March 1822[1] – March 10, 1913
Anthony Thompson promised to manumit
Tubman's father at the age of 45. After Thompson died, his son followed
through with that promise in 1840. Tubman's father continued working as
a timber estimator and foreman for the Thompson family.[31]
Several years later, Tubman contacted a white attorney and paid him
five dollars to investigate her mother's legal status. The lawyer
discovered that a former owner had issued instructions that Tubman's
mother, Rit, like her husband, would be manumitted at the age of 45.
The
record showed that a similar provision would apply to Rit's children,
and that any children born after she reached 45 years of age were
legally free, but the Pattison and Brodess families ignored this
stipulation when they inherited the slaves. Challenging it legally was
an impossible task for Tubman.[32]
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