Betsy Read

The daughter of abolitionist and lay preacher John Read, she and her father and uncle, Hiram Read (all founding members of Columbia Baptist Church) faced great danger for their roles in helping to educate Black adults and children before, during, and after the Civil War.

They were part of an effort to teach local African Americans and former enslaved people crossing into Union lines from the South how to read, write, and learn other skills.

Their students, eager to learn and in the face of grave danger, secretly attended classes, defying local laws and the wrath of Confederate sympathizers in the area.

When it became too dangerous to continue the classes at her uncle’s house, Betsy would secretly visit the homes of enslaved families to hold classes.

As a member of the local citizens' militia, the Union Home Guard, her father was captured and executed in 1864 by a contingent of Confederate soldiers. Betsy and her aunt braved difficult and dangerous conditions to retrieve her father's body.