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(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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Shadrich (Shadrach), a waiter at the Cornhill Coffee House in Boston, Massachusetts, was arrested as a fugitive slave. He was held under guard in the court room because Massachusetts law forbade the confinement of fugitive slaves in any jail. A large mob of African Americans burst into the room and freed him. One man was arrested in Salem and charged with helping with the rescue. According to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law helping a fugitive slave was punishable with six month term in prison and a $1,000 fine. Even though this man was immediately freed, he sued the District Attorney for "false and malicious prosecution." The Gazette & Courier was the newspaper in Greenfield, Massachusetts, from July 20, 1841 until June 24, 1932. Before 1841 the newspaper's name changed quite frequently, with Gazette a frequent part of the title.

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