In 1847 Samuel Burris, a free black man, was caught trying to help slaves escape. He was sent to jail, and part of his sentence included a requirement that he be sold into slavery for seven years, but an anti-slavery association purchased him and set Burris free.

One of Burris' descendants, Ocea Thomas, received a call from Delaware's governor, informing her that the 19th-century freedom fighter would be posthumously pardoned.

"I stood there and cried. It was pride," Thomas told the Associated Press Tuesday. "It was relief. I guess justification. All of that."