Joshua Glover was the fugitive slave whom Sherman Booth and others freed on March 11, 1854. What do we know about him? The drawing to the right is supposedly of him, although I would guess it is entirely imaginative.
The little we know about Glover emerges from recitations in the opinions describing the affidavit made by his master seeking his return. The master, Benammi S. Garland, was "a farmer and carried on a farm about four miles from" St. Louis, Missouri. In March 1854, Glover was "forty-four or forty-five years of age," so he was born in about 1810. Garland purchased Glover "as a slave for life" in Missouri on January 1, 1849. Garland used Glover "as foreman on his said farm from the time of said purchase to the time of the escape" and "had seen the said Joshua daily" until then. Glover "ran away" "in the Spring of 1852" and had thus been at liberty for two years.
Physically, Glover was "about five feet, six or eight inches high, spare built, with rather long legs, very prominent knuckles, had large feet and hands, had a full head of wool, eyes small and inflamed, was of dissipated habits, was of rather an ashy black color, had one of his shoulders stiff from dislocation, and had stooping shoulders, and a slow gait."
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