L
ife in 1959
Dangerfield Newby was a slave in Warrenton, Virginia who was freed by his white father but he had a wife and seven children still held in slavery. The wife’s master told Dangerfield that for $1,500 he could purchase his wife and youngest child. Mr. Newby raised the money only to be told that the price had risen. Desperate, Dangerfield joined the fanatical abolitionist John Brown in his attempt to start a slave rebellion beginning with a raid on the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. The raid was a fiasco from the start. Angry townspeople and militia surrounded Brown and his group. Dangerfield Newby was shot through the neck with a six inch spike and his body defiled by locals. In his pocket was a poignant letter from his wife. Researching Mr. Newby I’ve found several strange ghost stories. Many say that Dangerfield still roams the area of Harpers Ferry…trying to free his family…
