Laurel County Slave Narratives
Contributed by Jamie Grimes 3/29/06
A Folk History of Slavery in the United States
From Interviews with Former Slaves
Kentucky Narratives Author: Work Projects
Release Date: 1941
TR: This volume contains a high number of
misspellings and typing errors. Words that are apparent misspellings to render
dialect, such as 'morster' for 'master', or that reflect spelling errors of a
particular interviewer or typist, such as 'posess' for 'possess' or 'allegience'
for 'allegiance', have not been changed; words that are apparent typing errors
such as 'filed' for 'field', 'ot' for 'of', 'progent' for 'progeny', have been
corrected without note, to avoid interrupting the narrative.]
Concerning slaves of this section of
the country, I will quote experiences and observation of an old negro lady who
was a slave, Mrs. Amelia Jones, living in North London, Kentucky. “Aunt Amelia”
as she is known around here is eighty-eight years of age, being sixteen years of
age at the close of the Civil War.
Mrs. Jones says, “I will tell as best I can
remember, I was born eighty-eight years ago in Manchester, Ky. under a master by
the name of Daw White. he was southern republican and was elected as congressman
by that party from Manchester, Ky. He was the son of Hugh White, the original
founder of Whitesburg, Ky. Master White was good to the slaves, he fed us well
and had good places for us to sleep, and didn’t whip us only when it was
necessary, but didn’t hesitate to sell any of his slaves, he said, “You all
belong to me and if you don’t like it, I’ll put you in my pocket” meaning of
course that he would sell that slave and put the money in his pocket. The day he
was to sell the children from their mother he would tell that mother to go to
some other place to do some work and in her absence he would sell the children.
It was the same when he would sell a man’s wife, he also sent him to another job
and when he returned his wife would be gone. The master only said “don’t worry
you can get another one”.
Mrs. Jones has a sister ninety-two
years of age living with her now, who was sold from the auction block in
Manchester. Her sister was only twelve years of age when sold and her master
received $1,220.00 for her, then she was taken south to some plantation. Also
her father was sold at that place at an auction of slaves at a high price,
handcuffed and taken south. She never saw her father again. She says the day her
father was sold there was a long line of slaves to be sold and after they were
sold and a good price paid for each they were handcuffed and marched away to the
South, her father was among the number.
The Auction block at Manchester was built in the
open, from rough-made lumber, a few steps, and a platform on top of that, the
slave to be sold. He would look at the crowd as the auctioneer would give a
general description of the ability and physical standing of the man. He heard
the bids as they came in wondering what his master would be like.
Mrs. Jones claims she had no
privileges, but had as before stated plenty to eat and wear, and a good place to
sleep; but most masters treated them cruel and beat them most of the time. They
were also underfed at most places, but since they had such a good master they
did not want for a thing.
Cemetery Hill as it is known to us
here, being in London, Ky. was a hill on which a Civil War battle was fought.
The trenches are still here. The hill was given to the north to bury their dead
by Jarvis Jackson, a great grandfather of the Jarvis Jackson who is now city
police of London, today. By some reason, the soldiers were taken up and moved to
a different place only a few years ago. Mrs. Hoage says “the first daisies that
were brought to this contry were put on that hill” and she can remember when the
entire hill was covered with them.
The southern side had trenches on the east side of
the Dixie Highway on and surrounding the site where the Pennington Hospital is
now standing, which are very vivid today. The London City School being in the
path bears a hole today from a cannon ball. Shot no doubt from the Southern
forces. The new addition to the school hides the hole, but until recent years it
could be seen being about ten inches in diameter.
Zollie Coffer a southern general had
camped at Wild Cat, Ky. but was forced to retreat when general Garrad and Lucas
and Stratton two captains under him, all from Clay county, with a large crowd
came in. He, on his retreat came through London and had a battle with an army of
Ohioians camped on Cemetery Hill. Quoted a poem by Mrs. Hodges, which she
remembered from those days:
“Just raise your eyes to yon grassy hill,
View the bold Ohioians working with skill,
Their bombs lying around them to spew fiery flames,
Among the seceders, till they wont own their names.”
Mrs. Hodge quotes another poem from memory about
Gen. Coffer’s retreat from Wild Cat:
“Our tigers and bullpups to Wild Cat did go,
To fight our brave boys, tho our force they did not know.
When they come in gun shot distance, Schelf told them to halt,
We’re not Murphey’s honey, nor Alex Whites salt.
His orders to his men, was “go thru” or “go to
But our Indiana hoosier bous, heard them too well,
In less than thirty minutes, they gave them many balls,
Wild Cat had had kittens, Oh; don’t you hear them squall.
They did not stay long, before they did retreat,
Went on double quick and left all their meat,
As they went back through Barbourville, they say Zollie did say
I’ve lost fifteen hundred killed or run away.
Away back in Mississippi, we’re forced to go
As for our loss you’ll never know
Slipped back when the union fell asleep
Hauled off our dead and buried them deep.
To fight against Garrad, it never will do,
Stratton and Lucas is hard to out do,
They conquered our tigers and bull pups too,
In spite of our force and all we could do.”
Coffer was killed by Colonel Frye at Mill Springs.
A statue is erected to Zollie Coffer at Somerset, Kentucky.
Both sides were cruel during the Civil
War. Mrs. McDaniel who lives here tells a story of how her father was killed in
Clay County, while eating dinner one day. Some federal soldiers drove up and
asked what side he was on and upon saying the confederate side, they took him
outside and shot him with a gun in his own yard.
Mrs. Jenny McKee, of color, who lives
just North of London can tell many interesting things of her life.
“Aunt Jenny” as she is called, is
about eighty-five years of age, and says she thinks she is older than that as
she can remember many things of the slave days. She tells of the old “masters”
home and the negro shacks all in a row behind the home. She has a scar on her
forehead received when she was pushed by one of the other little slaves, upon a
marble mantle place and received a deep wound in her head.
The old negro lady slaves would sit in
the door way of their little shacks and play with pieces of string, not knowing
what else to do to pass off the time. They were never restless for they knew no
other life than slavery.
Aunt Jenny McKee was born in Texas
though she doesn’t know what town she was born in. She remembers when her mother
was sold into the hands of another slave owner, the name of the place was White
Ranch Louisiana. Her mother married again, and this time she went by the name of
Redman, her mother’s second husband was named John Redman, and Aunt Jenny altho
her real name was Jenny Garden, carried the name of Redman until she was married
During the War her mother died with
cholera, and after the war her step-father sold or gave her away to an old Negro
lady by the name of Tillet, her Husband was a captain from the 116th regiment
They had no children and so Aunt Jenny
was given or sold to Martha Tillet. Aunt Jenny still has the paper that was
written with her adoption by Mrs. Martha Tillet and John Redman, the paper was
exactly as written below:
White Ranch September 10, 1866
To Whom it may concern, I, John Redman has this
day given my consent that Mrs. Martha Tillet can have my child Jenny Redman to
raise and own as her child, that I shall not claim and take her away at any time
in the future.
x John Redman his mark
She has a picture in her possession of Captain
Tillet in war costume and with his old rifle. After the war the Tillets were
sent back to Manchester where he was mustered out, Aunt Jenny being with them.
“I stayed with them” Aunt Jenny said, “until I was married Dec. 14, 1876, to
David McKee another soldier of the 116th regiment”. She draws a pension now from
David McKee was a slave under John McKee, father
of the late John McKee of this place. He was finally sold to a man by the name
of Meriah Jackson. “David’s masters were good to him” said Jenny “he learned to
be a black smith under them”.
Aunt Jenny has the history of the 116th regiment,
U.S.C. Infantry. Tillet was captain in this regiment and David McKee a soldier
then was a lot of soldiers in this regiment from here. Tom Griffin being one, a
slave who died a few years ago. The history was printed in 1866 and this
particular copy was presented to Captain Tillet, and bears his signature.
The first deed to be put on record in
the Laurel County court was between Media Bledsoe of Garrad County of the first
part and Daniel Garrard of Clay County of the second part. Being 4800 acres of
land lying in Knox County on Laurel River and being that part of 16000 acres of
land patented in the name of John Watts. One thousand dollars was the sum paid
for this land. This is on record in Deed Book “A”, page 1. Date of September 30,