Born in 1817 as an enslaved person of colour with nothing to his name, when James W. Jones died in 1900, he was considered the richest man in his home town.

Just how does an enslaved person end up the richest man in his home town?

That’s the question I asked myself as we entered his historical home across the road from the Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, New York.

James’ story is long and colourful. Although he was one of the few enslaved who was actually treated with dignity and respect on his plantation, when it became clear that his plantation owner would have to sell him, James set out on the Underground Railroad, and eventually he worked his way to freedom, settling in Elmira, New York.

James was a likeable fellow, and he was soon made the sexton of the local First Baptist Church. He was even given a small home right beside the church where it was easy for him to care for the church building in the way his job description required. It wasn’t long before his simple dwelling place became a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Interestingly, the “Underground Railroad” wasn’t so underground in Elmira. By collaborating with railroad workers who hid fugitives in the baggage cars, James used the actual railroad lines to carry nearly 800 enslaved people to freedom. In fact, because he always used the 4 a.m. train, this train became known as the “Freedom Baggage Car.”

In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Law allowed bounty hunters to come to the northern free states of the United States to hunt down the escaped enslaved people and return them to their slave masters in the south. Even though doing so put their own lives in danger, James, along with other free African Americans in Elmira, formed a formal committee to resist the law. James served as the secretary of this committee.

James was made the caretaker for the Baptist Burying ground, the Second Street Cemetery, and eventually, all of the Woodlawn Cemetery. As caretaker for the Woodlawn Cemetery during the American Civil war, James was often asked to bury confederate prisoners. These were the soldiers from the southern part of the United States who were fighting to succeed from the union over the issue of slavery. These confederate soldiers would have done everything in their power to re-enslave James, along with any other free African Americans in the north. Nonetheless, James took as much care burying these bodies a he did for soldiers who died in the union army.

James, who had arrived in Elmira illiterate, was allotted one winter in the local school where he worked hard to learn to read and write. James put this skill to use as he buried the soldiers, confederate as well as union, with as much dignity as he could bestow upon them. It is said that he wrote clearly the exact details of the burials in duplicate. He put one copy in a bottle, tucked under the arm of each body he buried, and he kept the other copy for cemetery records. He then painstakingly marked each grave with a wooden marker.

Unfortunately the wooden markers didn’t stand the test of time and weather; however it is said that James’ burial records were so precise that the government was later able to find each grave and mark it accurately with a stone marker. This burial ground is now known as the Woodlawn National Cemetery.

Jesus said, “…love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:35-36 NIV)

James W. Jones lived his life in the essence of this command. His service to his confederate enemies was certainly doing “good to them…without expecting to get anything back”. And, great was his reward! Besides being a child of the Most High, this enslaved African American man would be known as the richest man in Elmira at the time of his death.

Who is your enemy? Is it someone who cut you off when you were trying to get on the highway? Is it your neighbour who can’t be pleased, no matter how hard you try? Is it the ambitious co-worker who was just offered the promotion you were slated for? Or is it someone who literally would take your life if they had the chance?

Jesus doesn’t specify what level of “enemy” we are to do good to. He just says, “love your enemies…” James W. Jones took this command to the highest level in giving his enemies respectable burials. Whoever your enemy may be, God expects you to forgive and to treat these people with love. Why not follow the example of James W. Jones, and live your life by this command?

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries