Pensacola got mentioned in a column in The Sheboygan Press on abolitionist Jonathan Walker.
It was in the autumn of 1843 that Jonathan Walker found himself back in Harwich, Mass., where he was born, trying to earn a living as a sailor. But the restlessness that was characteristic of Walker’s entire life set in and he left Harwich for what was to become the greatest adventure of his life. After traveling to Mobile, Ala. Walker in the summer of 1844 moved on to Pensacola, Fla.
Walker, who was becoming known as an abolitionist, was approached by a group of runaway slaves who sought freedom. Walker agreed to transport them to freedom in the Bahamas if they were willing to take the risk. On June 19, 1844, Walker loaded his small boat with provisions and seven slaves and sailed from Pensacola harbor bound for the Bahamas.
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