Nelson Gant

Nelson Gant was put on trial for stealing his enslaved wife, Maria. He was acquitted. Two months later, he bought his wife's freedom. The couple would later own 300 acres and a coal mine. The Gants actively assisted self liberated African Americans in the Underground Railroad.

Nelson Talbot Gant was freed from slavery by the last will and testament of his owner, John Nixon, on September of 1845 in Loudoun County, Virginia. However, Gant’s wife, Anna Maria Hughes, whom he married by Rev. Samuel Nelson on May 11, 1843, was a slave to Jane Russell of Leesburg, Virginia. According to Virginia law at the time, he was required to leave the state no more than a year after being freed or be considered a candidate for enslavement again. Reluctantly, he left in October of 1846 promising to return for her. Gant traveled to Zanesville, where many of the former Nixon slaves had taken residence. He became acquainted with and enlisted the help of abolitionists and agents of the Underground Railroad in Zanesville and Putam, a decidedly anti-slavery community across the Muskingum River from Zanesville.

When Nelson’s owner died in 1844, Nelson received his freedom papers in September, 1845 as it was stated in Mr. Nixon’s will that all his slaves would be set free upon his death. Nelson vowed to work and purchase his wife, but he had only one year to remain in Virginia to accomplish this because the law stated that once a slave is set free, he could only stay in Virginia one year or be considered a candidate for enslavement again. After a year of work, Jane Russell refused to free her, so Nelson had to leave the state.

As a result, Nelson came back into Virginia and he and Anna Maria disappeared into the night, ending up in Washington, D.C. as fugitives. Betrayed, they were arrested and transported to Leesburg for trial. Efforts were made to get Anna Maria to testify against her husband and confess that Nelson helped her to escape. Nelson’s attorney presented arguments in court to prevent Anna Maria from having to testify. This became a landmark trial because it was the first time in the nation that a slave marriage was considered to be legal, resulting in Anna Maria from having to testify. With no testimony against him, Nelson was released and Anna Maria returned back to slavery to Jane Russell in Leesburg. Eventually, with the help of abolitionists, Nelson was able to purchase his wife in February, 1847. In June 1850, Nelson, Maria, and their one-year old daughter returned to Zanesville. Nelson purchased land for a home and farm along the National Road and made a very successful living growing and selling specialty vegetables.

With little help from others, Nelson had a two-story home mansion built beside the road that became known as the National Road (Route 40) later acknowledged by the National Department of Transportation as an All-American Byway. The National Department of Transportation placed a historical marker in front of the house in June 2002. The National Park Service: National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom recognized the house in 2004 as an Underground Railroad site and also placed a marker in front of the house. Mr. Gant owned 140 acres of farm land around his house in which a part of it was turned into a park known as Gant’s Grove.

Nelson and Anna Maria became the parents of 12 children, but only four (Elizabeth, Sarah, Margaret, and Nelson Jr.), lived to adulthood. The Gants frequently hosted community picnics in the Gant Grove. This was considered one of the first integrated parks in the state. In time, it became the site of many community events (Barnum and Bailey Circus, Negro Baseball League games, Municipal Stadium, Municipal swimming pool). From the 1940s to the early 1960s, it held two pools which were segregated until the larger pool was integrated and the smaller pool demolished.

Mr. Gant supported his family and became a prominent part of the Zanesville community by purchasing an additional 160 acres that had a coal mine and salt lick on it. He sold blocks of ice cut out of the Licking River as well as vegetables grown by his family. He even sold some of his property for a profit.

Gant supported his family and became a prominent part of the Zanesville community by purchasing an additional 160 acres that had a coal mine and salt lick. He’d sell blocks of ice cut out of the Licking river as well as vegetables grown by his family. He would even sell some of his property for a profit.

Nelson would also play an important role as a conductor in the Underground Railroad after he met famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass while Douglass was speaking at a church in Putnam. Nelson would smuggle escaped slaves in his vegetable cart to transport them from one safe house to another.

Life was good for a man and woman who were born slaves and overcame adversity. They became members of St. Paul A.M.E. church and were married for 34 years. They donated $5,000 to build the new church on South Street across from the police station.

Each of their four children were talented musicians. Nelson Jr. played the banjo to his father’s delight. Sadie and Nelson Jr. graduated from Oberlin College.

Anna Maria died in 1877.

Nelson T. Gant died in 1905 at age 84. The Zanesville Daily News reported his remarkable life story and concluded that he was “probably the wealthiest colored citizen in Ohio…possessing a fortune estimated a several hundred thousand dollars.”

The couple are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Zanesville, Ohio.

Sources: The Road That Helped Build The Nation. An All American Road—National Scenic Byway [hmbd.org]; Nelson T Gant Foundation.org