Harriet Tubman collection unveiled at D.C. wax museum

February 7, 2012 - 06:27 am

WASHINGTON (AP) - Descendants of famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman will visit The President's Gallery by Madame Tussauds in Washington to unveil a wax statue of the woman who led hundreds of slaves to freedom.

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Tubman, who was born on Maryland's Eastern Shore, led hundreds of slaves to freedom. (Photo: Dave Webb/ABC7)

Tubman's great-great-great nephew Charles E.T. Ross and Tubman's great-great niece Valery Ross Manokey will visit the wax museum Tuesday with eight others as the statue joins a collection of presidents and historical figures.

At 76, Manokey of Cambridge, Md., is Tubman's oldest living descendant. Students from Washington's Harriet Tubman Elementary also will attend.

Tubman was born into slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore. After escaping in 1849, she led countless slaves out of the South to freedom through the Underground Railroad.

Artists from Madame Tussauds spend months creating each new lifelike figure, relying on photographs, historical accounts and paintings.

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