Many of the agents of the Underground Railroad were actually escaped slaves themselves. William Wells Brown was one of them. He escaped on January 31, 1834 when his master, a steamboat captain, docked their boat in Cincinnati. Brown walked all the way to Cleveland, where he took a job on a lake boat and helped other slaves escape to Canada.

To learn more about William Wells Brown, read his book, NARRATIVE OF WILLIAM W. BROWN, AN AMERICAN SLAVE.