Remembering the price of freedom: Relative of Underground Railroad hero pays tribute at Colma resting place

“Everything fell into place,” she said.

As Thomas searched for more pieces of her relative’s story, she soon learned of his courage in assisting others on their paths to freedom, a trait that would lead to his being caught and sentenced to a life of slavery. Several months of research later, Thomas’ journey to learn more about her family finally led her to a small ceremony Tuesday at a Colma cemetery to honor her great-great-great uncle and prominent 19th century abolitionist, Samuel Burris.

“The main thing is that I am glad it was not a historian but it was me, a member of his family, who connected the dots,” she said.

For the last three years, Thomas has been threading pieces of the story of the man who risked his own freedom to assist slaves on their way to freedom. Born in 1813 in Delaware, the free black man became known as a well-educated religious leader and father before joining the efforts of the Underground Railroad system, responsible for shepherding tens of thousands of slaves from states in the southern United States where slavery was permitted to “free” states in the north.

When he was caught assisting a family moving through Delaware, he was fined $500, sentenced to 10 months in prison and ordered to be sold into slavery for 14 years. After an abolitionist bought Burris at a slave auction for $500 and set him free, he rejoined his wife and children, moved to San Francisco and continued to raise money toward efforts to bring slaves into freedom until his death.

Last month, Thomas’ research turned up records indicating Burris was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco. To confirm his final resting place, Thomas called Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, where the remains of some 35,000 people buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery had been relocated in the 1940s.

Nichelle Sevier, who works in the cemetery’s records department, was on the other end of the line when Thomas called last week and was able to confirm his burial there. She said her eyes got big when Thomas shared Burris’ story, which was especially meaningful to her as an African-American.

“Without people like him, there wouldn’t be nobody like me,” she said.

Once Thomas got off the phone with Sevier, she wasted no time in making arrangements to visit his burial site. A former employee of Southwest Airlines, she was able to book a flight from Atlanta to California the next day in preparation for a ceremony to remember his legacy that Sevier and other Cypress Lawn staff were putting together.

“I’m a persistent person,” she said. “If I find you out you’re my cousin, I’m going to tell you, ‘can I come visit you next week?’ I move quickly like that.”

Tuesday’s ceremony was not the first time Thomas has commemorated Burris’ story. At the encouragement of historians studying Burris’ moment in history, Thomas wrote a letter to Jack Markell, then the governor of Delaware, asking him to overturn a court decision to convict Burris of multiple charges, among them “enticing away a slave.” Markell pardoned Burris in November of 2015.

For Thomas, the time she has spent researching Burris’ story has gone a long way to help her family members understand their legacy. When her grandson came home from school and reported he was learning about key figures in freeing slaves, she relayed Burris’ story to him, much to his excitement.

“I said, ‘and let me tell you about the man in your family because Harriet Tubman was still a slave when he was in jail,’” she said.

Though Thomas has tracked Burris’ story to his death, she now has her sights set on finding out how his parents were free at a time when many black people were slaves. She is also looking for descendents of Burris’ youngest sister in Delaware, rendering her quest to understand her heritage far from over.

“I just think sometimes you need to tell your own story,” she said. “I’m glad it was me, and not someone who says, ‘oh, he’s buried there.’”

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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