Portrait of Capt. William McClain

Captain William McClain was sued in 1856 by Eliza Esham, a slaveowner from Nicholas County, Kentucky. The jury found him responsible for the escape of an African American man (known in the court records as simply, Joshua) who had caught a ride on the Steamer Bostona to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he disappeared, never to be seen again. The court ordered McClain to pay $1,500 in damages, which the jury concluded was equal to the value of Joshua on the open market. McClain's case documented one of the more common ways freedom seekers crossed the Ohio -- on-board what can be viewed as an Underground Steamboat.