Man Who Helped Slaves Run to Be Pardoned

A black man who helped slaves flee through the Underground Railroad will be pardoned by Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, relatives said. Samuel Burris was convicted in 1847 and sentenced to seven years of slavery, but he was purchased by an anti-slavery group and set free—after which he continued his work. Ocea Thomas, the great-great-granddaughter of Burris’s sister, said the governor’s office told her the pardon would take place Nov. 2, the anniversary of his conviction. “I stood there and cried. It was pride. It was relief. I guess justification. All of that,” Thomas said.