A tintype of an unidentified African American woman. This photo was passed down through generations of the Platt family. Jireh Platt was an active abolitionist in Mendon, Illinois. His sons Enoch and Luther, members of the Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony, settled in Wabaunsee County, Kansas Territory, where they operated a station on the Underground Railroad. The Platts may have helped this woman escape to freedom. The fact that she is wearing a wedding ring is significant, as slaves weren't legally allowed to marry.
