"On the 14th April, seventy of this description of persons, in one company emigrated into and settled within Lawrence county. They were a part of a stock of slaves emanc.i.p.ated by the last will of a Mr. Ward, late of Pittsylvania county, Virginia, deceased. Those unfortunate creatures have little or no property of value--many of them ragged and dirty. It was expected that such a number together, in such condition would hardly, in Ohio, find a place where to lay their heads; yet so far from meeting with obstacles, facilities to settlement were extended to them. All of them have found places, and many of them have already obtained security as the law requires; and probably the balance will within twenty days. The writer of this note would censure none for acts of kindness to this unfortunate cla.s.s of persons--yet as he regards the moral character and welfare of society, he cannot view these rapid accessions without some degree of alarm."--_The Ohio State Journal and Columbus Gazette_, May 3, 1827.
Some years later there was established in Mercer county another colony, which because of its connection with friends in Cincinnati, then promoting the settlement of Negroes on public land, became the most promising of the colored communities in Ohio. Sketching the history of that county, Howe says:
"In the southern part of this county is a colony of colored people, amounting to several hundred persons. They live princ.i.p.ally by agriculture, and own extensive tracts of land in the townships of Granville, Franklin, and Mercer. They bear a good reputation for morality, and manifest a laudable desire for mental improvement. This settlement was founded by the exertions of Mr. Augustus Wattles, a native of Connecticut, who, instead of merely theorizing upon the evils which prevent the moral and mental advancement of the colored race, has acted in their behalf with a philanthropic, Christian-like zeal, that evinces he has their real good at heart. The history of this settlement is given in the annexed extract of a letter from him.
""My early education, as you well know, would naturally lead me to look upon learning and good morals as of infinite importance in a land of liberty. In the winter of 1833-4, I providentially became acquainted with the colored population of Cincinnati, and found about 4,000 totally ignorant of every thing calculated to make good citizens. Most of them had been slaves, shut out from every avenue of moral and mental improvement. I started a school for them, and kept it up with 200 pupils for two years. I then proposed to the colored people to move into the country and purchase land, and remove from those contaminating influences which had so long crushed them in our cities and villages. They promised to do so, provided I would accompany them and teach school. I travelled through Canada, Michigan and Indiana, looking for a suitable location, and finally settled here, thinking this place contained more natural advantages than any other unoccupied country within my knowledge. In 1835, I made the first purchase for colored people in this county. In about three years, they owned not far from 30,000 acres. I had travelled into almost every neighborhood of colored people in the State, and laid before them the benefits of a permanent home for themselves and of education for their children. In my first journey through the state, I established, by the a.s.sistance and cooperation of abolitionists, 25 schools for colored children. I collected of the colored people such money as they had to spare, and entered land for them. Many, who had no money, afterwards succeeded in raising some, and brought it to me.
With this I bought land for them.
""I purchased for myself 190 acres of land, to establish a manual labor school for colored boys. I had sustained a school on it, at my own expense, till the 11th of November, 1842. Being in Philadelphia the winter before, I became acquainted with the trustees of the late Samuel Emlen, of New Jersey, a Friend. He left by his will $20,000, for the "support and education in school learning and the mechanics arts and agriculture, such colored boys, of African and Indian descent, whose parents would give them up to the inst.i.tute." We united our means and they purchased my farm, and appointed me the superintendent of the establishment, which they call the Emlen Inst.i.tute."
"In 1846, Judge Leigh, of Virginia, purchased 3,200 acres of land in this settlement, for the freed slaves of John Randolph, of Roanoke.
These arrived in the summer of 1846, to the number of about 400, but were forcibly prevented from making a settlement by a portion of the inhabitants of the county. Since then, acts of hostility have been commenced against the people of this settlement, and threats of greater held out, if they do not abandon their lands and homes."--Howe"s "Historical Collections of Ohio," pp. 355-356.
Coming to Shelby county the same historian did not fail to mention a settlement of prosperous Negroes who were keeping pace with their white neighbors.
"In Van Buren township is a settlement of COLORED people, numbering about 400. They const.i.tute half the population of the township, and are as prosperous as their white neighbors. Neither are they behind them in religion, morals and intelligence, having churches and schools of their own. Their location, however, is not a good one, the land being too flat and wet. An attempt was made in July, 1846, to colonize with them 385 of the emanc.i.p.ated slaves of the celebrated John Randolph, of Va., after they were driven from Mercer county; but a considerable party of whites would not willingly permit it, and they were scattered by families among the people of Shelby and Miami who were willing to take them."--Howe"s "Historical Collections of Ohio," pp. 465-466.
This effort at colonizing so many Negroes in the State of Ohio led to much discussion. There arose an anti-free Negro party which sounded the alarm against such philanthropy and undertook to frighten all blacks away. The sentiment of such alarmists may be obtained from the following:
"By the following letter from a gentleman on a tour through Virginia to the editor, it will appear that we are to have a colony of free negroes (no less than five hundred) planted in our adjoining county. Much as we commiserate the situation of those who, when emanc.i.p.ated, are obliged to leave their country or again be enslaved, we trust our const.i.tution and laws are not so defective as to suffer us to be overrun by such a wretched population:
""Richmond, Va., May 10, 1819.
""_Dear Sir_:--Since my arrival in this county I have understood that a large family of negroes, consisting of about five hundred, have lately been liberated and are to be marched to Ohio, and there settled on land provided for them agreeably to the will of a Mr.
Gess, who formerly owned them. There are persons now engaged in collecting the poor miserable beings from different quarters and driving them like cattle to Goochland county, from whence they will take up their line of march to Ohio. I am told that they are perhaps as depraved and ignorant a set of people as any of their kind and that their departure is hailed with joy by all those who have lived in their neighborhood. Ohio will suffer seriously from the iniquitous policy pursued by the States of Virginia and Kent. in driving all their free negroes upon us. The people of Ohio are bound in justice to themselves to adopt some counteracting measure. Many people here are of the opinion that we may be compelled to introduce slavery in Ohio in self-defense, and they appear to be gratified that we are suffering many of the evils attending it, without (as they call it) any of the benefits. I have been gratified to tell them what I believe to be true--that nineteen twentieths of the people of Ohio are so opposed to slavery that they would not consent to its introduction under any circ.u.mstances; and, although they commiserate the situation of those who have been liberated and compelled to abandon their country or again be made slaves, yet in justice to themselves and their posterity they will refuse admittance to such a population.
""Your most ob"t., ""A. T."
"(Editor) We understand from a respectable authority that 270 of said negroes have landed at Ripley and are to settle near the center of Brown county on White Oak, the residue of 500 to follow soon after."--Quillin"s "The Color Line in Ohio," pp. 28-29 and _The Supporter, Chillicothe_, June 16, 1819.
In view of this alarm aroused by the so-called Negro invasion the Ohio colonizationists availed themselves of the opportunity to set forth their plan as the only solution of the problem. The following articles are interesting.
"NEW STYLE COLONIZATION
"It seems that our old friend Gerrit Smith is anxious to form a colony of colored people in the State of New York. It is not known that he pays the expenses of any to get to that happy spot, but he certainly offers them a share in the property of earth, when they arrive. Some have thought his effort in this respect, another proof of his great liberality. Perhaps it is--but of the character of those lands we know nothing. The _Journal of Commerce_ seems to understand the subject from the following, which we cut from a late number:
""_Bounty of Gerrit Smith_.--Some of the newspapers are eulogizing this once sensible man, because he is giving away deeds in any number to colored men, of forty acre lots of his vast tract in Hamilton county. The considerations in the deeds are as follows:
"""For and in consideration of the sum of one dollar to me, in hand paid, and being desirious to have all share in the subsistence and happiness, which a bountiful G.o.d has provided for all, has granted, sold, etc."
""If the negroes do not run away from the bears and wolves and climate and sterility of Hamilton county, with more anxiety than they ever did from Southern slavery, then we do not understand their character. We do not blame the negroes for getting their liberty if they can, but to make them take farms in Hamilton county, is too bad.
The wild beasts up there will rejoice in a negro settlement among them, especially at the beginning of winter."
"Had Judge Leigh taken the Randolph negroes there, they might have fared as well as they have done in Ohio, and certainly he could have gotten the land much cheaper!
"After all, "there is no place like home!" And there is no "home, sweet home," for the colored man, but in Liberia!"
--_The African Repository_, XXII, 320-321.
"FREEDOM IN A FREE STATE
"Facts are almost daily transpiring which show the immense importance of colonization. Among them, none are more conspicuous than those which come to us from the free States. If the colored people cannot enjoy freedom in a free State, what can they do? Where shall they go? Here is a fact:
"_Randolph"s "John"_.--We are told by the _Lynchburg Virginian_, that John, the well-known and faithful servant of the late John Randolph, who, with the emanc.i.p.ated slaves of his master, went to Ohio, and were there treated by the citizens in a manner of which our readers have been apprized, has returned to Charlotte with the intention of pet.i.tioning the legislature to allow him to remain in the commonwealth. He says, they have no feeling for colored people in Ohio, and, if the legislature refuse to grant his pet.i.tion, he will submit to the penalty of remaining and be sold as a slave--preferring this to enjoying freedom in a free state.
"We have been repeatedly asked, why do you not send those slaves to Liberia? To this question we reply, we have had nothing to do with them, and have reason to believe that they have been prejudiced against going to Liberia. And in addition to this, it is now very doubtful whether they have money enough left to take them to Liberia; and it would be impossible for us, in the present state of our finance, to give them a free pa.s.sage and support them six months after their arrival.
"We have been informed that many of the rest of them would come back to Virginia, and be slaves, rather than remain in Ohio, _if they could get back._ And yet they are now free and in a free state! But what does it all amount to?
"Suppose western Virginia and northern Kentucky, were tomorrow to emanc.i.p.ate their slaves, what would become of them? They could not remain in those states. They must remove. Where shall they go? To Ohio, most easily, and as there are more Abolitionists in that state than any other, more hopefully! But would they be admitted there? Where then shall they go? Let those who can, answer these questions. In view of them, and such like, the scheme of colonization rises in magnificence and grandeur beyond conception.
"This then is the time to aid this scheme, that when these thickening events shall turn the tide into Liberia, there may be strength and intelligence enough there to receive it!"
--_The African Repository_, XXII, 321-322.
(From the Colonizationist) THE RANDOLPH SLAVES
"Plattsville, Wis.,
"August 22, 1846.
"_Bro. Gurley:_--I have observed from time to time, with the deepest interest, the course pursued by the citizens of Ohio toward the emanc.i.p.ated slaves of the late John Randolph of Virginia.
"I had repeatedly remarked in my lectures, as stated in the "Eleventh Annual Report of the Indiana Colonization Society," that when slaves were emanc.i.p.ated in the south, and by the laws of those States (as is the case with most of them), they are forced to leave and not permitted to remain in any State south, to go into the north; those northern States would reject them, and leave the slave the alternative, to choose between returning into bondage or emigrating to Liberia. In other words, Liberia offers the only retreat for the slave from bondage, where he is required to leave the south. The free States, may, for a short time, tolerate the migration of a few colored people among them from the south. Especially among the Abolitionists, where they are allowed to have the satisfaction of abducting them from their masters. But if the master comes and offers them, and especially in large numbers, they will be refused.
"On my way to this place, I met with a citizen of Indiana, formerly of Virginia, who gave me some singular facts on this subject. There is living in Ohio, said he, a worthy citizen, a Mr. G., a native of Virginia, who, after a residence there of some eight or ten years, returned to Virginia, on a visit to see a brother who still remained in the "Old Dominion." Mr. G. gave his brother an interesting account of the prospects and policy of Ohio, with which he was much pleased. The Virginia brother remarked to Mr. G. that he found his slaves a great burden to him and requested him to take them all to Ohio and set them free! "I cannot do it," said Mr. G. "Why?" asked his brother. "The citizens of Ohio will not allow me to bring 100 negroes among them to settle," said Mr. G. "But," said he, "I can put you upon a plan by which you can get rid of them and get them into Ohio very easy. Do you take them to Wheeling and there place them on a steamboat for Cincinnati, and speak of taking them to New Orleans; and while you are looking out for another boat, give the chance, and the Abolitionists will steal the whole of them and run them off, and then celebrate a perfect triumph over them. But if you take them to the same men and ask them to receive and take care of them, they will tell you to take care of them yourself."
"The case of the Randolph slaves proves that Mr. G. was right, and that the view presented in our annual report is a just one. Mr. Randolph emanc.i.p.ated his slaves, and as they could not remain in Virginia, they were to be sent to Ohio--there they are not allowed to settle, and must now return to bondage, or go to Liberia.
"As yet the burden of embarra.s.sment of a mixed population of blacks is scarcely felt in the north, as it must be soon; for just as emanc.i.p.ation goes on in the south, they must increase in the north, unless our plan and policy prevails. I cannot say that I regret to see a test of these practical truths. For facts speak out loudly to prove the correctness of the best system of policy on these subjects. Had Mr. Randolph"s slaves been allowed to remain in Ohio, they would have been a downtrodden and oppressed people for all time to come. If they go to Liberia they will be FREE in every sense of the term.
"B. T. Kavanaugh."
--_The African Repository_, XXII, 322-323.
"THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA
"The undersigned, having been appointed agent of the American Colonization Society, for the State of Ohio, to solicit funds to aid its operations, begs leave to call attention to the statistical facts, in reference to the position which this State occupies, in relation to the free colored population of the United States, and the interest which she has in sustaining the Republic of Liberia.
"From 1790 to 1810, the increase of the free colored population of the United States, was at the average rate of near 6 per cent. per annum.
The average increase of the slaves has been a little over 2 per cent. per annum, or exactly two and sixty-hundredths. The census tables for the whole period up to 1840, indicates that the natural increase of the free colored population is somewhat less than that of the slave. I shall suppose it to be 2 per cent. per annum. The excess of increase over 2 will, therefore, represent the emanc.i.p.ations. In applying this rule, it appears that the work of emanc.i.p.ation must have been actively prosecuted from 1790 to 1810.