The youngest of 17 children born to Levin and Sidney (Charity) Still, William Still began life in Burlington County, New Jersey on October 7, 1819. Prior to William’s birth, Levin had purchased his own freedom and moved to New Jersey while William’s mother and the first four of his siblings (2 brothers and 2 sisters) remained behind in Maryland as slaves. One time Sidney and the children did manage to escape, but they were caught and returned to their owner in Maryland.
When Sidney planned her second escape attempt, she feared she would not be able to make a clean get away if she took all four children with her. Thus, after arriving at a very difficult decision, Sidney left her two sons behind with their grandmother, who was also a slave, and escaped with her two daughters. The sons were later sold to slave owners in the Deep South. Sidney was successful on this try and rejoined her husband. To help conceal their identities, the family changed their name to ‘Still’ and Sidney changed her name to ‘Charity’. Fourteen years later, William Still was born a free individual in New Jersey.
William was 23 when he moved to Philadelphia in 1847. Here he found employment as a mail clerk and also worked as a janitor for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. William received very little formal schooling as a child, so when he was not working, he spent his time learning grammar and continuing to educate himself. In time he became a businessman.
He was later appointed to head the General Vigilance Committee of Philadelphia. This group dedicated itself to assisting and defending slaves who sought refuge within the city. Still himself offered refuge to a number of slaves as they journeyed to Canada.
Referred to as the father of the Underground Railroad, William and his associates went on to develop one of the most effective systems in the country by creating a strong foundation composed of a network of conductors and safehouses. Money was raised not only to help fugitives, but also monitor the movements of various slave-catchers who traveled throughout Pennsylvania. Still helped upwards of 60 slaves each month escape to freedom. He would interview each person and carefully record the information. Included in the files he kept were a brief biography and the destination of each person, along with any alias they used.
One day, Still’s work suddenly became very personal. A middle-aged man from Alabama seeking information about his family was introduced to Still. The man gave his name as Peter Freedman. He knew the family moved north a number of years before, but had lost track of them. While Peter shared various facts in his story, Still had a cold shock of reality hit him as he studied the man’s face and noticed the similarity his features bore to those of Still’s mother. He later learned Peter Freedman was one of the two brothers his mother had been forced to leave behind some 40 years prior.
The following day, Still reunited his brother with their mother whom he had not seen for many years (their father passed away a few years earlier), and introduced him to those Peter had never met. Peter also made William aware of the fact his wife and children still remained in Alabama.
Members of the Underground Railroad managed to secure the escape of Peter’s wife and children; however, they were later captured and returned to their master. William approached the master to buy the freedom of his sister-in-law and the children, but the master demanded the ungodly sum of $5,000. To raise the funds, Still went on a speaking tour. It necessitated four years to acquire the full amount; but in October 1854, the goal was met and Peter, with the new last name of ‘Still’, settled on a 10-acre farm with his family in Burlington, New Jersey.
In 1847 Still married Letitia George and they had four children who survived infancy.
Still wrote a letter to the press which he used to initiate a campaign in 1859 opposing discrimination on Philadelphia’s railroad cars based on race by exposing the injustice. Following the reaction of black Philadelphians who opposed Still's battle to eliminate the segregation of blacks on streetcars, he compiled A Brief Narrative of the Struggle for the Rights of the Colored People of Philadelphia in the City Railway Cars. The campaign experienced a successful conclusion in 1867 when Pennsylvania’s legislature passed a law banning all such discrimination.
For some time following John Brown's unsuccessful raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, Still offered refuge to Brown’s wife and helped several of Brown's accomplices. Throughout the course of the Civil War, William Still continued to pursue his activities with the Underground Railroad, as well as civil rights. In 1861, Still’s work in the antislavery office came to an end; however, he remained involved with the society, serving as its vice-president for eight years and president from 1896 to 1901.
Still opened a stove store during the Civil War, and later a successful coal delivery business. This earned him a seat on the Philadelphia Board of Trade and provided the funds necessary to live in a fancy home with his wife, Letitia George, and their four children.
Following the war, Still led a cause to raise funds to help assist recently freed Southern slaves. A member of the Presbyterian Church, Still was instrumental in founding a Mission Sabbath School. In 1880, he also established one of the first Young Men’s Christian Associations (YMCA) for blacks and helped administer homes for black seniors and impoverished children, as well as helping black soldiers and sailors. During this time, he met Frederick Douglass and developed a friendship with Harriet Tubman.
Over the years, Still compiled detailed reports about his activities with the Railroad and other projects, including the 800 fugitives his efforts were responsible for aiding. He later stated finding his brother provided the motivation to do so. These reports and other records and memoirs were compiled into a publication entitled The Underground Railroad. The book was published in 1872. The accounts Still shared in the book strongly contrasted those written in books published by white abolitionists. Instead of portraying the railroad’s passengers as helpless, Still’s accounts described them as brave individuals who struggled to obtain their freedom.
William made a trip to Canada in 1855. Here he visited a number of communities which had been established and settled by former American slaves. The positive reports he brought back countered the negative ones regarding the various degrees of criticism reportedly leveled at the blacks in Canada. Still’s reports served as an advocate regarding the emancipation of all slaves.
William Still died in Philadelphia on July 14, 1902.
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- Still’s eldest child, Caroline Matilda Still (1848–1919), became one of the first female medical doctor. She attended Oberlin College and the Women's Medical College of Philadelphia (later named Medical College of Pennsylvania). She had an extensive private medical practice in Philadelphia, in addition to being a community activist, teacher and leader.
- Son William Wilberforce Still (1854–1914) graduated from Lincoln University and became a lawyer in Philadelphia.
- Journalist Robert George Still (1861–1900), opened a print shop on Pine at 11th Street in central Philadelphia.
- Daughter Frances Ellen Still (1857–1930) was named for poet Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. The poet lived with the Stills prior to her marriage. Frances became a kindergarten teacher.
Still brothers—William, James (known to some as “the Doctor of the Pines”) and Peter—settled in Lawnside, New Jersey. To this day, an annual family reunion of the three brothers’ descendants takes place every August. Notable members of the Still family include the composer William Grant Still.
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