![]() ![]() Years later, descriptions of what happened in those hiding places and “stations ” on the Underground Railroad made captured young Virginia ’s attention as she -named for her grandfather ’s home state -listened to the tales while seated at her mother ’s and father ’s knee. The homes in which the escapees hid became catacombed with secret passages and hiding spaces. ![]() More than 50,000 slaves passed through the Ohio or settled there during antebellum times, aided along the Underground Railroad by Shawnee Indians and white abolitionists. But probably the biggest influence on Virginia Hamilton -whom Entertainment Weekly has called “a majestic presence in children ’s literature ” -was the fact that her own parents were storytellers.Īs a child, Hamilton ’s maternal grandfather, Levi Perry, escaped slavery in Virginia by crossing the Ohio River. All of these things would come into play in the children ’s stories Hamilton would spin as an adult. Growing up on a small farm near Yellow Springs, Ohio, Virginia Hamilton was lovingly embraced by the sights, sounds, and smells of rural America and by a big extended family of cousins, uncles, and aunts. ![]()
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