry Siebert built his career as an educator and historian and spent many years teaching at Ohio State University. He is best remembered for his research on the Underground Railroad, a subject he approached with unusual energy at a time when much of its history still survived in scattered recollections and personal papers.
Siebert’s best-known book, The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom (1898), was among the first major attempts to assemble a broad documentary history of that network. He also left behind a large body of research material—correspondence, notes, maps, and other records—that continues to be useful to later historians.
Although scholarship on the Underground Railroad has grown and changed since his day, his efforts helped bring the subject into serious historical study. He died in 1961, leaving a legacy tied both to Ohio State and to the preservation of a difficult, important part of American history.