xt7prr1pgn0p https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7prr1pgn0p/data/mets.xml Green, Elisha Winfield. 1888  books b92bx6455g7418882009 English Republican Printing Office : Maysville, Ky. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Green, Elisha Winfield. Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute. African Americans --Kentucky --Biography. African Americans Baptists --Kentucky --Biography. African American clergy --Kentucky --Biography. Baptists --Kentucky --Clergy --Biography. Slaves --Kentucky --Biography. African Americans --Relgion. Slavery --Kentucky --History --19th century. Life of the Rev. Elisha W. Green : one of the founders of the Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute--now the State University of Louisville : eleven years moderator of the Mt. Zion Baptist Association, five years moderator of the Consolidated Baptist Educational Association and over thirty years pastor of the Colored Baptist Churches of Maysville and Paris / written by himself. text Life of the Rev. Elisha W. Green : one of the founders of the Kentucky Normal and Theological Institute--now the State University of Louisville : eleven years moderator of the Mt. Zion Baptist Association, five years moderator of the Consolidated Baptist Educational Association and over thirty years pastor of the Colored Baptist Churches of Maysville and Paris / written by himself. 1888 2009 true xt7prr1pgn0p section xt7prr1pgn0p 
t

LIFE
    OK THE

R EV. E L I S H A W . G R E E N ,
ONE OR T H E FOUNIIKUS OK

I in.

KF.NTITKY

NORMAL

A N D THKOIXKSICAI.

INSIITI'TK    N O W

TIIIC

STATU

UNIVLUSIIY

AI

I.OUISVILLE;

Hi.EVEN

V&AKS

M I l lll-.k A T D K

ill

THE

Mi

/IIIN

llAi'i IST

ASSOCIATION

;

KIVK

VEAKS

MODEUA

I 'lIK

o|-

Till!

CONSOLIDATE!!

MA P T 1ST

KlHICA-

TIONAI.

ASSOCIATION

\NI>

oVI.K

THIRTY

YEARS

I'ASTOR

O H ttlK

COLORED

HAITIST

CHURCHES

op

MAYSVILLH

AND

I'AKIS.

W RITTEN BY HIMSKLF.

MAYSVILLE, THE REPUBLICAN

KY. OFFICE,

PRINTING .

I HBH.

  
  
tl a ccord i n j; l o A n l i^ I H K Hav K W

uf Congre&k, tiKKKN,

itltitJ,

O ltiLC o l llic L i b r a r i a n of Cuiltfreb* at Wunhiugtou.

  
V

P REPACK.
F or s ome lime I have considered p rayerfully the matter of writing a s ketch of my past days, but not so much of the present, for it speaks for itself. W h e n I a m dead some p rofound, s cholarly and energetic I h ave h istorian c an p ortray m y present days to the ages yet not h orn.

o nly e ndeavored, as far as I could remember, to tell the most interesting i ncidents of my life as a slave and my life as a minister of Jesus C hrist. If in this I have failed, then I apologize to t hose u nder whose I a m by no means a learned man, W hat little I know was the result of e yes these lines may chance to f all. n either a historian nor a scholar. the opportunities of a slave. w hile 1 die tated. elegant diction of speech.

I secured brother butler's service to write H i s services have been of much value. Adams,

brother butler is responsible for many utterances of

M any o f my associate ministers have gone down to the grave. a nd yet Dupee and C ampbell a nd myself survive them,

L ee, M onroe, b raxton, C larke are now sleeping the s leep o f the dead, but our days by a re passing away and it may be soon that we shall rest with them,

- the grace of G o d , if I live in the future as I have in the past, I can, w hen I come to die, say like P a u l : " I h ave fought a good fight, 1 h ave finished m y c ourse, I have kept the faith." this volume wherever it may chance to f all. 1 ask God's blessings upon E. W.
GREEN.

Maysville, Ay., i88j.

H1SHOP

D U P K E ' S L E T T MR.
W, Green, of Afaysville, A'y.    
O ctober 18, 1 8 8 6 . .    

Dedicated to Bishop E.

In 1 8 5 1 I m ade the personal acquaintance of E lder E lisha W infield Green, We met t hen pastor of the Second baptist Church of M aysville. in Lexington, where a most intimate and loving acquaint-

  
H ue was formed, and it has ripened into that brotherly love ili.it p eaks of in Hebrews i.

Paul

brother G reen is a baptist of bible type, l i e Ins Keen pastor of the c hurch

m il a. C hristian g entleman of the highest order   an able and success? fitl m inister of the New Testament. o f M aysville ever since the year 1 8 4 4 , a nd h i s devoted his time to that m il to the High-street baptist C hurch o f Paris ever since the year 1 8 6 5 , n id has supplied'both of the churches as pastor with satisfaction and HI cess. ton; T r u l y a stonishing, for he has preached in the following named For the Rev. L o n d o n b arrel, o f L exingL ouisville; E lder J ames M onroe, of H enry A dams, of place* in protracted meetings: K ldcr

I''rank f ortj . Klder W allace Shelton, of C incinnati, a nd he has preached in I 'adueih for the writer, and many and very many other places, and HI . ill he has been successful and the L o r d has blessed his labors a bundantly, I l e was a distinguished minister in the State baptist Convention For a

m il G eneral A ssociation, and filled an important office in both.

n iinber o f years he was M oderator o f the M ount / .ion baptist Associal o n a nd he is now T reasurer o f the Consolidated E ducational baptist \ ssoci.uion. b rother G reen's value to his people as a C hristian g entleman, as an llicient m inister of the gospel and a successful pastor, and as an intcligont and useful citizen, cannot easily be estimated. n es, but like P aul, they hale him without a cause.
:

l i e has few enc H e is a faithful

ml tearless e xpounder of the W ord o f G od----a m inister and advocate if the doctrine of one L o r d , one faith, one baptism, and of the doctrine     I the final p erseverance of the saints. " N ow, i n regard fo his marriages, he was exceedingly lucky in his irst m arriage with M iss S usan Y o u n g , for she certainly was an he days of her marriage relation with that exceplonally g ood C hristian l ady and wife, wi'h whom the bishop spent all degree of happiness h arncteristic o f A braham o f old. A n d he says he has begun a repeli-

011 o f the same k ind o f blessing and happy life in his second marriage. N ow 1 p ray that C o d may keep and pieserve him and b ring h im Iter labor to reward is the earnest prayer of his f riend a nd co-laborer in
'   MIS

C hrist.

GEOKOF.

DUPKE,

Washington-street Baptist Church, Paducah, A'y.

  
TRIBUTE

OF

A

FRIFND.

,

MAYSVILLE,

KV.,

December

2,

1887.

Rr,<. B. IV. Green, Pastor First Colored Baptist Church:
d uty as a friend of almost half a century to say a few words. k nown the M aysville 1 l ob)us. y ears. Reverend M r . G r e e n since to go into b usiness fn the

Having
I have

l earned of your autobiography and history of the church, 1 t hink it my

I was a boy, when \ came to w holesale house o f J o h n P.

H e was nn employe 1 h ad the

in the house,

like myself,

for many He was

opportunity of studying

him perfectly.

a lways k ind a nd courteous, faithful and h onest, a nd a true C hristian, lie prepared himself lor the ministry during the time and organized

his church and built his h ouse o f worship   which has been since torn d own and rebuilt- -and he now has one of the largest and handsomest c hurches in the city. H i s works have been of more benefit to his race M a y he live many years to continue

t han everything else c ombined.

his good work and when he leaves his present home may it be to enter a far belter and more glorious one above, and receive the crown of

e ternal life at the right hand of G o d , is the prayer of his old friend, JOHN M. STOCKTON.

  
  
C HAPTER I.

I

W A S h orn in l iourhon C ounty, n ear P aris, K y . , six miles to the r ight o f that place, on the Georgetown t urnpike. m y b irth I a m not p repared to mention, because T h e date of the book that

h ad the ages in it was b urned. ten years o l d ; then f orgotten, a nd a few

I l ived in b ourbon C ounty u ntil I was

[ came to M ason C ounty, where I now reside. I remember yet. f o r instance, the following; My

S ome instances which took place in b ourbon w hile I was there I have T h e n ame of the man 1 l iveH with in b ourbon was Judge b rown.

m other, sisters C harlotte a nd H arriet a nd the balance of the c hildren were then d ivided a mong the heirs of Dobbyns -sister K valine to Silas D evaugh; b rother M arshall to the same man; brother Alvin to T h o m a s P erry; b rother H e n r y to T h o m a s D o b b y n s ; brother E lijah to E n o c h I'epper. a nd     I might say here, so far as to the incidents of slavery this time, I have no knowledge to present the other acts o f

in this sketch that in my estimation would be of interest to any one. In 1 8 2 8 , as near as I can remember, I went to M ayslick, K y . , a s mall t own distant about twelve c ounty. miles f rom M aysville, in the same I t hink I went to M ayslick is one among the oldest towns in the State.

it has been noted for a baptist C hurch s ince the year 1 7 9 2 . ' J ane P. Dobbyns.

that place and lived with J . L . K i r k , w ho m arried m y young mistress, W hile with him, of course, as usual where slaverv W hile there I cooked, washed, spun H ere e xisted, I saw very rough times.

flax a nd y arn, a nd did all the house-work the same as a woman. h istory o f the w orld. W hen Mr. W alter W arder.

was where a man became a woman if such ever were possible in the I l ived here about four y ears   from 1 8 2 8 to 1 8 3 2 . M y sister and four c hildren a nd myself were W hen A fter K ale r efused to " c r y " us off, M r , D o b b y n s had been dead awhile, my old mistress m arried

s old in Washington, M ason C ounty, K y . , at a sheriff's sale. we were put up to be sold, M r . O liver a nd a matt by the name of C harlie W ard s upplied the place.

the selling, we then broke up at our old home and my mistress rented

  
a place on the Lexington turnpike, where she remained three or four years. She then m arried the Rev. Walter W arder, as were I have stated e lsewhere. T h i s act of selling colored people was considered by many those w ho thought it A fter 1

as being of a low character, while there

right, a nd to sell a negro was nothing more than selling a mule. f o r k , o n a f arm that formerly belonged

my mistress had m arried M r . W arder, we then moved near the N orth to benjamin Fitzgerald. r emained w ith M r . W arder some t ime, u ntil his death. I w ill m ention an instance which occurred before I left bourbon. s hould h ave been mentioned before s ince. I well remember that at one It

this, but I happen to think of it time before leaving bourbon

C ounty 1 a ttempted to attend Sabbath school   well, in fact, I did attend a k ind o f Sabbath school, gotten up by some o f the blacks on the place a nd in different portions of the neighborhood. went a nd about the time we had gotten s choolhouse. I, with some o thers, in a good way enjoying our-

selves, the I'atrollers came and whipped all of the grown persons in the but, being very small, when they came in I ran out, H aving passing under the arms of one that was standing in the door. w hen I reached home I was well nigh out of breath. at that time and now, whenever fresh in m ind.

e scaped 1 then had about a mile to go and I ran so terribly fast that I often look back 1 pass that place, 1 d raw the s cene , I'atrollers. If it

A bout this time the colored people had m eetings out in

some p lace to themselves, and would prepare for the

were near a r oad, they would go to each side of the r oad a nd stretch a g rapevine across it about as high as a horse, so as to strike a man about his breast. Those in the house would come on), s ometimes with chunks T h e men, of course, not slaveholders o f fire to make the men get from the door. horses and the party would get clear.

s eeing the grapevine, would run kito it and thus were thrown f rom their T h e object of the was not to have the blacks gather in m eetings or anything else, b ecause, said t hey, when together that way, they (the negroes) w ould make plots to run off. A nother h orrible crime I must mention here. A bout this time slaveU p o n o ne Sab-

traders w ould go to V irginia a nd buy up the negroes. cuffed a nd chained.

bath m orning, I saw one with twenty-five or thirty colored men handThere were three or four w agons w ithin which L awyer P ayne, who was not then were a host o f women and children.

a m ember of any church and who owned slaves h imself, said that a c olored p erson should never again be brought through the city in that fix o n S abbath morning. A n d on another occasion 1 saw in M ayslick

\

  
\Vnn

TK.N

11V

IIIMSF.I.K.

_

\

a nother company of forty or fifty men, chained in the s ame m anner as those m entioned before, w ith women and children, Ann There were s ome five or six w agons l oaded The foremost man looked to he about sev f rom the tomb." Mrs.

e nty years old, and he was R inging: " H a r k not help c rying.

A nderson, a white woman who was sitting at the window, could I ndeed it was enough to have moved a heart of stone. in t)ie c ause o f slavery. It was a s cene u pon

It would, in my estimation, have moved the feelings o f the most trcaih e rous man or woman w hich I l ooked with h orror, the objects o f the s cene b eing my brethren, a ccording to divine creation, the s ame b lood running in their veins as i n m ine, and, being under the s ame y oke of bondage, I felt for them d eeply in my soul. but I was unable to assist t hem in the least. I - eannot picture the s cene as it of right d eserves, b ecause m y language is s uch that it wjll not permit, h old. but indeed the s cene was horrible to be I b elieve that the stain of slavery and its degrading impressions

w ill l ong linger in the minds of generations yet unlwrtj. I was converted'on the f arm o f M r . Walter W arder, a bout m iles to the left of M a y s lick, M ason C ounty. p lowing. It was one W h e n converted F riday m orning, b etween 9 a nd three I was It

1 0 o 'clock.

S hortly after my conversion, I was taken down with scarlet fever. N orth f ork o f l a c k i n g r iver, b y the Rev. Walter W a r d e r . * In 1 8 1 5 I m arried M iss Susan Y o u n g . M aysville. s old -

was about six months after that, I was baptized at Nicholas' f o r d , o n the

In 1 8 3 8 I left my wife in

the neighborhood of M ayslick as a servant of Mrs. Sissen and came t > < T h e y did not get along together very well, and Mrs. Sissen her, as she thought, to M r . I'eck, of Washington, K v . , who was She sold my wife with the expect.')

t rading in colored people, or rather s laves, b ecause In those times we were not known as colored people. My master, J o h n l ion o f sending her south, or " d o w n the r iver," as the expression was. P. Dobbyns, g ave the negro-trader the money and H e bought and brought her to Wfaysville and.
1

sent h im out Reid.

there.

b eing unable to keep her, he sold her and three children to |olin a bout ten years. h ands of

I d o not know how long M r . R eid kept them, but I suppose M y master bought her back again, leaving her in the She remained with | o h n P. H a v i n g m ade a final f ailure, t h n F or better informaR eid, with the three children.

D obbyns u ntil he failed financially.

put her and the children up at the market for sale.

tion I w ill insert the following paper, which s peaks itself:
* l^0fice 

/'ustor of the Jiaptist Church, Maysville.
SAMUEL JOHN JOHN A. M. Mel 111 S. MINER, I A N 1E L , INT,

JANUARY,

THOMAS RlllIEK JOHN 1

A . Ross,
A. ( 'CICIIRAN,

SIIAIKI.EIOKO, < '. I'KARCK, RYAN, W. W'CICIH. JOHNSON,

SAMUEL MICHAEL SAMIOI. JAMES I,I:\VIS A.

( '111.1 I N S .

T hese t hirteen men. whose n ames are signed to the paper, weV' very g enerous, shown lYoni the fact that when I l old them I c ould not p un base my wile and 1 h ildren, they drew the monev' f rom the b ank a nd s aid it Was for me, saying:
1

"It' you never pay it, we will n ever

t rouble y our f amily.' in c alls in the bank.

I w orked and made (he money and p aid it back M r . ('oil ins, o ne of the gentlemen on the list, told I le charged l i e said that when I had p aid h im !fjon but for the fact that

m e to conic- and take this house In which 1 a m at present. me $.( per month as the rent. in rent, he would give me a deed to the property, d oing so. W hen

I was $ 8 5 0 in debt because of my f amily, I was a little cautious about I h ad paid for my f amily, p roperty had advanced s everal d ollars, D ue l b - had been offered $ 5 0 0 for the house that I was in.

I t hen, in o rder to possess it myself, gave him $ 5 0 0 for the property. lesson I learned from this, and thai was that it w ill not pay to rent. I h ad not been 111 M aysville l ong u ntil I b egan a p raver meeting in H ie h ouse ol old s ister ( elinie M arshall, o n Short street. A few brethren . iini sisters a nd invsell continued to h old m eetings in sister M arshall's
\

  
WRITTEN

MY

HIMSELF.

5
'

V

liouse (he

until the congregation

became

too large.

W e rented a h ouse five years from M r . I

f rom A unt R osy B rannum. congregations.

W e stayed here till it became too small for a h ouse for

W e then got

S palding, w hich h ouse n ow stands b y the side o f the new c h u r c h . s uppose you will be pleased

to know; how and by what movements I

c ame to be a preacher, and a lso the incidents that pushed me forward l o die occasion. 1 was s exton o f the white baptist C h u r c h for s ixteen with them, s eeing different displays and I was the y ears, and while associated

o ther movements in church, hearing various men preach, 1 , o f course, was somewhat struck with the idea of doing something for G o d . wishes. not only s exton o f the church, but a worshiper in there among

T h e y saw in me the gift to preach, and two or three pf the 1 k new nothing of it. T h i s is the form of the l icense

d eacons w ent l o John 1 '. D obbyns, my master, and got the authority to l icense m e. g ranted in those d ays to colored ministers, especially to myself: A t a r egular meeting of the Maysville baptist C h u r c h , M a y 1 0 , the following resolution was unanimously adopted: be it Resolved, T hat F lisha G r e e n , the property of J o h n F\ D o b b y n s , of this city, has full l iberty and permission from this day to e xercise his gifts in the public before the colored population of this city or any others before whom in the providence of ( b i d he may be cast. 1S45,
K: F.
METCAI.F,

Church Clerk.
two

T homas G . K e e n , w ho bur I r efused y ears after this.

was

then pastor here, m et-to o rdain me, I was not ordained until about O n one

to be ordained.

Dr. H e l m , M r . L arue a nd 'Thomas G . K e e n comL ord's d ay I was called to

posed the council for ordination. ing,

g o up to the mouth of C a b i n C reek to preach a funeral, and not knowM r . Means, who is the undertaker now in Maysville, got a comW h e n I had pany a nd w ent u p there for the purpose of protecting me.

g otten t hrough preaching I came out of the door of the schoolhouse and m y o pponent walked around me and looked as though 1 was a lion. A bout this time one of my members moved to R i p l e y , (). r esulted in death. I do Hot t hink she had been there long until she was taken sick and her s ickness Whereupon, 1 was invited to attend her funeral. "Fugitive Slave U p o n r eceiving the invitation, 1 w ent d own to the river with a pass. ' They refused to take me across on account of the Law." F inding that I could not get across, I came back up town and F inally I got across the r iver. I

gut M r . Thomas Matthews to stand responsible for m y value should I h ave escaped, as they anticipated. s aid to the C aptian o f the ferry-boat: "Were it not that I had a funeral to attend at Ripley 1 w ould go

  
.6
b ack h ome, because," continued I, r un off. In D upee. S outhern c rowded. dom i n that way." 1855 1 w ent to Lexington, K y . , to nssist B ishop George VV. I h ad finished my service in twelve m iles f rom Lexington, I went to about L exington on the C incinnati When "they are so,afraid that I would 1 d o not want free-

1 h ave had a dozen chances to run Off.

G eorgetown,

R ailroad,

b ishop Dupee requested me to go and fill a n'apWhen I a rrived the c hurch was I

pointment for him, as he was sick.

1 went into the p ulpit, r ead a /chapter, sang and p rayed.

was in the act of taking my text w hen unexpectedly a white man came i n with a stick in his h and. T h e a nswer was " N o . " S aid I: "Very I l aving come about h alf way up the c hurch, H e then shook his stick at me and said: I was stopping with he knocked on the floor and asked if there were any white men there. " Y o u c ome out of that p ulpit, t hen." w ell," and I came out. b rother V inson. c ame to see me. E arly the next m orning E lder L arue, pastor of the l i e asked if I were in the house. " T e l l h im that 1 want to see h i m . " F inding that 1 I came out 1 t old

white Baptist C h u r c h o f C.eorgetown, who was also at my o rdination, was there, said he: a ccording to request.

I l o asked me when I was going home.

h im that I was going home to-day, for I was satisfied with Georgetown. W h e n I s aid this lo him, he replied to me, p reach as l o n g as you wish." I t hink I staid there and preached three nights after this. I had gone. My work in Georgetown being finished for the present, I returned to L exington f rom w hence H a v i n g an appointment to fill in l 'aris, 1 , in company with bishop Ilupec, went to the ticket office to o btain a t icket for l'aris. f ailed to get it. I went to the office, called for a ticket, but H e asked if there was any one near T h e ticket agent said that he did not know me and " Y o u can stay here and

t herefore could sell me no ticket. t icket. S hafer.

b y that knew me and could be responsible to him for my purchasing a 1 t old him that " H ere is G eneral S hafcr, w ho lives in M ays T h e ticket agent said that he did not know bishop Dupee told me to stand W ell, I got no ticket at last, v ille; he knows me."

by the t rain till it started and then get on, " for," continued he, " y o u w ill get h alf w ay to l'aris before the conductor gets to you, and should he put you off, you can walk the balance of the way." W hen the train c ame up 1 got on, as 1 h ad been advised, without a t icket. Sure enough when the t rain got about h alf w ay to l'aris, the H olding out c onductor c omes walking down the aisle very pleasingly.

  
7

WRITTEN

HY H I M S E L F .

7

his hum I, s aid he:

"(live

me y our, t icket."

I told him that the ticket Upon this, he In o rder to cut H e told me that H e was

agent w ould give me none and therefore 1 h ad none. i nquired where I was going. 1 t old him " t o P aris." ^oll the conversation, I asked him what the price was. it was eighty-live c ents a nd passed on. sitting in the same oar, not far f rom m e. w anting to see " W hat for?" him since 1X55. a bout two years afterward, when going to

I Uever saw him any more t ill Lexington again. I told him that I had been

L o o k i n g m uch s urprised, s aid he, H e told me I got off at

I t old him according to law he should have put me of! his reasons why he did not. him. I told him: " W h e n I was on y our t rain

Ihe t rain, a nd then asked that my face satisfied that day P aris."

I thought you would watch me to see whether l i e said that he never thought of me any more.

  
C H A P T E R I I.

T
n iece. r oom.

HE ().

" U n d e r g r o u n d R ailrpad" d eserves to be mentioned here. 1 went there to dedicate a c hurch. W hile p reaching, I disA t the time I

T h e P resident of this movement, M r . C a r b i n , l ived in Avondale,

covered in the congregation an old lady sitting in the middle portion of the c hurch with an old fashioned Methodist bonnet on. The n e x t . d a y being n ever'knew who the woman was, but took good notice of her bonnet,. M o n d a y , I t hought before leaving to visit my H e invited me in. [-accepted the invitation and In passing M r . C urbin's house, he asked if I were the preacher. W h e n I vyas seated, he called his wife, who was in another H e told me that his wife ,was out yesterday and heard me I r eplied that I noticed d uring m y preaching a lady sitting in S aid h e, " Yes, that was " Underground H e said thftt he had been the President of the

I r eplied that I was, went i n, p reach. s he."

the c hurch w ith an pld fashioned bonnet on.

R ailroad" for a n irrnber o f years, and began telling a joke on his wife. 11% s aid: (' I roust'tell yqu a joke on my wife. T h e r e was a family that T h e y h ad with c ame f rom the south up here to spend the summer. a ny m ore.

t hem a very njce y o u n g , colored lady who did not wish to go south I studied and could not fix any p lan to get her f rom She said that she could fix a p lan leave s lavery w ithout creating a disturbance," and that he did not want to do. S o finally he told his wife about it,. to get her, H e said that his wife saw the g irl a nd posted her that upon T h e g irl d id so, and upon the first opportu-

a c ertain day when the whites h ad sat down to dinner for her to a nd c ome to our house, nity she came over.

H i s wife got a common sized pillow, made a fine She dressed very fine and T h e y went to

dress and dressed the pillow; put a bonnet over it as a head for it, s ecured a v ail for the g irl, o ne for the baby. started the g irl b efore her, having the pillow as a baby.

the starting point, put the g irl o n and tore the baby up, came back

  
>

9
n ome, took the vai! from her face, 'l'hey never did know who it was.

T hus, the g irl e scaped from slavery into a land of freedom. This ! ' U n d e r g r o u n d R ailroad" was not, as s ome t hought, a r ail-

road u nder the ground, but only assistance r endered a s lave to obtain his freedom, or to e scape f rom slavery to the land of freedom, i W hen I came to Maysville in F ebruary o f 1838, I was hired to I would I spent In the L each & D obbyns.' W h i l e here s ometimes 1 w ould be called upon figures. A s I thought that I

to weigh salt a nd sugar, and in this way I learned the w eigh hemp and many articles about the house.

h ad b een called to preach I desired to read the word of G o d . d uring the day ai reading. I kept my book in the t hird s tory.

all the time that l e o i i l d spare from my work at night and the time 1 h ad s ummer s eason, w hen work was slack, 1 w ould go up there ing to study ami read the b i b l e , * b eing frequently called from my studies, they not knowing what 1 was doing, my boss w ould say to me, " What in the h   I are you doing u p t here?" W ell, I w ent o n after this for s ome y ears, having been m uch b enefited. I c ommenced preaching in Flemingsburg (a small village about six m iles from Johnson's Station) w herever I could get a chance, in 1853. I was compelled to preach W h i l e at Flemingsburg, there being endeavor-

q uite an e xtensive m ovement to get a colored baptist C h u r c h , I went i nto the Methodist C h u r c h a nd preached in there, having been granted the use of their h ouse o f worship. While preaching in this church I did They v ery well for s ome t ime until they (the Methodists) saw that the influence o f the baptists, through my instrumentality, was becoming strong. I was obliged to be at home at night. t he; morning. H endricks, the c hurch,
(

c ontracted that I should preach in the church on a certain Sunday, as Frequently they would hold in       ' ' the . evening again,: M r .    ' .' ' .''-it < c lass-meeting till 12 o'clock, and therefore this cut off my preaching in As they had     meeting    ' -h* - ' r i j , " . . Presbyterian pastor, would frequently let me have his

.

.

W h e n it was so that I could not get this, I would be favored with B y this time the white Baptists saw that I was

the C hristian C h u r c h . c hurch r egularly.

i n the act of doing good, when they favored me with the use of their I continued preaching here till 1855,. at which time W h e n I left this place" there were I was called to the church at Paris.

a bout thirty that had professed C hrist u nder my administration.;: T -     'i ' . ... i :> * l ' h e first R ihle c hat I m a d i h r o u ( h twha i   o n m y t t hla n ow T l i it h       b een f.jr'ty' y       r   
l

  
I'HK

I.IKK

OK

KKV.

KI.ISHA

W.

IJREKN.

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f requently preached in Bracken, Lewis and Fleming Counties. T h e next t hing was to witness the selling of my son J o h n . for h i m . h im s outh. Therefore he was sold to R o e Pearce. A fter D obbyns' m isfortune, he kept John for his own use, and failed to pay Pearce in turn sold we A s it happened, my wife a n d I w ere g oing to Paris and H e was tied, being in his shirt s leeves. Seeing him get M r . Jack

w hen we got to the " B l u e L i c k H i l l s , " i n the month of December, met, our son J ohn.

H o o k , * w ho kept a livery stable in Paris s ome y ears a n d who is wellknown there, was stage d river. on the stage i n a tied c ondition, after r iding a bout two miles, M r . H o o k urged them to untie h im, s aying that he would go his security. at " T h e c oat to let him g*et i nside of the stage. " T h e L i c k " to Paris in the stage. stage slop|>cd to M r . Pearce's W h e n we had eaten d inner he rode from telegraphed but L i c k ; " a nd started, he urged them that as John had on no T h e y did so and W h e n we got to the Paris j ail, t he I t hen

and our son John was put in j ail.

father to k eep h im till I c ould get him a home,

i nstead of t his they s old him to W ilby S cott, who took him south, and he was again sold in Memphis, T enrt., to a man that stable. t hen sold out and went to Texas. h eard n othing more of J o h n . was sold. wife. o pened A l l that kept a livery T h e man I H e staid with this m an till the outbreak of the war.

I could hear was that war

b roke out in Texas, and many colored

|>e6ple were sent to C u b a .

I snp|K).se that he was in the crowd that proprietor came and

T h e sight o f this act I thought would break the Ireart of my M y wife was south. Then crying. s aid he: H e told her to hush. we had seen o ur out." as to Von Now " O l d . l a d y g el from me.

W h e n the stage d rove up to the steps, the the stage d oor.

I s aid to him.that that woman son tied in ro|>es g oing

was my wife a nd that t aken

It was my son that I saw tied, sold a nil the manner in which I considered the act. c an j udge of my f eelings at this l ime. are no more such acts put a nd w ives. c hildren. a ction. d aughter A m a n d a .
U|M>II

I considered it wicked and

m ean, not having the |x>wer to assist h im in the least w hatever.

Hut thank (Tod that now thertr sale except m y

o ur mothers, fathers, s ons, d aughters

A l l my children were s old at a sheriff's A n d , according to law, t hey s hould

T h e court had appraised my wife a nd four oldest have been put in j ail. be forthcoming

M r . W atson Andrews went m y security, I not knowing anything of the H e went m y security that my children would T h e court g ave m e the o n the day o f the sale. t hem homes, which I did. liberty of s electing

A n d the nine gentlemen came t ogether, a nd

    M r . H unk w u . r eared i n M a y a v i l l e a n d had p l a y e d w ith m y son j u h n .

  
W R I T I K.N

IIV I I I M S K I K.

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b ought my wife and children at $ 856. o l t hem would trouble my family.

T h e y told me to go and make

the money and pay it in " h a n k calls," lint it I could not do thi