To escape slavery, light-skinned Ellen Craft disguised herself as a male enslaver. Her husband, William, who was darker skinned, posed as her valet. They successfully traveled to the North, and eventually to England, where they published a narrative recounting their lives in slavery and their daring escape.

WILLIAM CRAFT (1821-1900), with his spouse Ellen Craft (1826-1891), returned to the United States after the Civil War. For the rest of their lives, often at great personal risk, the Crafts worked to improve conditions for African Americans in the South.