History of slavery in West Virginia
Encyclopedia
The western part of Virginia
which became West Virginia
was settled in two directions, north to south from Pennsylvania
, Maryland
and New Jersey
and from east to west from eastern Virginia and North Carolina
. The earliest arrival of slaves was in the counties of the Shenandoah Valley
, where prominent Virginia families built houses and plantations. The earliest recorded slave presence was about 1748 in Hampshire County
on the estate of Lord Fairfax
, which included 150 slaves. By the early 19th century, slavery had spread to the Ohio River
up to the northern panhandle.
and Berkeley
, were the most reminiscent of eastern Virginia. Many prominent families
, such as the Washingtons, Fairfaxes and Lees, had properties here. In 1817 Col. John Fairfax of Preston County
began the construction of his mansion, Fairfax Manor, with the aid of his sons and 30 slaves. The old log homes on the estate, formerly the residences of Col. Fairfax and his family, became the slave quarters. In 1836 David Gibson began construction of Sycamore Dale
in Romney
, Hampshire County
, with the aid of 100 slaves.
News of Ebenezer Zane
's settlement near present-day Wheeling
and the prospect of cheap and fertile land drew new settlers from as far away as New England. They would sometimes purchase slaves in Maryland and northern Virginia on their way to the Kanawha
and Ohio River valleys. Large clearing of lands began after 1790. New settlers also moved into these areas from eastern Virginia and North Carolina. In the early 19th century new settlers on their way to the Missouri
territory would pass through the Kanawha valley to the Ohio River and often remained there, attracted by the low cost of land and money made by leasing their slaves to the local saltmakers.
In 1800 Harman Blennerhassett
built a large Palladian home on Belpre Island, now called Blennerhassett Island
, on the Ohio River near Parkersburg. Similar structures and accompanying slaves soon spread along the Ohio River up to the northern panhandle. In 1814 Zadok Cramer wrote of his travels on the Ohio River in the Western Gleaner-"There is a plain contrast between the different sides of the river, arising from slavery being forbid on one, and tolerated on the other...On the Virginia side there were some good houses at remote distances from each other, but accompanied by the negro quarters. On the other side neat cottages and comfortable cabins were to be seen at every little remove along the river..."
Wheeling
was the largest city in western Virginia and the fourth largest city in Virginia, poised northward between Ohio
and Pennsylvania
. The number of slaves in the northern panhandle was comparatively small, by 1850 the 4 counties had 247 slaves. One of West Virginia's northernmost plantations was Shepherd Hall
, a Federal house built in 1798 by Moses Shepherd, which had slavequarters, its own mill and tannery. In her visit to the United States in 1829, Frances Trollope
found in Wheeling "all that sedulous attention which in this country distinguishes a slave state.". The Wheeling newspapers criticized the activities of Ohio humane societies and their support for runaway slaves. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, until purchased by Republican Archibald Campbell in 1856, routinely printed articles defending slavery and attacking abolitionism. After his acquisition of the paper Campbell printed moderate attacks on slavery, keeping just short of breaking Virginia's laws restricting abolition propaganda. Wheeling's most noted writer of the period, Rebecca Harding Davis
, explained Wheeling's unusual position-"We occupied the place of Hawthorne's unfortunate man who saw both sides."
Wheeling
became a major regional hub for hiring or selling slaves to the local salt industry and to markets in the lower south. Weekly slave auctions were held there and also in Charleston
. When slaves were part of an estate, auctions were usually held at the county courthouse. In 1835 a large auction was held in Charlestown
, Jefferson County
. One male slave sold for $1200, a woman and four children for $1950, the modern equivalent of $30,000 and $49,000 respectively. Although slave owners were a minority in West Virginia, they owned a higher proportion of land and wealth and often held public office in the county and state, where they could adapt public policy to their interests.
Farming in West Virginia produced about twice as much grain and livestock than was needed for subsistence, with one in ten farm workers being a slave. Women worked in the fields along with the men, sometimes acting as drovers, supervisors and performing general maintenance, such as cutting fence rails. Rather than depending on overseers, tasks would be assigned for daily or weekly completion. Most slaves engaged in agriculture were to be found on farms with less than 10 slaves, where the owners often worked in the fields as well. In wealthier households slaves would be used for domestic duties and as servants.
Salt was one of the first exports from West Virginia. By 1828 sixty-five wells along the Kanawha River
produced 787,000 bushels of salt per year, and by 1835 the industry used the labor of nearly 3,000 men, mostly slaves. Much of Charleston
's growth was a result of this resource. By 1852 a yearly fleet of 400 flatboats moved three million bushels of salt to markets south and midwest. The growth of the salt industry also resulted in exploitation of lumber, coal and gas resources, with increased use of slave labor. By 1860, however, salt production was in decline, with only 14 wells located in the counties of Kanawha
, Mason
, Marion
and Mercer
. Kanawha County wells used 63% of all male and 29% of all female slaves in the county. Slaves could be hired for half the cost of free workers, and required less supervision. Living conditions for the slaves were unsanitary, and outbreaks of cholera often occurred. In 1844 one hundred slaves died over a three month period from cholera. The actual number of slaves in the Kanwaha Valley exceeded the stated census numbers due to the shifting population of hired slaves in the salt industry.
Coal was used to fuel the salt furnaces of the Kanawha Valley, and by 1860 twenty-five companies were engaged in coal mining in West Virginia, the largest being the Winifrede Mining and Manufacturing Company. These companies advertised for hired slaves at $120 to $200 a year. Women and children were also employed in the mines. Approximately 2000 slaves were employed in coal mining. A system of slides, tramways and rail moved the coal to barges for export to Louisville
, Cincinnati
and the lower south.
By 1860 West Virginia had 14 iron plantation
s. One of the largest was Ice's Ferry Iron Works in Monongalia County
. These facilities often occupied from one-quarter to one-third of the land in their home counties, averaging about 12000 acres (48.6 km²). Slave labor made up about 75% of the work force.
The mineral springs of southern West Virginia were favored destinations of vacationing southern society and drew visitors from as far away as Louisiana and the Gulf States. Presidents of the United States, Supreme Court justices, and politicians such as John C. Calhoun
, Henry Clay
and Daniel Webster
met and socialized here. Periodicals such as Debow's Review urged southerners to take advantage of their highlands for their recreation instead of the annual migrations north. Richmond slave exchanges recruited workers for the resorts and springs. The "Old White" at White Sulphur Springs
in Greenbrier County valued its holdings at $100,000 in real estate and $56,000 in slaves. At the Old White one traveller wrote of three slaves who played at the nightly dances, using a fiddle, tambourine, and the skull of an ass. Another visitor described her view behind the scenes at the Old White thus: "In the various departments we found admirable system, healthy, likely slaves all employed ; yet evidently not overworked or oppressed—a corps of subordinates having their duties so arranged, that they relieved each other in quick succession whenever the work was severe. Whether the perfection of the management arises from perseverance in method, or efficient servants, the result is certainly admirable."
Sweet Springs
in Monroe County had buildings designed by William B. Phillips, who had assisted Thomas Jefferson in the building of the University of Virginia. Frame structures were provided for slaves and livery. It was one of the oldest resorts in West Virginia, the first hotel having been built there in 1792. The hotel was forbidden from selling strong drink to any freedman or slave. Other popular resorts and spas were Salt Sulphur Springs
, Red Sulphur Springs
, Shannondale Springs
, Berkeley Springs and Blue Sulphur Springs
.
Slaves were used on waterways and overland in the transportion of West Virginia products, livestock, salt, grain, tobacco, lumber and coal. Several times a year fleets of flatboats left Charleston, manned by both slave and free workmen, to markets in Cincinnati and New Orleans. The B&O Railroad hired and bought West Virginia slaves to work in construction gangs and in passenger service. Slaves were sometimes used in the operation of retail stores. In some towns, like Martinsburg
, the black population could reach nearly one-third the total residents., while in Charleston
it was just over one-fourth the population, with only a few of that number being freedmen.
Western Virginia's slave population peaked in 1850 with 20,428 slaves, or nearly 7% of the population. In 1860 the number of slaves was 18,371. Much of the decreased number of slaves in West Virginia was due to the high demand for slaves in the lower south. The opening of Cherokee
lands in north Georgia and Alabama resulted in the growth of cotton and tobacco production and the slave population there nearly tripled from 1840 to 1860. Slave "coffles" became frequent sights in West Virginia. These were groups of slaves, usually bound together by rope, that were moved mostly overland to markets in the lower south. Often the slaves were not told of their destination for fear of runaways or resistance. With the increasing value of slaves in the 1840s and 1850s slaves were sometimes kidnapped to be resold.
The 1860 U.S. Census counted 3,605 slaveowners in West Virginia. Of this number 2,572 (71%) owned 5 or less. These owners accounted for 33% of the total number of slaves. In 15 counties there was a total of 92 owners of 20 or more slaves. The greatest numbers of slaves occurred in the counties of Jefferson
(3,960), Kanawha
(2,184), Berkeley
(1,650), Greenbrier
(1,525), Hampshire
(1,213), Monroe
(1,114), and Hardy
(1,073). There were also 2,773 freedmen living in West Virginia.
, Maryland
or Delaware
, and few abolitionists. Resistance to slavery was usually due to religious affiliation or based on economic principles. In some communities of immigrant settlers, such as the Germans, anti-slavery sentiment was dominant. Some West Virginia anti-slavery sentiment was politically based, due to slaveholders using the institution to gain unequal representation in the General Assembly and tax advantages.
In 1831, after Nat Turner's slave rebellion, the General Assembly of 1831-32 was challenged to find solutions to the growing problems of slavery. Some proposed immediate emancipation, some gradual emancipation and deportation, while others preferred the status quo. Thomas Jefferson Randolph
proposed a gradual emancipation, and George W. Summers
of Kanawha County proposed funding the project from the sale of public lands, but the General Assembly adjourned without taking any action.
In 1844 the Methodist Church
became divided over the ownership of slaves by its ministers. A line was drawn west from Lynchburg
, north of which slave ownership was forbidden. This would have included most of West Virginia. However, many Methodist churches in West Virginia refused to follow this decision. In Marion county
a congregation urged the church to "send among us only such ministers as have wisdom and grace enough to enable them to preach the gospel without meddling with our civil institutions." A similar split occurred in the Baptist denomination within West Virginia.
Henry Ruffner
of Lexington, Virginia
, was a professor at Washington College and its president from 1836-1848. His father owned land and slaves in the Kanawha Valley, and he had attended school in Shepherdstown and was a slave owner himself. In 1847 he published a pamphlet, An Address to the People of West Virginia, often called the "Ruffner pamphlet", which was the result of a speech he gave in Lexington at the Franklin Society. He advocated an end to slavery in the west for economic and social reasons, believing that slavery retarded development and growth.
In the 1840's the recently formed abolitionist Liberty Party attempted to attract Virginians to their cause and did draw some members from western Virginia. The advocacy of abolitionism however also brought about violent reactions from pro-slavery Virginians. From 1840 through the 1850's most of the notable mob actions against abolitionists in Virginia took place in western Virginia. In 1839 a mob from Guyandotte
crossed the Ohio River and kidnapped a man in order to tar and feather him. In 1854 west Virginians again crossed the river to Quaker Bottom (now Proctorville
) to beat abolitionists.
The 1850-51 Constitutional Convention in Richmond
addressed many of the complaints of West Virginians, and finally gave the vote to all male residents 21 years of age, and representation in the House of Delegates
of the General Assembly based on the white population from the census of 1850. Representation in the Senate
however was arbitrarily determined, the east getting 30 senators and the west 20. The slaveholders also gave themselves a tax advantage, slaves under 12 years of age were not taxed, while older slaves were only taxed at a value of $300. Despite these inequities, the new constitution was opposed only by a few counties in the east.
In 1856 Massachusetts abolitionist Eli Thayer
was looking for property in the south where he could establish a working colony free of slavery. He finally settled on Wayne County
and built the village of Ceredo
. He faced severe opposition to his colony by U.S. Congressman Albert G. Jenkins
, himself the owner of Green Bottom Plantation in nearby Cabell County
with its 30-some slaves.
At first the new settlement was welcomed, but after John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
in 1859 local residents became hostile to the Ceredo colony. During the war Ceredo became a focus of Unionism and raised Union militia. This made it a favorite target for local Confederate raiders like William "Rebel Bill" Smith and by the end of the war Ceredo was almost abandoned.
At times slaveowners freed some or all of their slaves as part of their estate. In eastern Virginia in 1848 John Warwick of Amherst County
, and Frances Eppes of Henrico County
freed all of their slaves in their estates. In western Virginia Sampson Sanders of Cabell County
freed his slaves on his death in 1849. Due to a Virginia law that required manumitted slaves to leave the state within one year of freedom, most of the estates provided funds for the equipment and settling of the freedmen in other states. When Sanders' will was made the former slaves were to be resettled in Indiana
, but Indiana had since passed a law forbidding the immigration of freedmen. Mr. Sanders' executors instead settled the newly freed slaves in Cass County, Michigan
.
A freedman could apply to the General Assembly or the county court for permission to remain in Virginia. The life of a freedman was often perilous, with the prospect of re-enslavement a constant hazard. A freedman could be enslaved for infractions of the law, debt or vagrancy. In Monroe County
in 1829 the sheriff was ordered to sell into slavery eight freedmen for failure to pay their taxes. Freedmen were also required to carry their papers as proof of their status and failure to do so could result in a fine or imprisonment. Any slave who was away from his owner's property was required to carry a written pass as slave patrols were on the lookout for runaways or unsupervised slaves.
Slaves of lighter complexion sometimes bought passage on the B&O railroad to reach Pittsburgh
. Other slaves crossed the narrow panhandle of Maryland
by foot to reach Pennsylvania
. A large number of free blacks worked with Quakers in this area to facilitate escape. In 1845, Dr. Robert Mitchell of Pennsylvania was sued by Garret van Metre of Hardy County
for aiding the escape of his slave Jared. In two trials held in Pittsburgh Mr. van Metre was awarded $500 from Dr. Mitchell for the loss of his slave.
Two routes ran through the Morgantown
area to Pennsylvania
. One was a trail that led through Mount Morris, Pa.
to Greensboro, Pa
. The other route left Morgantown and ran parallel to the Monongahela River, going through the town of New Geneva, Pa., to Uniontown
. The A.M.E. Zion Church
had congregations in both Morgantown and across the border in Fayette County
, Pa.
Slaves escaping the interior of West Virginia could follow the Kanawha River to Point Pleasant
. From there they could follow the Ohio River north to Parkersburg. Across the river from Parkersburg
was the Ohio town of Belpre
where a Col. John Stone acted as an agent for the railroad. Fugtives were hidden at Parkersburg by a black woman called "Aunt Jenny" until they could cross the river. In 1847 Wood County
plantation owner George Henderson filed suit in Ohio against abolitionist David Putnam of Marietta, Ohio
, for the loss of 9 slaves. The suit was eventually dropped in 1853. Other agents for the railroad were an unnamed barber from Jackson, Ohio
, who visited Point Pleasant and would help slaves to Portsmouth, Ohio
, and a teacher, Rail Cheadle, of Morgan County, Ohio
.
Wheeling was an important stop for runaways, standing as it does between Ohio and Pennsylvania. A branch of the railroad ran between Wheeling
and Wellsburg
, going east to the Pennsylvania towns of Washington
or West Middletown
. The McKeever family of West Middletown
would hide fugitives in their poultry wagon and drive them to Pittsburgh
. The A.M.E. Zion Church
in Wheeling was also active in aiding slaves to freedom. The proprietor of the Wheeling House Hotel was rumored to find safe houses for runaways. The hotel was next door to the slave auction block.
In 1835 slaveowners in Jefferson County petitioned the General Assembly for redress for the loss of runaway slaves. In response, the General Assembly passed an act incorporating "The Virginia Slave Insurance Company" in Charlestown
. The Fugitive Slave Act returned a number of slaves to western Virginia. Just before the Civil War a slave belonging to the Jackson family in Harrison County
escaped to Ohio by stealing a horse, but was returned under the act and sold lower south. One of the last slaves ever returned under the act was Sara Lucy Bagby, who had also escaped to Ohio and was restored to her owner in Wheeling on Jan. 24, 1861.. (Lucy Bagby fortunately moved north and out of slavery. )Slaves who ran away and were returned, or at risk of flight, were often sold. In 1856 in Point Pleasant
, Mason County
, two slaveholders sold their eighteen slaves for $10,600 to a Richmond
dealer when it was discovered that they had been planning an escape. A slave owner in Kanwaha County
sent his remaining slaves to Natchez
for sale after two had run away.
invaded West Virginia on May 26, 1861, Gen. McClellan issued a proclamation "To the Union Men of Western Virginia" in which he stated "Notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors to induce you to believe that our advent among you will be signalized by interference with your slaves, understand one thing clearly—not only will we abstain from all such interference, but we will, on the contrary, with an iron hand, crush any attempt at insurrection on their part." Writing in his journal on Jan. 3, 1862 in Fayetteville
Col. Rutherford B. Hayes
noted, "Nobody in this army thinks of giving to the Rebels their fugitive slaves. Union men might perhaps be differently dealt with-probably would be."
The war provided an opportunity for large numbers of slaves to escape to Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Federal army considered escaped slaves to be contraband
, or spoils of war. Some enlisted in the Federal army as part of the United States Colored Troops
. Both the Federal and Confederate armies impressed some men into labor gangs, repairing railroads and bridges. Without the support of their spouses or former owners, women and children suffered greatly. Slave families endured depredation not only by raiding Union and Confederate soldiers, but also by partisan guerrillas, who were the most feared as they were the most likely to be violent.
The war provided an impetus not only for slaves to escape but also to revolt. On May 27, 1861 in Lewisburg
a slave named Reuben was convicted of conspiring "to rebel and make insurrection in said county." Pistols and other weapons were found in his cabin, and the court sentenced him to be hanged. A similar incident occurred in Mecklenburg County
on May 21, 1861.
With Union troops securing the northern counties of western Virginia against Confederate defenders a Unionist government in Wheeling, called The Restored Government of Virginia
, passed an ordinance for the creation of a new state from the western counties of Virginia. The voters who approved the ordinance on Oct. 24, 1861 also elected members to a convention to write the constitution for the new state. The Constitutional Convention met in Wheeling on November 26, 1861 with 61 members. One of the issues facing them was slavery. Most were hoping that the Federal government would grant statehood without an emancipation clause to the constitution. Although some native Virginians, such as Methodist minister Robert Hagar, favored gradual emancipation, much of the agitation for it came from the non-native delegates such as Gordon Battelle, William E. Stevenson
, and Granville Parker. When Gordon Battelle proposed his emancipation clause Granville Parker recalled " I discovered on that occasion as I never had before, the mysterious and over-powering influence 'the peculiar institution' had on men otherwise sane and reliable. Why, when Mr. Battelle submitted his resolutions, a kind of tremor—a holy horror, was visible throughout the house."
The convention, instead of incorporating an emancipation clause into the new constitution, included a clause forbidding freedmen and slaves from entering the new state and hoped this would be enough to satisfy Congress. However, the statehood bill was opposed by Senators Charles Sumner
and Benjamin Wade
, who insisted on emancipation in some form. Waitman T. Willey
, a Senator of Virginia under the aegis of the Restored Government in Wheeling, composed an emancipation amendment to the constitution to be ratified by public vote on March 26, 1863. It became known as the Willey Amendment.
The amendment was approved by public vote and on April 20, 1863 President Lincoln issued a proclamation that West Virginia
had met all requirements and would become a state on June 20, 1863. The Willey Amendment freed no slaves on West Virginia becoming a state, the first slaves to be freed would not have been so until 1867. There was no provision for freedom for any slave over 21 years of age.
In anticipation of the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution the Wheeling legislature passed a bill ending slavery in West Virginia on Feb. 3, 1865.
In 1866 the state legislature gave blacks the right to testify against whites in court. Before this, they had been allowed to testify only in cases involving black defendants. In 1867 the 14th Amendment was ratified, granting citizenship and the right to due process under the law.
As a Union state West Virginia was exempt from most of the strictures of Reconstruction. The charter which created the Freedmen's Bureau, however, stated their jurisdiction as "all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from rebel States, or from any district of country within the territory embraced in operations of the army."
Schools were established by the Bureau in Harper's Ferry and Martinsburg
in September 1865 and others later in Charlestown
and Shepherdstown
. Except for the school in Martinsburg, the others were met with resistance and harassment.
In 1862 Parkersburg
became the first city to have established a school for black children. By 1867 there were two schools in existence, one public school with a white teacher, and a private school run by R.H. Robinson. Some parents preferred the private school, believing the public school to be too sectarian.
Except for the eastern panhandle the Kanawha Valley had the highest number of black residents. When the Bureau visited the area in 1867 it discovered five schools already established by black citizens, several of them by the Rev. Lewis Rice. The Bureau found the quality of teaching to be good but the physical structures very poor. Local school boards refused or sometimes delayed appropriating funds for new buildings. In Brook's Hollow the Bureau provided $300 and black residents $323 for a new schoolhouse.
At White Sulphur Springs
in Greenbrier County
a local resident donated land for a new building and the Bureau supplied $177.10 for building supplies and black residents raised the rest of the money. In Lewisburg
in early 1868 the school board provided a building through the combined efforts of the Bureau and black residents.
The most notable accomplishment of the Freedmen's Bureau was its efforts in the establishment of Storer College
in Harper's Ferry. Spurred by a grant from John Storer of Stanford, Maine, which was conditional on matching funds, the Bureau facilitated the appropriation of government buildings in Harper's Ferry and 7 acres (28,328 m²) of land. The Bureau also contributed $18,000 to the establishment of the college. On Dec. 3, 1868 Congress passed a bill transferring the property to the college.
By 1868 the Ku Klux Klan
had organized klavens in West Virginia. Lizzie Grant recalled-"There was them KKK's to say that we must do just like our white man tell us, if we did not, they would take the poor helpless negro and beat him up good." In Colliers
a white mob broke up a black political meeting, identifying members for later klan discipline. In Harper's Ferry, a crowd stoned a black school and assaulted teachers.
When the state of West Virginia
was created from fifty western counties of Virginia in 1863 it was done without the participation of most of its citizens. At the end of the war the Wheeling government found it necessary in order to stay in power to strip former Confederates and supporters of their civil rights- the right to vote, sit on juries, teach, practice law, or hold public office. The introduction of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution in 1869, intended to extend the vote to black male citizens, provided an opportunity for disfranchised whites to regain their rights. Federal judge John Jay Jackson, Jr.
, whose family had suffered politically under the Wheeling government, ruled that the 15th Amendment applied to all male citizens regardless of color and ordered the arrest of any state registrar who denied a male resident the right to vote. As a result thousands of Confederate veterans and supporters were enrolled on the voting lists.
By 1871 the Wheeling government had lost power and their state constitution was discarded by a public referendum. A new state constitution was written in 1872 under the chairmanship of Samuel Price
, former Confederate Lt. Governor of Virginia. By 1876 seven of the eight successful candidates for state offices, including the governorship, had been in the Confederate army. Francis H. Pierpont, the "Father of West Virginia", lost his seat in the House of Delegates.
Although the new constitution guaranteed blacks the right to vote and hold public office, it provided for separate schooling and forbad the teaching of blacks and whites in the same school. In 1873 the legislature limited jury duty to white males.
, Maryland
, Missouri
, Delaware
and West Virginia
met in Baltimore. Some of the West Virginia delegates were the Rev. Dudly Asbury, William Thomas, and George Trother. They met again in Baltimore in August as the Colored Border State Convention, and West Virginian Adam Howard was chosen as one of the vice-presidents. The convention issued a call for a national convention to meet in January to discuss enfranchisement. At the Union League Hall in Washington, DC, on Jan. 13, 1869 the National Convention of Colored Men convened with over 200 members, including Frederick Douglass
. The emphasis was on gaining the vote, though issues of work, housing and education were all discussed. The convention helped focus Congressional attention on the 15th Amendment, which became law in 1870.
In 1879, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Strauder v. West Virginia
that the state had "failed to permit blacks the right to serve as jurors along with its other obligations in qualifying them for citizenship."
Issues concerning slavery continued to surface in legal cases after the end of the war. In 1878, a case between Thomas L. Feamster and James Withrow was taken to the state supreme court concerning slaves which had been purchased with Confederate currency. In 1909, the state of West Virginia claimed the value of slaves who had been subjected to capital punishment by the Virginia government in a suit involving adjustments of the pre-war Virginia Debt
.
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
which became West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
was settled in two directions, north to south from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and from east to west from eastern Virginia and North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The earliest arrival of slaves was in the counties of the Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
, where prominent Virginia families built houses and plantations. The earliest recorded slave presence was about 1748 in Hampshire County
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town . Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties ...
on the estate of Lord Fairfax
Lord Fairfax of Cameron
thumb|Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of CameronLord Fairfax of Cameron is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Despite holding a Scottish peerage, the Lords Fairfax of Cameron are members of an ancient Yorkshire family, of which the Fairfax Baronets of The Holmes are members of another branch...
, which included 150 slaves. By the early 19th century, slavery had spread to the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
up to the northern panhandle.
Beginnings
Early settlers of property tended to recreate the familiar structures of eastern Virginia, building Georgian and Federal homes on large estates. The counties of the eastern panhandle, especially JeffersonJefferson County, West Virginia
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 53,498. Its county seat is Charles Town...
and Berkeley
Berkeley County, West Virginia
Berkeley County is a county located in the Eastern Panhandle region of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population is 104,169, making it the second-most populous county in West Virginia, behind Kanawha...
, were the most reminiscent of eastern Virginia. Many prominent families
First Families of Virginia
First Families of Virginia were those families in Colonial Virginia who were socially prominent and wealthy, but not necessarily the earliest settlers. They originated with colonists from England who primarily settled at Jamestown, Williamsburg, and along the James River and other navigable waters...
, such as the Washingtons, Fairfaxes and Lees, had properties here. In 1817 Col. John Fairfax of Preston County
Preston County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,334 people, 11,544 households, and 8,357 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 13,444 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile...
began the construction of his mansion, Fairfax Manor, with the aid of his sons and 30 slaves. The old log homes on the estate, formerly the residences of Col. Fairfax and his family, became the slave quarters. In 1836 David Gibson began construction of Sycamore Dale
Sycamore Dale
Sycamore Dale is a 19th-century Greek Revival plantation home overlooking the South Branch Potomac River southwest of Romney, West Virginia. Sycamore Dale is one of several historic estates along South Branch River Road...
in Romney
Romney, West Virginia
Romney is a city in and the county seat of Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,940 at the 2000 census, while the area covered by the city's ZIP code had a population of 5,873. It is a city with a very historic background dating back to the 18th century...
, Hampshire County
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town . Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties ...
, with the aid of 100 slaves.
Ebenezer Zane
Ebenezer Zane was an American pioneer, road builder and land speculator. Born in what is now Moorefield, West Virginia , Zane established the settlement known as Fort Henry in Wheeling, Virginia on the Ohio River...
's settlement near present-day Wheeling
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and the prospect of cheap and fertile land drew new settlers from as far away as New England. They would sometimes purchase slaves in Maryland and northern Virginia on their way to the Kanawha
Kanawha River
The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century.It is formed at the town of Gauley...
and Ohio River valleys. Large clearing of lands began after 1790. New settlers also moved into these areas from eastern Virginia and North Carolina. In the early 19th century new settlers on their way to the Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
territory would pass through the Kanawha valley to the Ohio River and often remained there, attracted by the low cost of land and money made by leasing their slaves to the local saltmakers.
In 1800 Harman Blennerhassett
Harman Blennerhassett
Harman Blennerhassett was an Irish-American lawyer, born in Castle Conway in County Kerry, Ireland to Conway Blennerhassett and Elizabeth Lacy. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and in 1790 was called to the Irish bar...
built a large Palladian home on Belpre Island, now called Blennerhassett Island
Blennerhassett Island
Blennerhasset Island, an island on the Ohio River below the mouth of the Little Kanawha River, is located near Parkersburg in Wood County, West Virginia, USA....
, on the Ohio River near Parkersburg. Similar structures and accompanying slaves soon spread along the Ohio River up to the northern panhandle. In 1814 Zadok Cramer wrote of his travels on the Ohio River in the Western Gleaner-"There is a plain contrast between the different sides of the river, arising from slavery being forbid on one, and tolerated on the other...On the Virginia side there were some good houses at remote distances from each other, but accompanied by the negro quarters. On the other side neat cottages and comfortable cabins were to be seen at every little remove along the river..."
Wheeling
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
was the largest city in western Virginia and the fourth largest city in Virginia, poised northward between Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The number of slaves in the northern panhandle was comparatively small, by 1850 the 4 counties had 247 slaves. One of West Virginia's northernmost plantations was Shepherd Hall
Shepherd Hall (Monument Place)
Shepherd Hall is a historic home listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the city of Wheeling in the U.S. state of West Virginia...
, a Federal house built in 1798 by Moses Shepherd, which had slavequarters, its own mill and tannery. In her visit to the United States in 1829, Frances Trollope
Frances Trollope
Frances Milton Trollope was an English novelist and writer who published as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope...
found in Wheeling "all that sedulous attention which in this country distinguishes a slave state.". The Wheeling newspapers criticized the activities of Ohio humane societies and their support for runaway slaves. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, until purchased by Republican Archibald Campbell in 1856, routinely printed articles defending slavery and attacking abolitionism. After his acquisition of the paper Campbell printed moderate attacks on slavery, keeping just short of breaking Virginia's laws restricting abolition propaganda. Wheeling's most noted writer of the period, Rebecca Harding Davis
Rebecca Harding Davis
Rebecca Blaine Harding Davis was an American author and journalist. She is deemed a pioneer of literary realism in American literature. She graduated valedictorian from Washington Female Seminary in Pennsylvania...
, explained Wheeling's unusual position-"We occupied the place of Hawthorne's unfortunate man who saw both sides."
Wheeling
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
became a major regional hub for hiring or selling slaves to the local salt industry and to markets in the lower south. Weekly slave auctions were held there and also in Charleston
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
. When slaves were part of an estate, auctions were usually held at the county courthouse. In 1835 a large auction was held in Charlestown
Charles Town, West Virginia
Charles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,907 at the 2000 census. Due to its similar name, travelers have sometimes confused this city with the state's capital, Charleston.-History:...
, Jefferson County
Jefferson County, West Virginia
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 53,498. Its county seat is Charles Town...
. One male slave sold for $1200, a woman and four children for $1950, the modern equivalent of $30,000 and $49,000 respectively. Although slave owners were a minority in West Virginia, they owned a higher proportion of land and wealth and often held public office in the county and state, where they could adapt public policy to their interests.
Occupations
By 1860 the use of slave labor in West Virginia was about 48% in agriculture, 16% in commerce, 21% in industry and 15% in mixed occupations.- Agriculture
Farming in West Virginia produced about twice as much grain and livestock than was needed for subsistence, with one in ten farm workers being a slave. Women worked in the fields along with the men, sometimes acting as drovers, supervisors and performing general maintenance, such as cutting fence rails. Rather than depending on overseers, tasks would be assigned for daily or weekly completion. Most slaves engaged in agriculture were to be found on farms with less than 10 slaves, where the owners often worked in the fields as well. In wealthier households slaves would be used for domestic duties and as servants.
- Extraction and Industry
Salt was one of the first exports from West Virginia. By 1828 sixty-five wells along the Kanawha River
Kanawha River
The Kanawha River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, it has formed a significant industrial region of the state since the middle of the 19th century.It is formed at the town of Gauley...
produced 787,000 bushels of salt per year, and by 1835 the industry used the labor of nearly 3,000 men, mostly slaves. Much of Charleston
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
's growth was a result of this resource. By 1852 a yearly fleet of 400 flatboats moved three million bushels of salt to markets south and midwest. The growth of the salt industry also resulted in exploitation of lumber, coal and gas resources, with increased use of slave labor. By 1860, however, salt production was in decline, with only 14 wells located in the counties of Kanawha
Kanawha County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 200,073 people, 86,226 households, and 55,960 families residing in the county. The population density was 222 people per square mile . There were 93,788 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...
, Mason
Mason County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,957 people, 10,587 households, and 7,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 60 people per square mile . There were 12,056 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
, Marion
Marion County, West Virginia
| style="float:right;"|As of the census of 2000, there were 56,598 people, 23,652 households, and 15,515 families residing in the county. The population density was 183 people per square mile . There were 26,660 housing units at an average density of 86 per square mile...
and Mercer
Mercer County, West Virginia
-External links:* * * * * * *...
. Kanawha County wells used 63% of all male and 29% of all female slaves in the county. Slaves could be hired for half the cost of free workers, and required less supervision. Living conditions for the slaves were unsanitary, and outbreaks of cholera often occurred. In 1844 one hundred slaves died over a three month period from cholera. The actual number of slaves in the Kanwaha Valley exceeded the stated census numbers due to the shifting population of hired slaves in the salt industry.
Coal was used to fuel the salt furnaces of the Kanawha Valley, and by 1860 twenty-five companies were engaged in coal mining in West Virginia, the largest being the Winifrede Mining and Manufacturing Company. These companies advertised for hired slaves at $120 to $200 a year. Women and children were also employed in the mines. Approximately 2000 slaves were employed in coal mining. A system of slides, tramways and rail moved the coal to barges for export to Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
and the lower south.
By 1860 West Virginia had 14 iron plantation
Iron plantation
An Iron plantation was a small scale iron production facility common in the Southern United States prior to the 1900s. It involved a process of smelting that produced an inferior grade of iron called pig iron that did not require a large scale industrial process to produce higher grades of iron...
s. One of the largest was Ice's Ferry Iron Works in Monongalia County
Monongalia County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 81,866 people, 33,446 households, and 18,495 families residing in the county. The population density was 227 people per square mile . There were 36,695 housing units at an average density of 102 per square mile...
. These facilities often occupied from one-quarter to one-third of the land in their home counties, averaging about 12000 acres (48.6 km²). Slave labor made up about 75% of the work force.
- Recreation
The mineral springs of southern West Virginia were favored destinations of vacationing southern society and drew visitors from as far away as Louisiana and the Gulf States. Presidents of the United States, Supreme Court justices, and politicians such as John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
, Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
and Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests...
met and socialized here. Periodicals such as Debow's Review urged southerners to take advantage of their highlands for their recreation instead of the annual migrations north. Richmond slave exchanges recruited workers for the resorts and springs. The "Old White" at White Sulphur Springs
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
White Sulphur Springs is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,444 at the 2010 census.-Geography:White Sulphur Springs is located at ....
in Greenbrier County valued its holdings at $100,000 in real estate and $56,000 in slaves. At the Old White one traveller wrote of three slaves who played at the nightly dances, using a fiddle, tambourine, and the skull of an ass. Another visitor described her view behind the scenes at the Old White thus: "In the various departments we found admirable system, healthy, likely slaves all employed ; yet evidently not overworked or oppressed—a corps of subordinates having their duties so arranged, that they relieved each other in quick succession whenever the work was severe. Whether the perfection of the management arises from perseverance in method, or efficient servants, the result is certainly admirable."
Sweet Springs, West Virginia
Sweet Springs is an unincorporated town in Monroe County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Sweet Springs lies at the intersection of West Virginia Route 3 and West Virginia Route 311. The community is known for its Old Sweet Springs resort and spa, listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
in Monroe County had buildings designed by William B. Phillips, who had assisted Thomas Jefferson in the building of the University of Virginia. Frame structures were provided for slaves and livery. It was one of the oldest resorts in West Virginia, the first hotel having been built there in 1792. The hotel was forbidden from selling strong drink to any freedman or slave. Other popular resorts and spas were Salt Sulphur Springs
Salt Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Salt Sulphur Springs is an unincorporated community in Monroe County, West Virginia, United States. Salt Sulphur Springs is located on U.S. Route 219 southwest of Union....
, Red Sulphur Springs
Red Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Red Sulphur Springs is a small unincorporated community in Monroe County, West Virginia, USA. It once boasted the Red Sulphur Springs Hotel. It is located on West Virginia Route 12, close to Indian Creek.-History:...
, Shannondale Springs
Shannondale Springs
Shannondale Springs is a former American resort associated with mineral springs on the bank of the Shenandoah River upstream from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The water from the main spring was reputed to have mild laxative qualities, while other springs had a sulfrous odor...
, Berkeley Springs and Blue Sulphur Springs
Blue Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Blue Sulphur Springs is an unincorporated community in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. Blue Sulphur Springs is north of Alderson. It is named for a former mineral springs resort that was nearby....
.
- Transportation and Commerce
Slaves were used on waterways and overland in the transportion of West Virginia products, livestock, salt, grain, tobacco, lumber and coal. Several times a year fleets of flatboats left Charleston, manned by both slave and free workmen, to markets in Cincinnati and New Orleans. The B&O Railroad hired and bought West Virginia slaves to work in construction gangs and in passenger service. Slaves were sometimes used in the operation of retail stores. In some towns, like Martinsburg
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg is a city in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia, United States. The city's population was 14,972 at the 2000 census; according to a 2009 Census Bureau estimate, Martinsburg's population was 17,117, making it the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle and the eighth largest...
, the black population could reach nearly one-third the total residents., while in Charleston
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
it was just over one-fourth the population, with only a few of that number being freedmen.
Population
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1820 | 15,178 |
| 1830 | 17,673 |
| 1840 | 18,488 |
| 1850 | 20,428 |
| 1860 | 18,371 |
Western Virginia's slave population peaked in 1850 with 20,428 slaves, or nearly 7% of the population. In 1860 the number of slaves was 18,371. Much of the decreased number of slaves in West Virginia was due to the high demand for slaves in the lower south. The opening of Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
lands in north Georgia and Alabama resulted in the growth of cotton and tobacco production and the slave population there nearly tripled from 1840 to 1860. Slave "coffles" became frequent sights in West Virginia. These were groups of slaves, usually bound together by rope, that were moved mostly overland to markets in the lower south. Often the slaves were not told of their destination for fear of runaways or resistance. With the increasing value of slaves in the 1840s and 1850s slaves were sometimes kidnapped to be resold.
The 1860 U.S. Census counted 3,605 slaveowners in West Virginia. Of this number 2,572 (71%) owned 5 or less. These owners accounted for 33% of the total number of slaves. In 15 counties there was a total of 92 owners of 20 or more slaves. The greatest numbers of slaves occurred in the counties of Jefferson
Jefferson County, West Virginia
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 53,498. Its county seat is Charles Town...
(3,960), Kanawha
Kanawha County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 200,073 people, 86,226 households, and 55,960 families residing in the county. The population density was 222 people per square mile . There were 93,788 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...
(2,184), Berkeley
Berkeley County, West Virginia
Berkeley County is a county located in the Eastern Panhandle region of the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population is 104,169, making it the second-most populous county in West Virginia, behind Kanawha...
(1,650), Greenbrier
Greenbrier County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,453 people, 14,571 households, and 9,922 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile . There were 17,644 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
(1,525), Hampshire
Hampshire County, West Virginia
Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town . Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties ...
(1,213), Monroe
Monroe County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,583 people, 5,447 households, and 3,883 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile . There were 7,267 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...
(1,114), and Hardy
Hardy County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,669 people, 5,204 households, and 3,564 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile . There were 7,115 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
(1,073). There were also 2,773 freedmen living in West Virginia.
Abolition & Pro-Slavery
There was no organized anti-slavery movement in West Virginia as there was in KentuckyHistory of slavery in Kentucky
The history of slavery in Kentucky dates from the earliest permanent European settlements in the state until the end of the Civil War. Although Kentucky was generally classified as the Upper South or a Border state, rather than the Deep South, enslaved African Americans made up a substantial...
, Maryland
History of Maryland
The history of Maryland included only Native Americans until Europeans, starting with John Cabot in 1498, began exploring the area. The first settlements came in 1634 when the English arrived in significant numbers and created a permanent colony. In 1776, during the American Revolution, Maryland...
or Delaware
History of Delaware
The history of Delaware is the story of a small American state, in the middle of the original colonies, and yet until recently often overlooked by outsiders...
, and few abolitionists. Resistance to slavery was usually due to religious affiliation or based on economic principles. In some communities of immigrant settlers, such as the Germans, anti-slavery sentiment was dominant. Some West Virginia anti-slavery sentiment was politically based, due to slaveholders using the institution to gain unequal representation in the General Assembly and tax advantages.
In 1831, after Nat Turner's slave rebellion, the General Assembly of 1831-32 was challenged to find solutions to the growing problems of slavery. Some proposed immediate emancipation, some gradual emancipation and deportation, while others preferred the status quo. Thomas Jefferson Randolph
Thomas Jefferson Randolph
Thomas Jefferson Randolph of Albemarle County was a planter and politician who served in the Virginia House of Delegates, was rector of the University of Virginia, and was a colonel in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War...
proposed a gradual emancipation, and George W. Summers
George W. Summers
George William Summers was an attorney, politician, and jurist from Virginia .Summers was born in Fairfax County, Virginia, where his father served in the House of Delegates for four terms. His family moved to Kanawha County in 1814...
of Kanawha County proposed funding the project from the sale of public lands, but the General Assembly adjourned without taking any action.
In 1844 the Methodist Church
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
became divided over the ownership of slaves by its ministers. A line was drawn west from Lynchburg
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
, north of which slave ownership was forbidden. This would have included most of West Virginia. However, many Methodist churches in West Virginia refused to follow this decision. In Marion county
Marion County, West Virginia
| style="float:right;"|As of the census of 2000, there were 56,598 people, 23,652 households, and 15,515 families residing in the county. The population density was 183 people per square mile . There were 26,660 housing units at an average density of 86 per square mile...
a congregation urged the church to "send among us only such ministers as have wisdom and grace enough to enable them to preach the gospel without meddling with our civil institutions." A similar split occurred in the Baptist denomination within West Virginia.
Henry Ruffner
Henry Ruffner
Henry Ruffner , was an educator and Presbyterian minister, who served as president of Washington College .-Biography:...
of Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, was a professor at Washington College and its president from 1836-1848. His father owned land and slaves in the Kanawha Valley, and he had attended school in Shepherdstown and was a slave owner himself. In 1847 he published a pamphlet, An Address to the People of West Virginia, often called the "Ruffner pamphlet", which was the result of a speech he gave in Lexington at the Franklin Society. He advocated an end to slavery in the west for economic and social reasons, believing that slavery retarded development and growth.
In the 1840's the recently formed abolitionist Liberty Party attempted to attract Virginians to their cause and did draw some members from western Virginia. The advocacy of abolitionism however also brought about violent reactions from pro-slavery Virginians. From 1840 through the 1850's most of the notable mob actions against abolitionists in Virginia took place in western Virginia. In 1839 a mob from Guyandotte
Guyandotte, West Virginia
Guyandotte is an historic neighborhood of Huntington, West Virginia and was formerly a small town in Virginia located at the confluence of the Guyandotte River and the Ohio River...
crossed the Ohio River and kidnapped a man in order to tar and feather him. In 1854 west Virginians again crossed the river to Quaker Bottom (now Proctorville
Proctorville, Ohio
Proctorville is a village in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 620 at the 2000 census. The East End Bridge connects Proctorville to Huntington, West Virginia across the Ohio River....
) to beat abolitionists.
The 1850-51 Constitutional Convention in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
addressed many of the complaints of West Virginians, and finally gave the vote to all male residents 21 years of age, and representation in the House of Delegates
Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbered years. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected from among the...
of the General Assembly based on the white population from the census of 1850. Representation in the Senate
Senate of Virginia
The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia...
however was arbitrarily determined, the east getting 30 senators and the west 20. The slaveholders also gave themselves a tax advantage, slaves under 12 years of age were not taxed, while older slaves were only taxed at a value of $300. Despite these inequities, the new constitution was opposed only by a few counties in the east.
In 1856 Massachusetts abolitionist Eli Thayer
Eli Thayer
Eli Thayer was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1861. Thayer was born in Mendon, Massachusetts. He graduated from Worcester Academy in 1840, from Brown University in 1845, and in 1848 founded Oread Institute, a school for young women in Worcester, Massachusetts...
was looking for property in the south where he could establish a working colony free of slavery. He finally settled on Wayne County
Wayne County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 42,903 people, 17,239 households, and 12,653 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile . There were 19,107 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
and built the village of Ceredo
Ceredo, West Virginia
Ceredo is a city in Wayne County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,675 at the 2000 census. Ceredo is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649.The city is also near the location of...
. He faced severe opposition to his colony by U.S. Congressman Albert G. Jenkins
Albert G. Jenkins
Albert Gallatin Jenkins was an attorney, planter, representative to the United States Congress and First Confederate Congress, and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War...
, himself the owner of Green Bottom Plantation in nearby Cabell County
Cabell County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 96,784 people, 41,180 households, and 25,490 families residing in the county. The population density was 344 people per square mile . There were 45,615 housing units at an average density of 162 per square mile...
with its 30-some slaves.
At first the new settlement was welcomed, but after John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was an attempt by white abolitionist John Brown to start an armed slave revolt by seizing a United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Virginia in 1859...
in 1859 local residents became hostile to the Ceredo colony. During the war Ceredo became a focus of Unionism and raised Union militia. This made it a favorite target for local Confederate raiders like William "Rebel Bill" Smith and by the end of the war Ceredo was almost abandoned.
At times slaveowners freed some or all of their slaves as part of their estate. In eastern Virginia in 1848 John Warwick of Amherst County
Amherst County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,894 people, 11,941 households, and 8,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 67 people per square mile . There were 12,958 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile...
, and Frances Eppes of Henrico County
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
freed all of their slaves in their estates. In western Virginia Sampson Sanders of Cabell County
Cabell County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 96,784 people, 41,180 households, and 25,490 families residing in the county. The population density was 344 people per square mile . There were 45,615 housing units at an average density of 162 per square mile...
freed his slaves on his death in 1849. Due to a Virginia law that required manumitted slaves to leave the state within one year of freedom, most of the estates provided funds for the equipment and settling of the freedmen in other states. When Sanders' will was made the former slaves were to be resettled in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, but Indiana had since passed a law forbidding the immigration of freedmen. Mr. Sanders' executors instead settled the newly freed slaves in Cass County, Michigan
Cass County, Michigan
Cass County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the population was 51,104. It is part of the South Bend–Mishawaka, IN-MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area which has a total population of 316,663 and is sometimes considered part of Greater Michiana...
.
A freedman could apply to the General Assembly or the county court for permission to remain in Virginia. The life of a freedman was often perilous, with the prospect of re-enslavement a constant hazard. A freedman could be enslaved for infractions of the law, debt or vagrancy. In Monroe County
Monroe County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,583 people, 5,447 households, and 3,883 families residing in the county. The population density was 31 people per square mile . There were 7,267 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...
in 1829 the sheriff was ordered to sell into slavery eight freedmen for failure to pay their taxes. Freedmen were also required to carry their papers as proof of their status and failure to do so could result in a fine or imprisonment. Any slave who was away from his owner's property was required to carry a written pass as slave patrols were on the lookout for runaways or unsupervised slaves.
Underground Railroad
- Harper's Ferry Route
Slaves of lighter complexion sometimes bought passage on the B&O railroad to reach Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. Other slaves crossed the narrow panhandle of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
by foot to reach Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. A large number of free blacks worked with Quakers in this area to facilitate escape. In 1845, Dr. Robert Mitchell of Pennsylvania was sued by Garret van Metre of Hardy County
Hardy County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,669 people, 5,204 households, and 3,564 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile . There were 7,115 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...
for aiding the escape of his slave Jared. In two trials held in Pittsburgh Mr. van Metre was awarded $500 from Dr. Mitchell for the loss of his slave.
- Morgantown Route
Two routes ran through the Morgantown
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...
area to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. One was a trail that led through Mount Morris, Pa.
Mount Morris, Pennsylvania
Mount Morris is an unincorporated community in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States.-Geography:Mount Morris is located at , on Interstate 79 near the West Virginia state line. Its elevation is 938 feet ....
to Greensboro, Pa
Greensboro, Pennsylvania
Greensboro is a borough in Greene County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 295 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Greensboro is located at ....
. The other route left Morgantown and ran parallel to the Monongahela River, going through the town of New Geneva, Pa., to Uniontown
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Uniontown is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Pittsburgh and part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. Population in 1900, 7,344; in 1910, 13,344; in 1920, 15,692; and in 1940, 21,819. The population was 10,372 at the 2010 census...
. The A.M.E. Zion Church
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the A.M.E. Church, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination based in the United States. It was founded by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the...
had congregations in both Morgantown and across the border in Fayette County
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, Pa.
- Point Pleasant-Parkersburg Route
Slaves escaping the interior of West Virginia could follow the Kanawha River to Point Pleasant
Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The population was 4,637 at the 2000 census...
. From there they could follow the Ohio River north to Parkersburg. Across the river from Parkersburg
Parkersburg, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,099 people, 14,467 households, and 8,767 families residing in the city. In 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Parkersburg's population had decreased 4.4% to 31,755. The population density was 2,800.5 people per square mile . There were 16,100 housing...
was the Ohio town of Belpre
Belpre, Ohio
Belpre is a city in Washington County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. It is part of the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,441 at the 2010 census....
where a Col. John Stone acted as an agent for the railroad. Fugtives were hidden at Parkersburg by a black woman called "Aunt Jenny" until they could cross the river. In 1847 Wood County
Wood County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 87,986 people, 36,275 households, and 24,884 families residing in the county. The population density was 240 people per square mile . There were 39,785 housing units at an average density of 108 per square mile...
plantation owner George Henderson filed suit in Ohio against abolitionist David Putnam of Marietta, Ohio
Marietta, Ohio
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Ohio, United States. During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory. Marietta is located in southeastern Ohio at the mouth...
, for the loss of 9 slaves. The suit was eventually dropped in 1853. Other agents for the railroad were an unnamed barber from Jackson, Ohio
Jackson, Ohio
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,184 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Jackson is located at ....
, who visited Point Pleasant and would help slaves to Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Scioto County. The municipality is located on the northern banks of the Ohio River and east of the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.-Foundation:...
, and a teacher, Rail Cheadle, of Morgan County, Ohio
Morgan County, Ohio
**----...
.
- Wheeling-Wellsburg Route
Wheeling was an important stop for runaways, standing as it does between Ohio and Pennsylvania. A branch of the railroad ran between Wheeling
Wheeling, West Virginia
Wheeling is a city in Ohio and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia; it is the county seat of Ohio County. Wheeling is the principal city of the Wheeling Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and Wellsburg
Wellsburg, West Virginia
Wellsburg is a city in and the county seat of Brooke County, West Virginia, United States. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The 2000 Census recorded a population of 2,891, down from a count of 3,385 in the 1990 Census...
, going east to the Pennsylvania towns of Washington
Washington, Pennsylvania
Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, within the Pittsburgh Metro Area in the southwestern part of the state...
or West Middletown
West Middletown, Pennsylvania
West Middletown is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 144 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Middletown is located at ....
. The McKeever family of West Middletown
West Middletown, Pennsylvania
West Middletown is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 144 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Middletown is located at ....
would hide fugitives in their poultry wagon and drive them to Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. The A.M.E. Zion Church
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the A.M.E. Church, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination based in the United States. It was founded by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the...
in Wheeling was also active in aiding slaves to freedom. The proprietor of the Wheeling House Hotel was rumored to find safe houses for runaways. The hotel was next door to the slave auction block.
In 1835 slaveowners in Jefferson County petitioned the General Assembly for redress for the loss of runaway slaves. In response, the General Assembly passed an act incorporating "The Virginia Slave Insurance Company" in Charlestown
Charles Town, West Virginia
Charles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,907 at the 2000 census. Due to its similar name, travelers have sometimes confused this city with the state's capital, Charleston.-History:...
. The Fugitive Slave Act returned a number of slaves to western Virginia. Just before the Civil War a slave belonging to the Jackson family in Harrison County
Harrison County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 68,652 people, 27,867 households, and 19,088 families residing in the county. The population density was 165 people per square mile . There were 31,112 housing units at an average density of 75 per square mile...
escaped to Ohio by stealing a horse, but was returned under the act and sold lower south. One of the last slaves ever returned under the act was Sara Lucy Bagby, who had also escaped to Ohio and was restored to her owner in Wheeling on Jan. 24, 1861.. (Lucy Bagby fortunately moved north and out of slavery. )Slaves who ran away and were returned, or at risk of flight, were often sold. In 1856 in Point Pleasant
Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The population was 4,637 at the 2000 census...
, Mason County
Mason County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,957 people, 10,587 households, and 7,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 60 people per square mile . There were 12,056 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
, two slaveholders sold their eighteen slaves for $10,600 to a Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
dealer when it was discovered that they had been planning an escape. A slave owner in Kanwaha County
Kanawha County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 200,073 people, 86,226 households, and 55,960 families residing in the county. The population density was 222 people per square mile . There were 93,788 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...
sent his remaining slaves to Natchez
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
for sale after two had run away.
War
When the Indiana and Ohio state troops under command of Gen. George B. McClellanGeorge B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
invaded West Virginia on May 26, 1861, Gen. McClellan issued a proclamation "To the Union Men of Western Virginia" in which he stated "Notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors to induce you to believe that our advent among you will be signalized by interference with your slaves, understand one thing clearly—not only will we abstain from all such interference, but we will, on the contrary, with an iron hand, crush any attempt at insurrection on their part." Writing in his journal on Jan. 3, 1862 in Fayetteville
Fayetteville, West Virginia
Fayetteville is a town in and the county seat of Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,754 at the 2000 census.Fayetteville was listed as one of the 2006 "Top 10 Coolest Small Towns in America" by Budget Travel Magazine ....
Col. Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
noted, "Nobody in this army thinks of giving to the Rebels their fugitive slaves. Union men might perhaps be differently dealt with-probably would be."
The war provided an opportunity for large numbers of slaves to escape to Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Federal army considered escaped slaves to be contraband
Contraband (American Civil War)
Contraband was a term commonly used in the United States military during the American Civil War to describe a new status for certain escaped slaves or those who affiliated with Union forces after the military determined that the US would not return escaped slaves who went to Union lines to their...
, or spoils of war. Some enlisted in the Federal army as part of the United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...
. Both the Federal and Confederate armies impressed some men into labor gangs, repairing railroads and bridges. Without the support of their spouses or former owners, women and children suffered greatly. Slave families endured depredation not only by raiding Union and Confederate soldiers, but also by partisan guerrillas, who were the most feared as they were the most likely to be violent.
The war provided an impetus not only for slaves to escape but also to revolt. On May 27, 1861 in Lewisburg
Lewisburg, West Virginia
Lewisburg is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,830 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Greenbrier County.-Geography:Lewisburg is located at ....
a slave named Reuben was convicted of conspiring "to rebel and make insurrection in said county." Pistols and other weapons were found in his cabin, and the court sentenced him to be hanged. A similar incident occurred in Mecklenburg County
Mecklenburg County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 32,727 people, 12,951 households, and 8,962 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile . There were 17,403 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
on May 21, 1861.
With Union troops securing the northern counties of western Virginia against Confederate defenders a Unionist government in Wheeling, called The Restored Government of Virginia
Restored government of Virginia
The Restored Government of Virginia, or the Reorganized Government of Virginia, was the Unionist government of Virginia during the American Civil War. From 1861 until mid-1863 it met in Wheeling, and from 26 August 1863 until June 1865 it met in Alexandria...
, passed an ordinance for the creation of a new state from the western counties of Virginia. The voters who approved the ordinance on Oct. 24, 1861 also elected members to a convention to write the constitution for the new state. The Constitutional Convention met in Wheeling on November 26, 1861 with 61 members. One of the issues facing them was slavery. Most were hoping that the Federal government would grant statehood without an emancipation clause to the constitution. Although some native Virginians, such as Methodist minister Robert Hagar, favored gradual emancipation, much of the agitation for it came from the non-native delegates such as Gordon Battelle, William E. Stevenson
William E. Stevenson
William Erskine Stevenson was an American cabinet-maker, farmer, and Republican politician from Parkersburg, West Virginia. He was the third Governor of West Virginia from 1869 until 1871....
, and Granville Parker. When Gordon Battelle proposed his emancipation clause Granville Parker recalled " I discovered on that occasion as I never had before, the mysterious and over-powering influence 'the peculiar institution' had on men otherwise sane and reliable. Why, when Mr. Battelle submitted his resolutions, a kind of tremor—a holy horror, was visible throughout the house."
The convention, instead of incorporating an emancipation clause into the new constitution, included a clause forbidding freedmen and slaves from entering the new state and hoped this would be enough to satisfy Congress. However, the statehood bill was opposed by Senators Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...
and Benjamin Wade
Benjamin Wade
Benjamin Franklin "Bluff" Wade was a U.S. lawyer and United States Senator. In the Senate, he was associated with the Radical Republicans of that time.-Early life:...
, who insisted on emancipation in some form. Waitman T. Willey
Waitman T. Willey
Waitman Thomas Willey was an American lawyer and politician from Morgantown, West Virginia. He represented both the states of Virginia and West Virginia in the United States Senate and was one of West Virginia's first two Senators.Willey was born in 1811, in a log cabin near the present day...
, a Senator of Virginia under the aegis of the Restored Government in Wheeling, composed an emancipation amendment to the constitution to be ratified by public vote on March 26, 1863. It became known as the Willey Amendment.
The amendment was approved by public vote and on April 20, 1863 President Lincoln issued a proclamation that West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
had met all requirements and would become a state on June 20, 1863. The Willey Amendment freed no slaves on West Virginia becoming a state, the first slaves to be freed would not have been so until 1867. There was no provision for freedom for any slave over 21 years of age.
In anticipation of the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution the Wheeling legislature passed a bill ending slavery in West Virginia on Feb. 3, 1865.
Reconstruction
The end of the war and emancipation brought both jubilation and anxiety, many not knowing how to restructure their lives. At emancipation some slaveowners reacted by evicting all former slaves from their properties, others negotiated work contracts or sharecropping arrangements. Since few of these agreements were legally contracted, and the newly freed slaves had little access to the legal system, they were often victimized. Former Kanawha County slave Lizzie Grant explained- "Slavery had not ended, no we just went from slaves to peons...They did free them in one sense of the word, but put them in a whole lot worse shape as they turned them loose to make their own way with nothing to make it with...[W]e mostly had to stay with our [former owners] if we got anything...[W]e were forced to stay on as servants, yes, if we expected to live...[T]hey still made us do just like they wanted to after the war."In 1866 the state legislature gave blacks the right to testify against whites in court. Before this, they had been allowed to testify only in cases involving black defendants. In 1867 the 14th Amendment was ratified, granting citizenship and the right to due process under the law.
As a Union state West Virginia was exempt from most of the strictures of Reconstruction. The charter which created the Freedmen's Bureau, however, stated their jurisdiction as "all subjects relating to refugees and freedmen from rebel States, or from any district of country within the territory embraced in operations of the army."
Schools were established by the Bureau in Harper's Ferry and Martinsburg
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Martinsburg is a city in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia, United States. The city's population was 14,972 at the 2000 census; according to a 2009 Census Bureau estimate, Martinsburg's population was 17,117, making it the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle and the eighth largest...
in September 1865 and others later in Charlestown
Charles Town, West Virginia
Charles Town is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,907 at the 2000 census. Due to its similar name, travelers have sometimes confused this city with the state's capital, Charleston.-History:...
and Shepherdstown
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
Shepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located along the Potomac River. It is the oldest town in the state, having been chartered in 1762 by Colonial Virginia's General Assembly. Since 1863, Shepherdstown has been in West Virginia, and is the oldest town in...
. Except for the school in Martinsburg, the others were met with resistance and harassment.
In 1862 Parkersburg
Parkersburg, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,099 people, 14,467 households, and 8,767 families residing in the city. In 2006 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Parkersburg's population had decreased 4.4% to 31,755. The population density was 2,800.5 people per square mile . There were 16,100 housing...
became the first city to have established a school for black children. By 1867 there were two schools in existence, one public school with a white teacher, and a private school run by R.H. Robinson. Some parents preferred the private school, believing the public school to be too sectarian.
Except for the eastern panhandle the Kanawha Valley had the highest number of black residents. When the Bureau visited the area in 1867 it discovered five schools already established by black citizens, several of them by the Rev. Lewis Rice. The Bureau found the quality of teaching to be good but the physical structures very poor. Local school boards refused or sometimes delayed appropriating funds for new buildings. In Brook's Hollow the Bureau provided $300 and black residents $323 for a new schoolhouse.
At White Sulphur Springs
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
White Sulphur Springs is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,444 at the 2010 census.-Geography:White Sulphur Springs is located at ....
in Greenbrier County
Greenbrier County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,453 people, 14,571 households, and 9,922 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile . There were 17,644 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile...
a local resident donated land for a new building and the Bureau supplied $177.10 for building supplies and black residents raised the rest of the money. In Lewisburg
Lewisburg, West Virginia
Lewisburg is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,830 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Greenbrier County.-Geography:Lewisburg is located at ....
in early 1868 the school board provided a building through the combined efforts of the Bureau and black residents.
The most notable accomplishment of the Freedmen's Bureau was its efforts in the establishment of Storer College
Storer College
Storer College was a historically black college located in Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It operated from 1865 until 1955.-Storer School:...
in Harper's Ferry. Spurred by a grant from John Storer of Stanford, Maine, which was conditional on matching funds, the Bureau facilitated the appropriation of government buildings in Harper's Ferry and 7 acres (28,328 m²) of land. The Bureau also contributed $18,000 to the establishment of the college. On Dec. 3, 1868 Congress passed a bill transferring the property to the college.
By 1868 the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
had organized klavens in West Virginia. Lizzie Grant recalled-"There was them KKK's to say that we must do just like our white man tell us, if we did not, they would take the poor helpless negro and beat him up good." In Colliers
Colliers, West Virginia
Colliers is an unincorporated town in Brooke County, West Virginia....
a white mob broke up a black political meeting, identifying members for later klan discipline. In Harper's Ferry, a crowd stoned a black school and assaulted teachers.
When the state of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
was created from fifty western counties of Virginia in 1863 it was done without the participation of most of its citizens. At the end of the war the Wheeling government found it necessary in order to stay in power to strip former Confederates and supporters of their civil rights- the right to vote, sit on juries, teach, practice law, or hold public office. The introduction of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution in 1869, intended to extend the vote to black male citizens, provided an opportunity for disfranchised whites to regain their rights. Federal judge John Jay Jackson, Jr.
John Jay Jackson, Jr.
John Jay Jackson, Jr. was a United States federal judge, first from Virginia, and then from West Virginia, at the time of its creation as a separate state.-Early life and career:...
, whose family had suffered politically under the Wheeling government, ruled that the 15th Amendment applied to all male citizens regardless of color and ordered the arrest of any state registrar who denied a male resident the right to vote. As a result thousands of Confederate veterans and supporters were enrolled on the voting lists.
By 1871 the Wheeling government had lost power and their state constitution was discarded by a public referendum. A new state constitution was written in 1872 under the chairmanship of Samuel Price
Samuel Price
Samuel Price was a United States Senator from West Virginia. Born in Fauquier County, Virginia, he moved with his parents to Preston County in 1815. He received a preparatory training, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1832, commencing the practice of his profession in Nicholas and...
, former Confederate Lt. Governor of Virginia. By 1876 seven of the eight successful candidates for state offices, including the governorship, had been in the Confederate army. Francis H. Pierpont, the "Father of West Virginia", lost his seat in the House of Delegates.
Although the new constitution guaranteed blacks the right to vote and hold public office, it provided for separate schooling and forbad the teaching of blacks and whites in the same school. In 1873 the legislature limited jury duty to white males.
Civil Rights
After the war, some black West Virginians had organized politically. In June 1868, a group of 60 black Republicans from KentuckyKentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
and West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
met in Baltimore. Some of the West Virginia delegates were the Rev. Dudly Asbury, William Thomas, and George Trother. They met again in Baltimore in August as the Colored Border State Convention, and West Virginian Adam Howard was chosen as one of the vice-presidents. The convention issued a call for a national convention to meet in January to discuss enfranchisement. At the Union League Hall in Washington, DC, on Jan. 13, 1869 the National Convention of Colored Men convened with over 200 members, including Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
. The emphasis was on gaining the vote, though issues of work, housing and education were all discussed. The convention helped focus Congressional attention on the 15th Amendment, which became law in 1870.
In 1879, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Strauder v. West Virginia
Strauder v. West Virginia
Strauder v. West Virginia, , was a United States Supreme Court case about racial discrimination.-Background:At the time, West Virginia excluded African-Americans from juries. Strauder was a Black man who, at trial, had been convicted of murder by an all-white jury...
that the state had "failed to permit blacks the right to serve as jurors along with its other obligations in qualifying them for citizenship."
Issues concerning slavery continued to surface in legal cases after the end of the war. In 1878, a case between Thomas L. Feamster and James Withrow was taken to the state supreme court concerning slaves which had been purchased with Confederate currency. In 1909, the state of West Virginia claimed the value of slaves who had been subjected to capital punishment by the Virginia government in a suit involving adjustments of the pre-war Virginia Debt
Readjuster Party
The Readjuster Party was a political coalition formed in Virginia in the late 1870s during the turbulent period following the American Civil War. Readjusters aspired "to break the power of wealth and established privilege" and to promote public education, a program which attracted biracial support....
.
External links
- Slaveries "In the Borders": Rebecca Harding Davis's "Life in the Iron Mills" in Its Southern Context
- Slavery and Emancipation in the Mountain South: Evidence, Sources, and Methods
- The Case of Sara Lucy Bagby, A Late Gesture by John E. Vacha, Ohio History, Vol. 76
- West Virginia slave images from the West Virginia and Regional History Collection
Narratives
- Lizzie Grant Begins on pg. 2
- Charles A. Garlick
- Jared Maurice Arter
- Reverend Williams