The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1955-02-03
''Ben'' g y


For moro than 100 years wealth
erworn, crambling slab has headed a
sunken grave in the old woody
Dunkard family burying-ground
down in the Blue Grass part of Ken
lucky with only one word legible on
it-"Ben.1
Ben waA one of the family slaves
long beforA the Civil War broke out.
He had no \pther name but like the
rest of the slaves claimed the family
name of his Swner as his own.
But after b en- ran away and settled
in Dayton, Ohio, in 1881, he made up
a name for himself = Thomas
Mitchell, and by that became known.
Thomas got married, worked hard
and had saved up $50 by the time he
was apprehended in 1882. His inten-
ton was tp save enough money to go
back and buy himself from mis- one
time ownef.
He was arrested on Main Street,
Dayton, by agents of his master and
under the Ohio Fugitive Slave Law
was tried before magistrate on the
charge of being runaway slave.
Though not an abolitionist, the
magistrate discharged the Negro be-
cause of lack of Ievidence of his guilt.
Ben again went home to live as
Thomas Mitchell in peace and with
his family.
Weeks later armed agents of his
Kentucky master appeared in Dayton,
seized the Negro and hurrying him
into sleigh, started off with him.
Ben's cries drew a crowd. After the
fight was over the Dayton abolition
lists had Ben and the Kentuckians
again appealed to the law.
That time after a long trial and
introduction of new evidence the
magistrate declared Ben still a slave
and turned him over to the Kentucky
officers.
The affair raised much excitement
in Dayton and Ben's $50 falling far
short of being enough to pay for him
self, the people of Dayton raised the
balance and the IKentuckians returned
home without the Negro.
There Ben's master refused to sell
him however, and came to Dayton
himself after his slave, bringing the
Daytonians' money back to return it.
In those days, a strang, able-bodied
man of Ben's lage was worth $1,000
in the slave market.
Ben and his kentucky owner met
in an upper floor of Dayton house
and at sight.of his master the Negro
rushed to a window and tried to jump
out. Had he not been restrained by
those with his master he would have
hit a pavement headlong, Is feet be-
low.
Ben gave the small sum he had
saved to his wife and child and
humbly started back to Kentucky with
his legal owner. The master took
him away and by nightfall had got
ten as far as Cincinnati. There the
party put up for the night at the
Main Street Hotel. Ben and his guard
being put in fourth story room for
security. This letter, word for word,
tells the rest of the story:
Cincinnati, January "a, 1892
Dear Sir: In compliance with a re-
quest of Mr.. y. Dunkard, of Kentucky,
| take my pen to inform you of the
| death of his black man, Ben, whom
he took in your place few days ago.
The circumstances are as follows: On
the evening Of the 22nd inst. Mr.. D
and company with Ben, arrived at
this city on their way to Kentucky
and put up at the Main Street Hotel,
where a room on the uppermost story
(fOurth) for Ben and his guard, all
being safe aS they thought, when
about one O'Clock when they were in
sound sleep poor Ben, stimulated
with the faint prospect of escape, or
nerhaDS nredetRrnoined on liberty oT