William Still's birth date is not sure of, but the quess is October 7th, 1821. He was born in Burnlington County, New Jersey. His parents were Charity and Levin Still. Both of his parents were former slaves, who had come from Maryland. He was the youngest of 18 siblings. His father had bought his own freedom from his slave owner. When his mother, Charity escaped to join Levin, she brought along her four children. Unfortunatly, she was caught and quickly returned to slavery. She successfully escaped a second time with her two daughters, and happily joined her husband. She left behind two of her sons, who were sold to slave owners in Alabama. In 1884, Still moved to Philidelphia, Pennsylvania, and worked as a clerk for the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. Soon after, Pennsylvania decided to organize a committee to help runaway slaves who were reaching Pennsylvania. Still became the committee's chairman. In 1847, he married Letitia George and had four children, who grew to be a medical doctor, a lawyer, a journalist, and a kindergarten teacher.
William Still's nickname was "The Father of the Underground Railroad", because he helped as many as 60 slaves per month escape to freedom. He kept brief biographies of each person; he would interview them on their trip to freedom, yet he kept these records hidden. One person he interviewed, Peter Still, he found to be his own brother. Later Still published "The Underground Railroad Records" which contained small biographies of 649 slaves who escaped through the Underground Railroad. Eventually, Still and his two brothers, Peter and James, settled in Lawnside, New Jersey. Still died in 1902. He had a long and rewarding life, and he will always be remembered.
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