Co. volunteer in the Union Army. "On 17th of July (1864) I was detailed
for picket duty and saw three thousand negro soldiers on a grand review,
a black cloud to see. On the 18th I was relieved of duty. Here I became
dissatisfied as a soldier on account of the negro, negro, negro. On the
23rd we began to get ready to leave this negro hole and on the 24th, to
our great joy and gladness, we were sent into camp near Danville."
LESLIE CO.
(Viola Bowling)
McIntosh was a very progressive farmer and had a large supply of food,
being a Rebel of the Rebel Army camped at the mouth of this creek near
his home where they could secure food. He had a slave called "Henry
McIntosh" who was drafted into the Union Army. He did not want to go but
his master told him, "Well Henry you will have to go, do not steal, nor
lie and be good and when you get out come on back." He did come back and
stayed here until he died, he later married and was the father of "Ben
McIntosh (colored) who later lived in Hyden for years. McIntosh did not
have any help on his farm after this slave was taken away from him. So
he let the youth of 16 years Mr. Wooton, come to his home and help him
get wood and work about the place. McIntosh had another slave but gave
him to his son-in-law John Hyden, who then lived one mile up Cutushin
from the Mouth of McIntosh. He had a small store which was the first
store in that community.
GARRARD CO.
(Sue Higgins)
Myth: Notions about nature when the stars fell in 1833.
At the Old Thomas Kennedy farm (Uncle Tom's Cabin), young Tom and some
more boys were playing cards in one of the negro cabins. One of the
slaves went to the cabin door and called loudly, "Mas'r Tom! Come quick,
the whole heavens is falling." He continued to call. After much
persuasion and repeated calls from the old negro, young Tom said, "I'll
go and see what the D---- old negro wants". Young Tom went to the door
and saw the stars raining down. He ran to the big house and jumped on a
feather bed, and prayed loudly for help.
[Mrs. Jennie Slavin:]
When she was a child, Mrs. Slavin was our nearest neighbor. She said her
father used to tell her these tales. William Kavanaugh was her father.
WEBSTER CO.
(J. Dunbar)
Slaves were brought and sold in Clay at one time. A large, stout negro
woman in good health sold for $300 to $500. A large stout negro man sold
for $1,000. Children were sold for $150 to $200. Mr. Tom Johnson, who is
living now, states his father was a slave trader and was the chief
sheriff of Webster Co. The runaway slaves were usually caught in this
part of the country. The reward was usually $100.00.
CALDWELL CO.
(Mary E. O'Malley)
Esther Hudspeth:
The following story was given by a colored woman, Esther Hudespeth, who
was once sold as a slave. It was told to her by her slave mother in
1840.
"A long time ago there lived a rabbit and a coon. They lived so close
together. One morning Mr. Coon came by after Mr. Rabbit, and wanted him
to go over to see some girls with him. So Mr. Rabbit agreed and went
with Mr. Coon. Mr. Coon and the girls had some fun making fun of Mr.
Rabbit's short tail. Mr. Rabbit was very glad when the time came for him
to go home, because he was tired of being talked about. Mr. Coon had to
go get a drink of water, and Mr. Rabbit told the girls that Mr. Coon was
his riding horse and he would ride him when he came back. By the time he
got thru telling the girls, Mr. Coon called to Mr. Rabbit that he was
ready to go. Mr. Coon had enjoyed himself so much, while Mr. Rabbit had
not.
The next day Mr. Coon came by for Mr. Rabbit to go with him to see the
girls. Mr. Rabbit played sick. I am too sick to walk over there, he
said. Mr. Coon said, I will carry you on my back if you want to ride.
No, said Mr. Rabbit, I cant ride on your back. I will fall off.
Mr. Rabbit said, If you will let me put this saddle and bridle on you, I
will go. So Mr. Coon agreed to let Mr. Rabbit put the saddle and bridle
on Mr. Coon. So they went along thru the woods. When they got in sight
of the House, Mr. Coon told Mr. Rabbit to get off--that he did not want
the girls to see him on his back. Mr. Rabbit pulled out a whip and began
to whip Mr. Coon, hollowing so the girls would see him, and made Mr.
Coon go up to the hitching rack. There Mr. Rabbit hitched Mr. Coon and
went in the house and enjoyed himself with the girls, while Mr. Coon
pawed the ground. Mr. Rabbit bade the girls goodbye, and never did Mr.
Coon come after Mr. Rabbit to go to see the girls with him.
ANDERSON CO.
(Mildred Roberts)
Many of the following stories were related by Mr. W.B. Morgan who at one
time owned and operated a livery barn. He hired several negroes to look
after the horses and hacks, and remembers many funny tales about them
and others:
"Kie Coleman, one of my employees, was standing without the livery
stable smoking a two-fer cigar that some one had given him. Another
negro walked up to chat with him, and he reared back and said "Get away
nigger, nothing but the rich can endure life."
"I was hauling grain for the distillery. One morning I came down to the
barn, and Kie was too drunk to take his team out. I gave him a good
going over about wasting his money that way instead of saving it for a
decent funeral. This is one of the best ways to appeal to a darkey
because if there is any thing they like it is a big funeral.
"He just kinda staggered up to me and said "Boss, I don't worry a bit
about dat. White folks don't like to smell a live nigger and I'se knows
good and well da hain't gwine to lebe no dead nigger laying on top of de
groun'."
"I furnished the horses for the hearse, and one night I tole the boys to
leave it in the stable because we were going to have another funeral the
next day.
"Each night one of the boys had to sleep in the office, and this
particular night it was Bill's turn. Bill was an old, one-legged negro
and very superstitious. He said:
"Boss, this is my night to stay here, and you know, boss, I sho likes to
work for you, but I jest tells you now there jest hain't room in this
here house fer me and that black wagon at night." I moved the hearse."
KNOX CO.
(Stewart Carey)
Some slaves were owned in Knox Co., most of them being in Barbourville
where they served as house-servants. The negro men worked around the
house and garden, while the women were cooks and maids. The slaves
usually lived in small one-room houses at the rear of their masters
home, and were generally well fed and clothed.
There was some trading of slaves among the Barbourville and Knox County
owners, and few were sold at Public Auction. These public sales were
held on Courthouse Square, and some few slaves were bought and sold by
"Negro Traders" who made a business of the traffic in blacks.
Occasionally a negro man would be sold away from his family and sent
away, never to see his people again.
CLARK CO.
(Mayme Nunnelley)
Most Kentucky superstitions are common to all classes of people because
the negroes originally obtained most of their superstitions from the
white and because the superstitions of most part of Kentucky are in
almost all cases not recent invention but old survivals from a time when
they were generally accepted by all germanic peoples and by all
Indo-Europeans.
The only class of original contributions made by the negroes to our
stock of superstitions is that of the hoodoo or voodoo signs which are
brought from Africa by the ancestors of the present colored people of
America. On the arrival of the negro in America, his child like mind was
readily receptive to the white man's superstitions.
The Black slave and servants in Kentucky and elsewhere in the South have
frequently been the agents through which the minds of white children
have been sown with these supernatural beliefs, some of which have
remained permanently with them. Nearly all classes of superstitions find
acceptance among the negroes. The most widely prevalent are beliefs
concerning haunted houses, weather signs, bad luck and good luck signs,
charm curse and cures and hoodoo signs. Their beliefs that the date of
the planting of vegetables should be determined by the phases of the
moon is unshaken.
CASEY CO.
(R.L. Nesbitt)
While slavery existed in Casey Co., as in other counties of the State,
before the Civil War, there are no negroes living the the county today
who were born into slavery; and very few white people who can remember
customs, incidents, or stories of the old slavery days. It is known that
the first slaves in the county were those brought here from Virginia by
the early white settlers of the county; and that until they were given
their freedom, the slaves were well cared for and kindly treated. They
lived in comfortable cabins on the lands of their owners, well fed and
clothed, given the rudiments of spiritual and educational training,
necessary medical attention in sickness; and it was not unusual for some
slave owners to give a slave his or her freedom as a reward for
faithful or unusual services. If there was any of the so-called
"Underground Railway" method used to get slaves out of the state, as was
the case in many counties, there are no current stories or legends
relative to such to be heard in the county today. It is thought that the
slaves of Casey County were so well cared for and so faithful and loyal
to their masters that very few of them cared to leave and go to
non-slavery states in the North. So there was little, if any, call for
any secret methods to provide for their escape. Even after they were
given their freedom, many slaves refused to leave their masters and
spent the remainder of their lives in the service and as charges of
their former owners. The present generation of course knows nothing of
slavery, and even the older people know only what was told them by the
forebears, and no especially interesting stories or legends are current
in the county today relative to slaves, or the customs of the old
slavery days before the War between the States.
CHRISTIAN CO.
(Mamie Hanbery)
HOO-DOOISM
A snake head an' er lizard tail, Hoo-doo;
Not close den a mile o' jail, Hoo-doo;
De snake mus' be er rattlin' one,
Mus' be killed at set uv sun,
But never while he's on de run, Hoo-doo.
Before you get de lizard cot, Hoo-doo;
You mus' kill it on de spot, Hoo-doo;
Take de tail an' hang it up,
Ketch de blood in a copper cup,
An' be sure it's uv a pup, Hoo-doo.
Wait until sum stormy weather, Hoo-doo;
Put de head an' feet together, Hoo-doo;
In a dry ol' terrapin shell,
Let 'em stay fer a good long spell,
But don't you ever try to sell, Hoo-doo.
De rattlers mus' be jus' seben, Hoo-doo;
But mus' not be ober leben, Hoo-doo;
He mus' be curl'd up fix'd to fight,
But see dat you don' let him bite,
Den you hit w'en de time is right, Hoo-doo.
Ef you do, it's power is dead, Hoo-doo;
'Cause it is all right in de head, Hoo-doo;
Save de head and de buttons, too,
Fer de work you'll have ter do,
You will need 'em till you're thru, Hoo-doo.
Ketch a live scorpen wid you han', Hoo-doo;
Drown in mare's milk in a pan, Hoo-doo;
Den dry it on a pure lime rock,
Ninety-nine minutes by de clock, Hoo-doo.
Den git a hand which is a bag, Hoo-doo;
Made uv any sort uv rag, Hoo-doo;
An' let de top be color'd blue,
Den git de hair frum out de shoe, Hoo-doo.
Now we'n you find de folks ain't well, Hoo-doo;
An' dey wants you to move de spell, Hoo-doo;
Git your gredients together,
Ster dem up wid a goose feather,
In sum dark an' cloudy weather, Hoo-doo.
Den put 'em in de hoo-doo bag, Hoo-doo;
In dat little blue top rag, Hoo-doo;
Den slip 'em in between de ticks,
Ef you want de conjure fixed,
Is de way you do de tricks, Hoo-doo.
Ef dey wants you to git 'em well, Hoo-doo;
Dat is de han' dat moves de spell, Hoo-doo;
Take it out before der eyes,
An' you mus' be awful s'prised,
And dey will think dat you is wise, Hoo-doo.
Den lay right down on your back, Hoo-doo;
Ef you hear de timbers crack, Hoo-doo;
Den yer kno's yer trick has won,
Den you'll ast er-bout de mon,
For you kno's yer work is done, Hoo-doo.
Now ef you wants de conjure fixt, Hoo-doo;
All you do is to turn de tricks, Hoo-doo;
Jes git dat bottle what you had,
An' to make your patient glad,
Is but to make de conjurer mad, Hoo-doo.
HOPKINS CO.
(M. Hanberry) [TR: also spelled Hanbery.]
In this county practically no one owned more than one or two slaves as
this was never a county of large plantations and large homes. These
slaves were well housed, in cabins, well clothed and well fed, not
overworked and seldom sold, were in closer touch with the "white folks"
and therefore more intelligent than farther south where slaves lived in
quarters and seldom came in contact with their masters or the masters'
families. When a gentleman wished a slave he usually went to
Hopkinsville and bought slaves there. Occasionally one slave owner would
buy one from another. "If there was ever a slave market in Madisonville
or Hopkins County I do not remember it or ever heard of it," says J.M.
Adams, book-keeper of Harlen Coal Company, age 84, Madisonville, Ky.
MARTIN CO.
(Cullen Jude)
In the year 1864, during the conflict between the North and South, a new
citizen was added to the town of Warfield. His name was Alfred
Richardson, a colored man. Heretofore the people would not permit
negroes to live in Warfield.
Richardson was in a skirmish at Warfield and was listed among the
northern people as missing. His leg was injured and he was in a serious
condition. The good people living at Warfield had their sympathies
stirred up by his condition and took him in and gave him food and
medical attention until he was able to work.
At first the people thought they had done a Samaritan Act, but as soon
as Alf had a chance to prove himself, he was considered a blessing and
not a curse. He became the paper hanger for the town. Then someone
wanted to have his hair cut and Alf proved to be an excellent barber.
He rented a shop and went into the barber business and made a success.
He owned considerable land, and other property when he died. He lived
and died at Warfield, Ky., and was considered one of its most up to date
citizens.