The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-07-24
THINGS IN KENTUCKY.
BARREN COUNTY, KY, Jm,

eutI nave not heArd HOWel. heard Dixon
at rompkinsville on the 9th inst, and Clay
at Glasgow on the llth. Dixon said much about
slavery He rated the slaves Of Kentucky at
eighty-four millions Of dollars he argued that
II would not do to emancipate without compen.
sating the owners-that it would not do TO tax
| either shareholders non-slavehoders TO pay for
| them, &c.-that il would not do 10 free them and
! let them remain here nor send them all at once
TO Africa to starve and il would be cruel to send
them of in small lots, as that would be attended
with much cruelty in separating families, &c.
On this last point thought be beat almost any
Abolitionist But he let us know his slaves were
generally conteuted in his service, and when 9TH
erwise he did not keep them OF course he must
separate them from their friends, If he does not
keep them. am told he is a large STAKEHOLDER,
aud he is certainly as pro slavery q man as the
! Whigs could have started and yet Emancipa-
| tionists are called on to vote for him
But am DEPRESSING My object is TO say only
! a few words about G. NJ Clay, in Glasgow on
the 18th. The citizens had hut short notice of
his speech The week previous was wet, and
then was fine time for ploughing | feared he
would have but few TO hear him. live some
thirteen miles from Glasgow. When arrived, |
learned Mr.. Clay was there, and had taken
room at the hotel Of the very courteous Col r.
! d. Maupin, where he received calls by some Of
| the moss iai,,.,,. ~ =. AtSSssssG~ e~l ~
Emancipation friends in general When the
time apbroaohsi for Mr.. Clay 20 speak, and the
courthouse bell rang, the citizens began 10 Uoi-
lect, and continued till there was as large crowd
| learned, as Dixon had at that place, and | am
certain there were twice as many as were TO hear
Dixon at Tompkinsvile.
The people were attentive and respectful
throughout the speech. | will not do the speech
the injustice to speak Of its merits lie took the
grounds he took in his address lately published
in the Era As | live 10 the country, | have
heard but little said about the speech or its ef
! fects but before left Glasgow heard some Of
the citizens speak of its being the ablest speech
they ever heard in the place 1t had less fire
and more argument than ! expected So far as |
heard an expression from Emancipationists, they
all intend TO vote next August for C.. NJ. Clay for
Governor of Kentucky. | discover you speak Of
! Mr. Mason and MIR. Butler as the authors of the
! Fugitive Slave Law But MIR Underwood, in a
speech in Glasgow last fall, stated that MIR Ma
son and himself drew it up. Honor to whom
honorp 1t is pity that so fine man as Judge
! Underwood, one who has said 80 much against
slavery, should do 80 much in its favor as he
! seems to have done of late.
am opposed to any unjust or unlawful means
to deprive man Of his slaves Those who en-.
tice slaves from their masters do the cause Of
freedom more harm than they are appriIed Of;
! but no doubt too much is charged upon Adolf
tionists, for have been informed that persons
along the Ohio river on both sides, will entice
slaves from their owners, and then oontrive their
capture for the sake of the reward.
| fear this lengthy and uninteresting letter
will weary you, but before ] close ! will notice
think MIR Clay during the debate on the Fugi
tive Slave Law-that negroes who sue for free
dom seldom fail to obtain it. | admit the fact
and will give reason to show why itisso Many
have reason TO believe, are entitled TO freedom
and remain in slavery because no person is will
ing to incur the trouble and Expense Of enforcing
the law in their favor. Sometimes circumstances
will rouse the friends Of the negro and, when the
case is plain one, they will risk suit | will
here remark, that most slaves when emancipated
get their freedom without much difficulty, sndd
believe there is as much magnanimity on that
subject in the slave States as in the free But 10
the case and | will give names and places 80
that if you think fit to mend my grammar and
publish any part of this letter, the facts can be
tested.
| Nicholas Wren's will, now on file and record
ed In the Clerks office In Warren county, Ken
lucky, contains the following provision alt Is
my will that in case Elizabeth, my wife, should
deoease before the year one thousand eight hun
dred and twenty, that Chloe, the negro GIRL should
De set Tree hL buut uhtc, ilo~V hhu ~ 10
that she serve out her time with one Of my execu-
tors. viz my son Isaac Wren In case ] should
decease before that time. And If the said negro
girl Chloe should have any increase previous to
the said year eighteen hundred and twenty, IL is
my will that my son, Isaac Wren, should raise
the children until they arrive to the age Of TWEEN
fy-one years and then set them free also; and in
case my wife, Elizabeth, should survive longer
than the above-named year 1890 1t Is my will
that the said negro girl Chloe serve till her de-
cease and then be set free and her increase serve
my son, Isaac Wren, as above, until they arrive
TO years Of twentyone, and then be set free also"
That is plain language There was no provi-
sion in the will to conflict with the above, and no
debts against the estate Nicholas Wren died in
ls09-Elizabeth, bis wife, in 1919, at the house
of her son, Isaac Wren, in this (BarreD) county.
lie still lives in this county Chloe had three
children before 1920 William Rennck, who
owned Chloo's husband moved to Missouri In
1890, and, she wishing TO 90 with her husband,
Isaac Wren sold to Rennick his right 10 the SER
vices Of the three children, and took an instru.
ment of writing Il have copy) OF Renniek, that
they were 70 be free At twenty Chloe went
Az a free woman Rennck settled in lafayette
county. Missouri, and he and his son, Strother
Rennick assessed the negroes as their property
up to the time was there in $40. Chloe had
four children after she went 20 Missouri. In
1898 William Houx (who married my sister
brought suit for the freedom of the negroes
There we're eight OF them separate suit had TO
be brought in each case. The evidence OF free
dom had to 20 from this State Many sets Of
depositions were taken, and suppressed on ac-
count Of some small deficiency. The negroes
were able.bodied, and in Rennicks possession,
earning him many times the amount Of the cost
| Of the suit
Il. "A II
suit was brought lie was wealthy, and had
many friends. Houx also stood fair, and had
many friends And there came near being
general battle, 80 learned. When Rennick
learned that suit WAS about 10 be brought, the
negroes stated that he WAS heard consulting about
running them Off They took the alarm, and ran
TO Houx for protection. HouK left home 10 see
Rennck. and while gone Rennick came with a
crowd, and Col Doniphsn tof Mexican war noto-
riety) at their head. (COl ID. was employed as RS
lawyer HouK lived in Lexington. Rennlcks
crowd surrounded Houx's house. The negroes
were In there, with no person inside TO protect
them but my sister But learned there were many
spectators ouSilIs who said bat little, but whom,
from the cut Of the eye, Col Doniphsn did not
take TO be Mexicans; 80, after much parading,
many oaths and threats, the Colonel drew of his
regiment without storming the castle Bot In
the course Of some days Rennick gave security
for the appearance Of the negroes at court and
took possession Of them.
Then came the due course Of law, which re-
suited in the freedom Of the negroes. The abili-
ty of a negro 10 prove his freedom appears easy
and cheap 10 members OF Congress, who receive
IS per day, and do bat little except grapple for
power and fame but II is always attended with
difficulty. The negroes gained their freedom
after about four years siege at law, which cost
me alone near $500, counting my time lost at
very moderate price. Judge Il cost Mr. Houx
and others over one hundred dollars.
Now, cir, those who know nothing about II
may think IL a very easy matter for negro TO
obtain his freedom when he Is entitled TO Il by
'Psrhlps am mistaken about Col. DOnIphln command.