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Pre-Civil War Quilts: Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad

A Road Scholar Program by Connie Martin

Connie Martin with Quilt
When

Oct 28, 2025
6:30pm–7:30pm

Where

Schaumburg Township District Library: Hoffman Estates Branch
1550 Hassell Rd
Hoffman Estates, IL 60169

Cost

Free
Interactive program for all ages
Advance registration is required

Register here

Join Connie as she tells the stories passed down to her great-grandmother Lizzie of how her family survived the Anti-bellum period through trials and tribulations. 

Connie shares how they used quilts that contained hidden codes and secret messages to assist abolitionists; white and black, in guiding slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad to Canada.

During the presentation, Connie references eighteen different quilt patterns using replica quilts and a book her mother, Dr. Clarice Boswell, wrote about their family called Lizzie’s Story: A Slave Family’s Journey to Freedom.

Lizzie s Story a Slave Family s Journey to Freedom Paperback Cover

This event is Free and Open to the public. For more information, please contact Allison Bies at abies@stdl.org.

Learn more about Connie Martin, this program, and how to book it here.