Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1886-09-25

| Nashville Negroes Who Owned Negro
Slaves.
Nashville Union.
The venerable clerk of the SCOTS hotel
Mr.. Ira Stout is veritable storehouse Of
local historical information. He was
born here some seventy years ago, before
the village dropped its swaddling clothes
and stepped into the serious responsible.
ties of metropolis. His father was one
of the city mayors of the town, and he
himself was for many years leading
business man. What he doesn't know
about old times in Nashville is hardly
worth knowing.
"Tn venture to say" he remarked to a
reporter last night, ''that few people
know that fifty or sixty years ago there
lived in Nashville number of well-to-do
free negroes who owned slaves, bought
and sold them, and without conjunction
dealt in their own blood and nationality"
Encouraged to continue his curious
and interesting "reminiscences concerning
those "good old slavery times" some
times called ''the flush times of the re-
puullC, LILO udITdGOr 6dlO.
II call to mind old Christopher Kit, a
free negro who owned quite number of
negro slaves, and also owned the prop.
erty on Market street where Morris &
STATIONS warehouse now stands. There
was also old Porter another free negro
and slave holder, who owned Cutters
corner, at the junction of Broad and Col
LEWIS streets, raised his family there,
and there lived and died.
Then there are Reuben Graham,
Stephen Lytle, Dick Tate, and Buck
McNairy-boss hackmen, who not only
owned their turnouts but the colored
jehus who drove them. Phil Thomas,
father of the negro barber Thomas, who
died few years ago, had some of his
hard earned 'shavings' invested in colored
flesh and blood. old Black Bob,' who
kept tavern here as early as 1906, on
the corner of the alley opposite the st.
Charles hotel, on Market street, owned
the 'mokes' and 'coons' who waited on
his table. Thomas Il. Fletcher, who be-
came the celebrated criminal lawyer, was
a clerk at old Black Boh's tavern when
a young man."
"Nelson Turner, the free negro under
taker, made enough money at burying
people to buy his wife and wife's daugh-
ter from their white master, but after.
wards got angry with his step daughter
and sold her to negro trader. Jim
Young, graceless free negro from VIII
son county, bought his wife's freedom,
and afterward gambled her away in
game of poker. Then there was Big
Solomon blacksmith, who had shop
about where Mahoney's livery stable
stands on College street. My father car
ried on the carriage making business, and
once bought ene-armed negro named
Bill from the county authorities. One
armed. Bill was runaway negro, appre-
hended by the 'patrollers,' placed in Jail,
where he lay according to law twelve
months and day, at which time his right
'ul owner failing to come forward, the
prisoner was put on the block and sold at
public outcry. Father bought Bill, kept
him year, and then sold him to Big
solomon. About four years after Big
solomon took Bill to Cincinnati and set
him free, and the latter to show his graf
tude to his free negro master brought
.uit for damages and gained his case,
ohio being one of the free states. Curl
,us things happened in those old slavery
lays I'll warrant free negroes had bet
or time than a majority Of them have
low"