The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1858-05-13
Death Sr the Last PenIsyIvania
k# SIave. M

We some lime since noticed that there
was but one slave left In this county, of the
number mahumftted under the act abolish.
ing slavery ii Pennsylvania. That, the
last relic Of the "civilized barbarism" oI
our fathers, is now no more. He died on
the 9th inst, at very advanced age, sup.
posed by many to be the oldest person in the
county. His name was Abram Kirk, and be
was the slave Of Stephen Porter, Of Dru.
more township; BY whom he was manumit.
ted. His exact sge is not known, the slave
record of the Court of Quarter Sessions, In
which the date Of his birth and other par.
ticulars were no doubt registered, not being
among the other records Of that Office. The
index is there, in which 1t appears that Ste.
phen Porter had a slave registered 10 Book
No. I, the missing record referred 10. II
has been ascertained, however, from other
dates, that Kirk was over 1903 years old
when he died, and the presumption is, that
he was still of more advanced age. He
WIS, in many respects, remarkable negro.
His memory, and indeed all his faculties,
were unusually sound to the last, and he
seemed to pass away in the easy natual
sleep of a dissolution by old age. He
could remember hany incidents Of the
Revolution, some of which he related with
an interesting minuteness Of detail. One
in particular, which seemed to have made O
deep impression upon his mind, referred to
the serSites rendered by Lafayette in the
struggle for American liberty. When a
young man, in 1881, he assisted in rowing
that General and his troops across the Sus
qhehunns, at Ball Friar, and was often
heard to relate an Incident which then oc.
Cured, and the remark it called forth from
the French patriot. The boat in which
Abrum was rowing; having accidentally run
on the rocks in the stream, Lafayette called
out to those in charge OF the boat, "Do not
drown any of my noble then; expect to
have need of them all at Yorktown"
This old slave had scrupulous regard for
honesty and the truth. On one occasion,
some two or three years ago, he was called
to give testimony in case then trying in
our court. He told straight forward story
OF what he knew, and all present were
struck with his simplicity of manner and
evident candor; but the attorney interested
on the other side felt called upon to ply Tie
old fellow with pretty crooked cross ex.
think the lawyer was trying to induce him
to depart from the truth-a conclusion in
which he was doubtless not for astray.-
Looking the limb Of the law full in the
face with an earnest gaze, he said, "Do you
think came here to tell le!" This suits.
ned the questiouer that old Abrom had told
the truth honestly, and would not in the
least allow himself to be led away from It.
This old Africans funeral was lorgely
attended, for while living he had been high
ly respected in the neighborhood, as on hon i.
est and inoffensive man. His remains were
inferred at Penn Hill, in Fulton township.
The last slave! That solitary figure un.
der the head of "SIaves," which we find in
the census of Lancaster county for 1850,
will disappear from the new census.-Lan.
caster Express.