Caroline and her four children escaped a Kentucky slave owner on October 31, 1847, crossing the Ohio River near Madison. After passing near here, black and white residents of Fugit Township hid the family close to Clarksburg. While in hiding, the family was seized by a white resident, but escaped before the owner claimed them. Residents then separated the family to avoid another capture. Family members were safely escorted from Decatur County, reunited in Union County, and reached Canada. The Underground Railroad was a widespread network of diverse people in the nineteenth century who aided slaves escaping to freedom from the southern U.S.