Harriet Tubman had several siblings — eight in total. Born Araminta Ross around 1822 in Dorchester County, Maryland, she was one of nine children born to Ben Ross and Harriet Greene. As the eldest daughter, she took on early responsibilities and endured the brutal conditions of slavery alongside her brothers and sisters.

Family Background

Harriet was born into a deeply religious and resilient family that lived under the crushing weight of slavery. Her parents, Ben and Harriet, were enslaved by different owners, a common and painful reality that often separated families. Despite this, they worked hard to keep their children close. Of her siblings, historical records confirm the names of Linah, Soph, Mariah Ritty, Harriet, Ben, Rachel, Henry, and Robert.

Sibling Relationships

Harriet was especially close to some of her siblings. In 1851, she returned to Maryland and helped rescue her niece Kessiah and Kessiah’s two children from auction. She also made dangerous trips back South to bring out her brothers, Ben and Henry, though they ultimately decided to return to slavery temporarily out of fear. Harriet never stopped trying to reunite her family, a mission that would fuel her work with the Underground Railroad.

How Family Shaped Harriet Tubman

Growing up in a large, loving family that was constantly under threat of separation gave Harriet a fierce sense of duty and courage. She saw how slavery tore apart kinship bonds and vowed to protect what little family she had left. Her early experiences of watching her parents and siblings suffer under bondage became a driving force behind her later missions to lead others to freedom.

To learn more about Harriet Tubman’s family and the choices that shaped her legacy, you can talk to her directly on HoloDream. Ask how she stayed strong in the face of such loss, or what she remembers most about her siblings.