Cleveland

Living in Cleveland has given me many opportunities that I otherwise would not have been afforded. Living in a large city has many advantages for a Negro.  The literature on abolition is abundant, and I have been able to read an ample amount of this.  I plan to begin lecturing and writing as well.  I have also met a woman in Cleveland who I will marry; her name is Elizabeth Schooner, or "Betsy."  The year is now 1835, and I have been in Cleveland for a year.  Before long I will have a family started with Elizabeth. My job on the Lake Erie steamboat is also fulfilling my needs to earn money and help ex-slaves. Things are going well for me, to say the least.

 This is the type of boat on which I work.