Randall Burton was a fugitive from enslavement who was
charged with larceny according to the article published on September 29,1854 in
the Vineyard Gazette. The charge was related to the robbery of a certain boat
in which Burton tries to make his escape with. Ultimately he escaped from the
ship in Holmes Hole which was in Tusbury in the year 1854. He was supposedly
rescued by two woman who took him to a swamp in Gay Head where he remained for
several days. It's been said that Deputy Sheriff Lambart of Chilmark tried to
arrest Burton under the provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 but once
he entered the swamp area he became distracted by his surroundings and was
unable to make the arrest. Randall eventually escaped from Menemsha to New
Bedford and later headed to Canada, and finally experienced absolute freedom.
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