Rush R. Sloane

Rush Sloane was one of Ohio’s most well known abolitionists. He was a lawyer in Sandusky, and elected the Mayor of Sandusky in 1879. In 1852 seven runaway slaves arrived in Sandusky on the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad. Some men claiming to be the slave owners arrived in Sandusky and wanted the slaves to be returned. Mr. Sloane, after an investigation into the matter, found no legal authority for the fugitives to be arrested, and they were set free.

A short time later, one of the men from Kentucky proved ownership of one of the slaves. As a result, Rush Sloane went to trial under the Fugitive Slave Act. He was fined $3000 plus court costs. African American citizens of Sandusky presented Rush Sloane with a silver-headed cane, in appreciation of his efforts on behalf of the runaway slaves. The cane is on display at The Follett House Museum in Sandusky, Ohio.

While Rush Sloane was admired by many, not all Sandusky residents trusted him. In the book SANDUSKY’S EDITOR, by Charles E. Frohman, you can read about the many conflicts between Rush Sloane, and the editor of the Sandusky Register, Mr. I. F. Mack.

Rush Sloane died in 1908. He is buried on the North Ridge of Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

F. D. Parish, Sandusky Lawyer and Abolitionist

Below is an engraving of F. D. Parish from the July 1888 "Firelands Pioneer."



Francis Drake Parish was born in Ontario County, New York on December 20, 1796 to Elisha and Lois Wilder Parish. He moved to Ohio in 1820, and settled in Sandusky, Ohio in 1822. A publication from the Western Reserve Historical Society states that Parish was a "sound and able lawyer." Rush Sloane, another Sandusky abolitionist studied law under F. D. Parish.Mr. Parish took a deep interest in the history of the state of Ohio, and he helped to found the Firelands Historical Society. Mr. Parish had strong ties to Oberlin, Ohio. He served as acting president of Oberlin College when President James Fairchild was abroad. The Oberlin College Digital Collections features a portrait of F. D. Parish.

F. D. Parish was a well known abolitionist. The Ohio Historical Society's online exhibit "The African American Experience in Ohio" gives the following account of Parish's experience aiding fugitive slaves:

Two fugitive slaves from Kentucky were cared for at Parish's home and protected from arrest by their benefactor in February 1845. Parish subsequently helped the fugitives on their journey. In 1849, the Circuit Court of the U.S. for the District of Ohio fined Parish for the estimated value of the slaves at the time. This sum, together with court costs and legal expenses ($1,250) was paid by friends of Parish, who raised the necessary amount by subscriptions of one dollar each.

By the 1870's F.D. Parish had moved with his family to Oberlin. He died in 1886, and is buried with his wife and daughter in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. For more information about Underground Railroad activities in Sandusky, see the Sandusky History web site.