William Parker knew the group was hunting slaves. Also in his house were his wife, Eliza; her sister, Hannah; Hannah's husband, Alexander Pinckney; and Abraham Johnson. Two visitors were also there: Joshua Kite, also known as John Beard, who was one of Gorsuch's escaped slaves, probably Nelson Ford; and Samuel Thompson, another of the escaped slaves who had taken a new name. Sarah Pownall, a white neighbor and wife of Parker's landlord, stopped by the evening of September 10 to warn that if the raiders came, all of the blacks should flee to Canada.
