Who Was John Tubman? Harriet Tubman’s First Husband Who Didn’t Follow Her North

As we all know Harriet Tubman was the courageous and prolific abolitionist whose name would still resonate and the name synonymous with the underground railroad and political activism. Even after decades, people still remember Harriet Tubman and the poor life she had to endure.  Moreover, it still wonders the historians about her first marriage and her husband John Tubman.

Who Was John Tubman?

John Tubman was the husband of the famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman who sought everything throughout her life. Even though petite of information is known about John Tubman, he was a free Black Man and married Harriet around 1844. Soon after their marriage, she changed her name from Araminta to Harriet. 

Their marriage often witnessed sour and bitter ends as Harriet’s status as a slave became a big deal in their life. So when she decided to fight for the freedom of her people and to march north, her husband did not accompany her and left her all alone on her way. 

As per sources, John Tubman died in 1851, and he was shot by a white man named Robert Vincent. When we dig deeper into it, the two of them had a quibble over something and in the heat of the quarrel, the white man killed John Tubman. He was survived by his poor wife and four children at that time. 

Harriet Leaves Her Husband To Gain Her Freedom

As it is pretty obvious that a marriage between a slave and a free man does not bode well for each of the parties. At that time, when a free man marries a slave, then probably their offspring would also be entitled to slaves. 

Even though much less is known about the courtship of these two, even from the start they seemed 

So when Harriet decided to seek freedom from the entanglement of slavery, she had to first deal with her personal turmoil with her husband. Harriet was only left with one option and she had to leave John Tubman behind because her thrive for freedom weighed far more than her selfish need for a husband. 

The friction between the two of them started when she noticed his lack of interest in helping her wife to find freedom. John Tubman’s diminishing interest to make her life better from the clasps of slavery was a huge issue in their marital relationship. Harriet has been married for five years to John Tubamn by the age of twenty-two. 

More pieces of information regarding their personal life are not quite in handy but as their separation seemed, they did not have a good and happy relationship. But if Harriet listened to her husband for the sake of their relationship, then her life and her place in the history of the world would have been far different from what we are witnessing. 

Harriet Tubman is unapologetically known for her widespread acclaim as a vociferous abolitionist and civil rights activist. Her life seemed a complete authoritarian nightmare even when she got married to a free man. 

She expected her husband to be the pillar of strength and hoped that he would comprehend her aim in life and would stand beside her to fight for her freedom. But in reality, he was a typical husband and often threatened her and gave ultimatums to change her life altogether. 

When she tried to escape from the confinements that were choking her to death, another claw tried to threaten her in the form of her husband. So their marriage was in strain and after two years she came back for John so that together they could embark on a new journey to freedom. But unsurprisingly he was adamant and denied Harriet’s request to join her. 

The predominant reason for his adamant behavior was things changed between the lives of John Tubman and Harriet Tubman in those two years. He rapidly moved on and was remarried to another woman and was living a new life. 

Harriet Tubman has suffered more in life than he could ever comprehend and she was enamored with John Tubman. In spite of his repugnant behavior, she had an indomitable hope that someday he would find his way. 

Harriet Tubman The Epitome Of Strength And Courage

Harriet Tubman was born on March 1822 to enslaved parents. She was named Araminta Minty Ross and as a slave, her exact place of birth and date is unknown. As per sources, the epitome of courage and determination she made thirteen missions to rescue around seventy slaves, including her family and relatives. 

Her father and mother were enslaved by various masters of that time. When Harriet aka Araminta was born, even as a small child she was beaten and whipped by the monstrous masters. At a young age, she had a close-to-death experience when one of the overseers threw a metal weight intending to another slave but accidentally hit her head. 

It was back in 1849 that Harriet tried to escape their family from the monstrous claws. With her sheer determination, Harriet helped her relatives out of that estate and dozens of other slaves. Harriet became the first woman to lead an expedition in the war when the civil rights war broke out and she served as a cook and a nurse at that time. 

It was in 1849 that Harriet Tubman finally found a way to free herself from the shackles of slavery. More than being free from slavery, she got rid of her husband and later set across to Philadelphia to do the needful in order to save their people from the monstrous claws. 

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