Telegram-herald., 1889-04-21
Reunion OF Brothers Who Parted
at the Auction Block.
Romantic story of the Career OF PhniP
BARBER. once slave, SoIdisr. and
Now Janitor ia Now York
How He Found His Brother.
CoPYRI0nr iss9.


Now = Janitor IA Now York
How he Found His Brother.
CoPYRI0nT lss9J
An incident Of President Harfison's ia.
auguration has just come 70 light that Is
worth relating because it serves 10 remind
us viyidly OF feature OF our national life
that went ont with the war. IL will not
Do many years before the cOlored man on
woman " ho had lived IN slavery will be
rarity. and there are hundreds of thous-
ands OF voters in this country 20 day whose
kaOwled - OF tue Southern institution has
been obtained wholly from reading.
The colored man has been for 50 long
time "A powerful factor In politics and so
ciety that the younger men. especially
those who i've % tho North, accept his po-
sitiou Ia the cominuuity as n matter Of
course, and 81 seldom cccIrs TO them 10
reflect upon the time, thirty years ago,
when the vast majority of the black peo-
pie were in bondage. IL Is for this reason,
suppose that the incident | refer TO. the
re-uuiiing of members OF family that had
been dispersed ut tho auction block, sp-
pealed 80 strongly 10 me.
The principal actor in this story IS
coiorcd man, fifty seven years OF age, who
calls himself Philip Barber. He claims TO
trace his descent from old Judge Barbour,
of Virginia The Barbour family is, OF
course, one OF the T. L. V .. aud inasmuch
as IL was one OF the common
features OF slavery that the masters
blood ran in the veins of many of his ser
wants, 1t is not impossible that Philip II ay
be correct. At all events, he born in
slavery on the Barbour estate. He had
two brothers, John and Delaware. In his
bOyhood these three became the property
of Thomas Green, lawyer in Richmond.
There was period when Green lived at
General Massey's house. a famous build
ing near the White House, and the boys
were his servants there at that time.
Eventually, they were sold 10 Mr..
Gaines of Warrington. Va. After time
Gaines failed in business and all his prop
erty had TO be turned into cash 10 satisfy
his creditors His servants, OF course,
were put up under the hammer.
John, Philip and Delaware Barber saw
each other for the last time at nine o'clock
in the morning of July Z, 1856.
philip was bought by Charles a.
Marque, famous speculator in slave
property in those days. just where La
Marque lived il uncertain II is probable
that lie had no permanent headquarters.
for he made il his business to go from one
point 10 another in the South where slaves
were TO be sold, picking out those who, in
his Judgment, were the best, and dispOsing
Of them At a profit to parties elsewhere. In
this case Philip WAS taken 10 New Orleans.
The others went he knew not where.
1t does not seem probable that any
colored man had more varied experience
i'm the same length Of time than did Philip
Barber After arriving at New Orleans,
he served great many masters, was sub
iected 10 all kinds Of hard treatment,
and, | am given TO understand he
can tell yarns OF attempts at es-
cape aud recapture by the hour. The
trouble with Philip was that sometime
during his boyhood he managed TO learn
20 read and write, and, in the troublous
lays previous to the outbreak OF hostili-
lies between the North and the South. an
accomplishment of this kind made slave
not only "A marked but a dangerous man.
rhe planters and proprietors, generally,
were afraid Of the use 10 which such abil-
lty might toe put.
cannot pretend to give the entire rec
ord of Philips career in the South, but |
know that La Marque sold him to J. ID
Goodrich, who employed him IA a body
servant The unusual Intelligence Of the
,olored man caused Goodrich To dispense
with him, and il was doubtless with
view TO placing the slave where lie could
10 the least damage, that he was shipped
% FallstaiFs plantation some miles mp the
river. There. FOR the first time in his ex-
parience. he was put Into the fields 10 work.
e d. .tf ~
-o the North was made while ne was At
Fallstalls plantation aud it il probable
hat several of then occurred there he
vas nu-ucce-sful In such efforts and not
he ieast uncomfortable result Of his fail
Tres was frequent taste OF the overseer's
ash.
just where he went from Falistall's, or
IT what time. is uncertain. but eventually
ae became the property Of the Battle fam
~ i'm Mobile Al these changes occurred
before the war began. AZ which time he
vas back in New Orleans
When hostiitis- were well unier way he
repeated his attempts 10 escape. and at
last. while the Northern army was opeT-
ating upon the lower Mississippi he sue
.ceded in making lis way 70 their lines.
lie joined the T~eifth Maine Regiment as
= servant
r. will De recalled that after the North
,rn troops bad acquired foothold in
T,7uisisaa some c0.0red regiments were
formed ks soon 81 this movement was
unler way philip ief' his service ia the
r-veIrth Maine srt became a private in
che Louisiana Second lie served with
tals rol nent uasA tbe eud Of the war ard
10 IS be,svel tuas AIs record was good