WARREN Slave's life story touches students

They are part of a youth group that is raising money to buy a headstone for the man's grave.
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A research project at an area church is bringing 15-year-old Shawniece Jones a little closer to herself.
The Warren G. Harding High School freshman is a member of a youth group at Third Christian Church that's raising money to mark the local burial site of a fugitive slave.
Dorothy Edwards, youth director at the church, 241 First St., is working on the project with a handful of students and the youth group's co-director, Tamara Cooper.
Edwards said she wants students to learn more about the life of Charles Washington, and at the same time learn more about their own heritage.
Freedom: Washington was one of five slaves who escaped Loudon County, Va., in the 1850s, headed toward Pittsburgh, traveled the Underground Railroad through Salem and eventually settled in Warren.
Washington died March 5, 1900, a few days after a railroad accident crushed his right foot, which was then amputated by doctors. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Oakwood Cemetery on Niles Road, state Route 169, in Warren. The youth group is raising money to buy his headstone.
The group is planning a bake sale, will accept donations during church services and plans to ask local businesses to leave out donations jars so patrons can contribute.
Edwards said she is unsure how much the headstone will cost, as she has just started shopping around for prices.
Jones said she got involved with the fund-raiser to learn more about herself, her culture and the struggles that faced her ancestors.
"I am African-American, and what [Washington] did was special," Jones said. "This will help me learn about my history."
Beverly Robinson's two children, Alicia, 11, and Anthony, 15, are also involved in the youth group's community outreach project.
She said she's sure adults in the congregation will donate funds to help their cause.
"I'm very proud of them for doing this," Robinson said. "It's important, and I'm sure they will raise enough money."
How it started: Edwards said she learned that Washington's grave was unmarked after listening to a Black History Month presentation by Trumbull County historian Wendell Lauth at Howland Community Church.
Lauth said Washington came to the area with his brother, Henry; James Webb; John Jackson; and Billy Lee.
They made it to Salem, heard there were slave catchers looking for them and headed north to Warren around New Year's Day, 1857, Lauth said.
When they got here, the men stayed with A.L.C. Day, a black barber who doubled as a conductor for the Underground Railroad, Lauth said.
"It shows they felt safe enough to stay here," he said, adding that the Mahoning Valley attracted a large number of escaped slaves, because of travel routes in and out of the area.
Washington lived on South Street with his wife, Leanna, who died in 1925 and is buried in another part of the cemetery.
Edwards said U.S. Census reports she's seen indicate Washington was a domestic worker who was born in the 1830s. He listed three children in the 1880 census.
Edwards said she's received a lot of support for the project from her husband, Rev. General Edwards, pastor of the church.
"It's a very worthwhile project," she said. "I thought it would be a good chance for the kids to reach back, touch history and really appreciate the freedom they now enjoy."