The National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom added the Samuel D. Burris Burial Site, Cypress Lawn Memorial Park to the Network in 2023. Samuel D. Burris was a conductor on the Underground Railroad from 1845-1847 in central Delaware. His status as a free African American helped him bring others out of slavery and escape to freedom. However, in 1847, Burris was tried and convicted for assisting freedom seekers, and as punishment he was to be imprisoned, fined and sold into slavery. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society purchased his freedom at auction, and he continued his life as a free man. In 1852, Burris left for California with his family, where he died in 1863. His burial site is now included in the Network to Freedom as the Samuel D. Burris Burial Site at the Cypress Lawn Memorial Park.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service