The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1878-03-20
FRAGMENTS or the EARLY HISTORY
OF CHIC COUNTY.
ny II. d TAYLOR.
CHAPTER Xiv

The writer oC these fragments has had
serious doubts whether he .-hou.d make
ary allu~inns 10 the early political se"tl
merits of Ohio. county uponi tie slavery
question. That question having been
settled lev the WAGER q! battle, il Is no
,lould the duty ol all COOL citizens TO use
their best cilir's to heal the bleeding
y ouud- inflicted in that deadly strife.
Those wounds. however, are slill Kept
bleeding hy a few soullrss. hear:less, ia
natics OF the North, who seize every &C.
cnsinn ia Congress and else where. even
pollulins the sacred pulpit 10y heap'ng
the vilrst abuse upon the old slave hold
ers. a class of men whose chivalry. honor.
henevo'ence aud humanity, would have
scorned to have redured their very slaves
TO the scanl, meager subsistence that cap
atalis.s OF the North subject their wretch-
ed labor.rs.
The writer, Therefore, thinks it not i'm
proper to place upon record the various
phases OF the slavery question, with it,
alternate elLinss AMI fnwIngs IN this
county. From his earliest recollection
he ua- always hearing it discussed as an
evil, which had been entailed upon u
without our consent But what 10 do
with that evil was the vexed question
Slavery had been entailed upon us 10y
the cruelty aud cupidity OF our parent
Englaud-her merchants had captured
and brought the Wild Africans To her
American Colonies aud sold them Tor
gain. A host OF philan' hropisis. led on
by Mr.. Willeriorce, batIled for years
acairst the slave trade before they could
induce the English Parliament to aban-
don it IL was during this great contest
IN England that the celebrated John
Wesley founded the Methodist church in
England, and wrote out his rules OF dis
cipline for the government Of its mem
brrs. aud there is no doubt bnt il WAS
TO this slave trade lac alluded when he
inserted that clause in the discipline
which prohibited the traffic in human
flesh, which was the only traffic then
pursued 10y Eaglishmen, aud had no re-
lstion or reference whatever TO the rela-
lion OF master aud slave. as it then and
ALWAYS has existed IN America unlortu
nately, however, for the peace ard
prosperity OF the Methodist church in
America, this clause in it's disciple
was seized upon and applied by ertrem>
lists. aud the overmuch righteous persons
ms applicable 10 the relations Of master
aud slave-a question which finally led
TO the severance OF the church. and
greatly helped TO fan the flames tina, re-
suited in the unhappy fratrIcidal contest.
Quite number of the early settlers of
this county were s.ave holders and mems
bers OF the Methodist church. During n
great revival it happened that both the
elder and eircuit-rider in charge were
both extremists on the slavery question.
The slave holding members were impor-
tuned, and threatened with the anatha-
mas Of the church until most of them
consented TO a gradual emancipation OF
their slaves.
These slaves, with many others who
had been emsncipated by kind masters,
coon became a nuisance TO the commu-
nifty dirpised by the owners of slaves,
who accused them Of making their
slaves disobedient and worthless, they
soon lost sight Of the industrious, moral