The Story of the Life of John Anderson, the Fugitive Slave

John Anderson was an African American slave who escaped to Canada, evading the pursuit of bounty hunters. While on the run he killed a farmer from Howard County, Missouri. He stabbed the farmer, Seneca Diggs, who died shortly after. Diggs intended to legally recapture Anderson, and ultimately send him back into his master's custody. Anderson lived and worked in Canada West from 1854 to April 1860, managing to keep a low profile. He was eventually arrested and held by Magistrate William Matthews in Brantford. The Anderson case took place in Canada West from 1860-1861. The case dealt with whether or not to extradite him to the United States on the charge of murder. The majority of the presiding judges who handled the case agreed that there was sufficient evidence to prove criminality of the extraditable offence. The decision was based upon the terms laid out in article X of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. Anderson was released however, on a technicality.