William Grimes (ex-slave)

Grimes was born into slavery in King George County, Virginia, in 1784.[6][7] His father was Benjamin Grymes, Jr., a wealthy plantation owner; Grimes' mother was a slave on a neighboring plantation. Benjamin Grymes, Jr., the father of William Grimes was the great-grandson of William Fitzhugh. Fitzhugh was the founder of Eagles's Nest plantation located in King George County, Virginia. Benjamin Grymes, Jr., volunteered for Grayson's Continental Line Regiment in the American Revolutionary army and eventually received the rank of Lieutenant in 1777.[8]

During his years of slavery, Grimes was owned by at least ten different masters, in Virginia, Maryland, and Georgia. He worked as a house servant, valet, field worker, stable boy, and coachman. In 1815, at the age of 30, Grimes escaped from slavery by stowing away on the ship Casket that sailed from Savannah, Georgia to New York City.[4] He then travelled by foot from New York City to New Haven, Connecticut.

Grimes settled in New Haven, Connecticut, where he was a successful barber.[9][10] His clients included students from nearby Yale University and Litchfield.[10] Grimes married Clarissa Caesar in 1817 in New Haven by Reverend Samuel Merwin.[11] They had eighteen children together, but only twelve survived until adulthood.[12]

In 1820 the United States census shows that Grimes was the head of a seven-member household in Litchfield. Following this, Grimes rents his barbershop in Litchfield and moves to New Haven where he worked as a barber, grocer, and furniture merchant.[1] It is noted that Grimes lived in many cities in Connecticut. These cities being Stratford, Norwalk, Fairfield, Bridgeport and Stratford Point alongside New Haven and Litchfield.

In 1823, Grimes' last slave owner tracked him down and demanded he must pay for his freedom. His former slave owner would have him arrested and forced back into slavery if Grimes were to refuse.[9]

After living 4 years in Litchfield, Grimes moved back to New Haven. Where he lived the rest of his years.[13] Clarissa Caesar, his wife, then left for California because her and Grimes split some time before writing his second edition. No information is given by Grimes for why this occurred. However, he mentions that only his youngest child is still with him at that time and does not know where any other child of his is.[14]

Grimes was still listed as living in New Haven in the 1830 and 1840 United States census.[15]

Furthermore, in 1860 William Grimes is listed as the head of an eight-person household in New Haven while his occupation is shown as a lottery dealer in the United States census.[5]

Grimes became a known figure in Litchfield and New Haven, Connecticut while living there. Through his multiple jobs of barbering, furniture trading and errand running for students he was able to network with students, faculty and politicians in the communities. It was this connecting with members in each community that caused Grimes' recent master to learn where Grimes was located. Feeling that the community of Litchfield was smaller and the political landscape would be more in his favor if his recent master came looking for him, Grimes moved to Litchfield.[15]

In 1823, Francis Harvey Welman, Grimes' last slave owner tracked him down and demanded Grimes must pay for his freedom with "my house and land, all I had," or else face arrest and re-enslavement.[9] The following year, in April 1824, Grimes officially purchased his freedom for 500 dollars.[16] Grimes had to mortgage his property and take on debt in order to pay for his freedom. However, the people who he was connected and friends with in Litchfield were able to help him with his negotiation of price for his freedom.[15] Grimes had no choice but to pay, and wrote his memoir in hopes of recovering his finances.[9] Grimes fled New Haven to live in Litchfield, Connecticut due to his former master tracking him down.

A great-great-great-granddaughter of Grimes, Regina Mason, was an editor of the 2008 edition of Grimes' book. Mason talked about her ancestor's life in an interview with Terry Gross on the Fresh Air radio program on January 18, 2016.[10][17] A 2017 film by Sean Durant entitled Gina's Journey: The Search for William Grimes documents her experiences of tracking down information about Grimes over a fifteen-year period. It includes reenactments of scenes from both Mason's and Grimes's lives with narration by Keith David.[18]

Grimes died on August 20, 1865, about 81 years old, in New Haven, Connecticut. On his death, his obituary was published as far away as Brooklyn, New York.[7] He was then laid to rest in Grove Street Cemetery, located near Yale University. Clarissa Caesar Grimes, his wife, died on December 15 in San Francisco. Following this, she was laid to rest in New Haven with her husband.[8]

• Fugitive slaves in the United States
• Slave narrative

• Text of Grimes' memoir
• Grover, Kathryn (2001-07-12). The Fugitive's Gibraltar: Escaping Slaves and Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts. University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 86–92. ISBN 9781558492714.
• Gates, Henry Louis Jr.; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks, eds. (2004-03-23). African American Lives. Oxford University Press. pp. 357–358. ISBN 9780199882861.
• Gates, Henry Louis Jr.; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (2008-02-18). African American National Biography. Oxford University Press. pp. 653–654. ISBN 9780195160192.
• Winter, Kari J. (Summer–Fall 2009). "Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave (review)". African American Review. 43 (2–3): 509–511. doi:10.1353/afa.2009.0027. S2CID 162046274.
• Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2015-03-26). The Underground Railroad: An Encyclopedia of People, Places, and Operations. Routledge. pp. 235–236. ISBN 9781317454168.
• Hinks, Peter. "William Grimes". Underground Railroad. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 2016-12-03. Retrieved 2016-01-27.