The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-02-05
bill Whipper's History.
THE EARLY LIFE OF A DIGNITARy or SOUTH


THE EARLY LIFE OF A DIGNITaRy or SOUTH
CAROLINA.
MILAN, Mich, Jan. 25.-.The people Oh
a ff,is region take great interest IN reading
about W. J. Whipper, the dusky politi-
clan who was recently elected Judge
i'm South Carolina. because he once lived
here for short time. He was not
Judge then, unless q judge OF whisky,
nor was he called in those days the Hon.
w. J. Whipper, but simply BIZ Whip-
per-. or more commonly N'geer "n'p-
per"
He first made his appearance. among
us as a farm laborer. In the service OF q
farmer living short distance north Of
this village, He enlisted the sympathy
Of his employer. who helped him to buy
or get some shadow Of title to 100 acres
Of timbered land. Whipper made very
small payment on the land, came to this
place, set up for u capitalist, got q saw
mill built for him, and then hiring q
gang Of colored brethren and number
Of teams, he made expeditions work IN
getting the valuable timber off the land
or which he had become the nominal
proprietor at slight expense. This tim
Der he converted into money. which ne
put In his pocket. when he quietly
stepped out, leaving his colored breth
rem. tho real land owner, the mill
owner. and various other creditors to
deplore his untimely taking off. 1t was
hardest ON the colored brethren, MS
many of them were just from the South.
vogue hereabouts, he whipped the
negroes the worst of any Of his credi-
tors, and it was owing to this, more than
Ia his 90 lof, that he acquired the cog
pomen OF "Nigger" Whipper.
The Judge had obtained money and
credit ut various places, In amounts
varying from $40 to $500, on the repre-
sentation that he owned 100 acres OF land.
u saw mill, and q large amount OF per
sonal property, when his total cash in
vestment could not have exceeded $500.
Several warrants Tor fraud ahn one lor
stealing betting from the mill in the
night time were sworn out against him,
but he managed to elude service for
time. At last, close pressed by. the
officers Of Justice, he enlisted in colored
regiment i'm Detroit. Even after this he
WINS arrested and locked up i'm jail In
Ann Arbor, but military authority being
paramount at that time. he was re-
leased. His subsequent career is better
known IN South Carolina than here. We
have heard he rose to be q Major Gene,
raj In that State as we'll as Judge and
Commissioner of the Sinking Fund. His
numerous acquaintance here would be
glad to see him once more; but il he
can't pay them a visit II he would send
them all his photograph it would be
better than nothing.
/ have made careful inquiries, and
have no doubt that the W. J. Whipper
who "whipped" his colored friends
here so numerically. is the same ". J.
Whipper who Is figuring extensively In
South Carolina politics. As to tho truth
OF all the statements made in this com
munication any number OF afiidavits
can be procured from responsible citi-
zens in Milan. It may possibly. be q
case Of mistaken identity, but 1t Is not
likely that two persons bearing the UNI
usual name Of w. J. Whipper, both
colored, and both displaying such re-
markablc characteristics, could exist In
one country at the same time. VS..