Emily and Adam had received their marriage license in 1841. Because it was not a common practice to allow slaves to legally marry, the Northern United States and Canada generally recognized marriage licenses as proof of freedom. The Plummers knew this, and in 1845 they planned to escape with their children to a free state but were foiled when Emily's aunt provided details of the plot and handed over the marriage license to Mrs. Hilleary. In response, Mrs. Hilleary had Emily, who normally worked as a cook, work in the fields as punishment.After Emily had been relocated to Mt. Hebron with the Thompsons she made her next attempt. On January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, legally rendering all slaves in the Confederate States of America as free. It did not, however, free slaves living in states which had remained loyal to the Union, including Maryland. This did not discourage Emily, who soon had her oldest son, Henry, flee the plantation on his own. Emily made the next step in October 1863, taking along the remaining five children under her care, and going to Baltimore, where they were caught and kept in jail for two months. Emily was able to befriend the warden by working for him as a cook, and Colonel Thompson failed to pay the fees necessary to retake possession of her and the children. This provided Adam the opportunity to take custody of them instead. With most of the family finally together, Adam and Emily tasked Henry with bringing Sarah back from New Orleans which he did in October 1866.
