President

Letters of President Pierce to Colonel Steptoe

Letter from President Pierce to Steptoe - Page 4

President Pierce appointed Colonel Steptoe as governor to succeed Brigham Young and his appointment was duly confirmed by the Senate. Owing to the peculiar conditions existing in Utah, the governorship of that territory was considered one of the most important appointments in the hands of the President, yet the appointment of Colonel Steptoe received the highest commendation from the press and the people generally who were familiar with the requirements of the office.

Slave Narrative of “Parson” Rezin Williams

Interviewer: Stansbury Person Interviewed: Rezin (Parson) Williams Date of Interview: September 18 and 24, 1937 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Date of Birth: March 11, 1822 Age: 116 Place of Residence: 2610 Pierpont Street, Mount Winans, Baltimore, MD References: Baltimore Morning Sun, December 10, 1928. Registration Books of Board of Election Supervisors Baltimore Court House. Personal interviews with “Parson” Rezin Williams, on Thursday afternoon, September 18 and 24, 1937, at his home, 2610 Pierpont Street, Mount Winans, Baltimore, Md. Oldest living Negro Civil War veteran; now 116 years old. Oldest registered voter in Maryland and said to be the oldest “freeman” in … Read more

Slave Narrative of James Lucas

Person Interviewed: James Lucas Location: Natchez Mississippi Place of Residence: Natchez, Adams County MS Date of Birth: October 11, 1833 James Lucas, ex-slave of Jefferson Davis, lives at Natchez, Adams County. Uncle Jim is small, wrinkled, and slightly stooped. His woolly hair is white, and his eyes very bright. He wears a small grizzled mustache. He is always clean and neatly dressed. “Miss, you can count up for yo’se’f. I was born on October 11, 1833. My young Marster give me my age when he heired de prope’ty of his uncle, Marse W.B. Withers. He was a-goin’ through de papers … Read more

Coal Mine Slaves

CALDWELL CO. (Mary E. O’Malley) [HW: Ky 6] Coal Mine Slaves: In 1836 large numbers of slaves were brought into Caldwell and worked by the owners of the ore mines, which necessitated extra patrols, interfered with local workmen, and so on. The taxpayers complained to the Legislature and an extra tax was allowed to be levied for the benefit of the county. In other books we find that the owners of the slaves who worked in these mines was President Andrew Jackson who brought his slaves from Nashville to the iron and lead mines in Caldwell and Crittenden counties; he … Read more