Margaret “Mag” Palm was one of Gettysburg’s most remarkable 19th-century residents—a free Black woman whose fierce resistance to would-be kidnappers made her a local legend.
The exact details of Mag’s life are hard to pin down. Like many African Americans of her generation, she likely never knew her true birthdate. Census records suggest she was born in Pennsylvania between 1830 and 1836.
From the Alms House to Domestic Service
Born Margaret Devit, Mag spent her early years at the Adams County Alms House. As a child, she was sent to work on the farm of George Toot in Cumberland Township, probably as a domestic servant.
A Night in 1858
On an October evening in 1858, Mag was walking home from a day’s work washing clothes at the home of Joseph Tuckey. As she crossed a dark alley behind the house, two men lunged from the shadows. They tried to force her into a waiting carriage—likely intending to sell her into slavery in Maryland or Virginia.
Mag Palm, however, was no easy target. Described as “possessing more than ordinary muscular power,” she fought back furiously. Her cries for help startled the men, but not before she landed a lasting blow—clamping her teeth down on one attacker’s thumb and, according to one account, biting it off.
In the now-famous photograph, taken years later, Mag posed with her hands bound as they had been that night.
The Aftermath
The kidnappers were caught and brought to trial, with a grand jury ruling in Mag’s favor. She returned to domestic work, but her personal life was often troubled. Around 1859 she had a daughter, Josephine, with Alfred Palm. The 1860 census listed the three living near famous Black landowner Abraham Brian, but also labeled Mag with the derogatory term “mistress-harlot.”
Her marriage to Alfred Palm was turbulent. He spent time in jail for theft and abuse, and in 1879 Mag attempted to drown herself and her young son Alfred Jr. in a pond. Both were rescued, but the incident revealed years of hardship. For most of her later life, she lived in a small home on Long Lane—today within the boundaries of Lincoln Cemetery.
Death and Legacy
Mag Palm died of heart disease on October 25, 1896, and was buried in Lincoln Cemetery. Her grave is unmarked, but her story endures as a testament to courage in the face of danger.
To learn more about Margaret “Mag” Palm and other Black residents who shaped Gettysburg’s history, visit the award-winning new Beyond the Battle Museum.
