xt74xg9f541m https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt74xg9f541m/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt74xg9f541m/data/46m53.dao.xml Coleman, J. Winston,  (John Winston), 1898- 1780-1940 1.2 Cubic feet 3 boxes The John Winston Coleman, Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky, 1780-1940 is comprised of manuscript materials (1780-1940) and photographs gathered by John Winston Coleman, Jr. (1898-1983) while conducting research for his book Slavery Times in Kentucky (1940). collections English University of Kentucky This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed.  Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically.  Physical rights are retained by the owning repository.  Copyright is retained in accordance with U. S. copyright laws.  For information about permissions to reproduce or publish, contact the Special Collections Research Center. John Winston Coleman Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky African Americans--Capture and imprisonment African Americans--Colonization--Africa, West Antislavery movements--United States--History--19th century Antislavery movements--United States--Periodicals. Broadsides--Kentucky--1850-1860--Sources Broadsides--Sources Caves Freedmen--Colonization--Africa, West. Fugitive slaves--United States. Hemp industry workers--Kentucky Hemp industry--Kentucky--History Hemp industry--Kentucky. Historians. Historic buildings Icehouses--Kentucky Kitchens--Kentucky Music title pages Plantation owners--Kentucky Plantations--Kentucky. Postcards. Proofs (Printing) Slave traders--Kentucky--Sources. Slave traders--Kentucky. Slaveholders--Dwellings--Kentucky Slaveholders--Kentucky Slaveholders--Kentucky--Sources Slavery Slavery, abolition, and emancipation Slavery--Economic aspects Slavery--Kentucky--Public opinion. Slavery--Kentucky--Sources Slaves--Dwellings--Kentucky Slaves--Emancipation--Kentucky Slaves--Emancipation--Kentucky--Sources Slaves--Kentucky--Biography Slaves--Kentucky--Interviews Slaves--Kentucky--Sources Slaves--Kentucky. Slaves--Legal status, laws, etc.--Kentucky Slaves--Social conditions. Slaves--Trials, litigations, etc.--Kentucky Slaves. Uncle Tom (Fictitious character) Underground Railroad--Kentucky Underground Railroad--Ohio. Underground Railroad. John Winston Coleman Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky text John Winston Coleman Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky 1780 1780-1940 2012 true xt74xg9f541m collection true 46m53 
     
         46m53 
         
             
                 John Winston Coleman, Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky, 1780-1940
                     46M53 
                 
                 Finding aid prepared by Sara Abdmishani Price 
             
             
                 
                     
                 
                 University of Kentucky Special Collections 
                 
                     Special Collections 
                     Margaret I. King Building, North 
                     Lexington, KY, 40506-0039 
                     (859) 257-8611 
                     SCLREF@LSV.UKY.EDU 
                 
                 2011 March 14 
             
         
         
             This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit
                 2012-03-13T17:23-0400 
             
             Description is in English. 
             Describing Archives: A Content Standard 
         
     
     
         
             John Winston Coleman Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky 
             46M53 
             
                 University of Kentucky Special Collections 
             
             
                 
             
             
                 1.2 Cubic feet 
                 3 boxes 
             
             1780-1940 
             The John Winston Coleman, Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky, 1780-1940 is comprised of manuscript materials (1780-1940) and photographs gathered by John Winston Coleman, Jr. (1898-1983) while conducting research for his book 
                 Slavery Times in Kentucky  (1940). 
             
                 Coleman, J. Winston,  (John Winston), 1898- 
             
         
         
             Conditions Governing Access note 
             Collection is open to researchers by appointment. 
         
         
             Conditions Governing Use note 
             Copyright has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. Portions of the collection reside in the public domain, consult AV Archivist for details. 
         
         
             Preferred Citation note 
             46M53 : [identification of item], John Winston Coleman, Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky, 1780-1940, University of Kentucky Special Collections. 
         
         
             Biographical note 
             Author and historian John Winston Coleman, Jr. (1898-1983) was born in Lexington, Kentucky on November 5, 1898. He graduated from the University of Kentucky with both a bachelor's and master's degree in mechanical engineering. Coleman served as president of the general contracting firm, Coleman and Davis, Inc. In the 1930s he became interested in Kentucky's history and published his first book, 
                 Masonry in the Bluegrass  (1933). In 1936 Coleman retired to Winburn Farm located in Lexington, Kentucky to devote time to historic research and writing. He published dozens of books and pamphlets concerning Kentucky's history, including 
                 Stagecoach Days in the Bluegrass  (1835), 
                 Slavery Times in Kentucky  (1940), 
                 A Bibliography of Kentucky History  (1940), 
                 Lexington During the Civil War  (1968), and 
                 Historic Kentucky  (1967). Coleman was a founding member of the Book Thieves Club whose members included Kentucky's Historian Laureate for Life Thomas D. Clark, Lincoln scholar William H. Townsend, Charles R. Staples, and Samuel M. Wilson. While researching his works Coleman collected historic manuscripts, books on Kentucky history, as well as photographs taken both by himself and others. Coleman died in Lexington, Kentucky on May 4, 1983. 
             
         
         
             Scope and Contents note 
             The John Winston Coleman, Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky, 1780-1940 is comprised of manuscript materials (1780-1940) and photographs gathered by John Winston Coleman, Jr. (1898-1983) while conducting research for his book 
                 Slavery Times in Kentucky  (1940). The manuscript materials include documents (both original and photocopies) and correspondence (mostly in the form of responses to query letters) regarding the day-to-day life of slaves, the economics of the slave trade, the Underground Railroad, and the abolition movement. Also present are broadsides and newspaper advertisements, typescripts, and galleys. Some of the original documents are bills of sale for slaves, certificates of freedom, indenture contracts, and legal petitions. Also present are a significant number of trial and litigation documents concerning slaves, slaveholders, and slave traders, especially Lewis C. Robards. The broadsides and advertisements advertise sales of slaves, rewards for runaway slaves, and solicitations for the purchase of slaves. Some textual materials were used as illustrations within the work. A bound volume contains Coleman’s notes from interviews he held with former Kentucky slaves (1939) and with Dr. Wilbur H. Siebert, the author of several books on the topics of slavery and the Underground Railroad. 
             The photographs include images collected during the research for 
                 Slavery Times in Kentucky  (1940). Some images were used in the book as illustrations. Included are portraits of freed slaves, slave and slaveholder housing, images of houses used as Underground Railroad Way Stations, slave prisons, portraits of abolitionists and slavery proponents, broadsides and advertisements for slaves, images of hemp fields, Main Street of Lexington, Kentucky in the 1860s, and a deed of emancipation. 
         
         
             Arrangement note 
             Collection is arranged by format. 
         
         
             Immediate Source of Acquisition note 
             Donated in 1946 and 1964 by John Winston Coleman, Jr. 
         
         
             Alexander, Robert Spreul Crawford Aitcheson, 1819-1867 
             Ashland (Lexington, Ky.) 
             Birney, James Gillespie, 1792-185 
             Black, James Dixon, 1849-1938  
             Bodley, H. J.  
             Bolar, Joseph, 1852-1947 
             Breckinridge, Robert J.,  (Robert Jefferson), 1800-1871 
             Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903  
             Clay, Henry, 1777-1852 
             Coleman, J. Winston,  (John Winston), 1898- 
             Cousins, Jennie 
             Davis, Sanford 
             Dunn, Nathaniel 
             Elmore, Bell, 1867-1946 
             Fairbank, Calvin 
             Fishback, James, 1776-1845 
             Hutchinson Family (Singers) 
             Johnson, Eliza Jane 
             Kinkead, George Blackburn, 1849-1940 
             Lewis, Lilliburn 
             Lucas, Robert W.  
             Mahan, John B. 
             Marshall, George S.  
             Marshall, Silas 
             Norchutt, Joseph H. 
             Owlsey, William, 1782-1862 
             Rankin, John, 1793-1886 
             Robards, Lewis C., 1818-? 
             Rothier, Frank A. , 1853-1932 
             Shelby, Isaac, 1750-1826 
             Shelby, James, 1784-1848 
             Shelby, Mary Pindell, 1786-1836 
             Siebert, Wilbur Henry, 1866-1961 
             Stone, Edward 
             Stovall, Sonny, 1854-1941 
             Talbott, William F. 
             Underwood, Warner Lewis, 1808-1872 
             Webster, Delia 
             Wickliffe, Robert, 1775-1859 
             African Americans--Capture and imprisonment 
             African Americans--Colonization--Africa, West 
             Antislavery movements--United States--History--19th century 
             Antislavery movements--United States--Periodicals. 
             Athens (Ky.) 
             Broadsides--Kentucky--1850-1860--Sources 
             Broadsides--Sources 
             Caves 
             Covington (Ky.) 
             Fayette County (Ky.) 
             Frankfort (Ky.) 
             Freedmen--Colonization--Africa, West. 
             Fugitive slaves--United States. 
             Hemp industry workers--Kentucky 
             Hemp industry--Kentucky--History 
             Hemp industry--Kentucky. 
             Historians. 
             Historic buildings 
             Icehouses--Kentucky 
             Kentucky--History. 
             Kitchens--Kentucky 
             Knox County (Ky.) 
             Lexington (Ky.) 
             Mercer County (Ky.) 
             Music title pages 
             Plantation owners--Kentucky 
             Plantations--Kentucky. 
             Postcards. 
             Proofs (Printing) 
             Ripley (Oh.) 
             Slave traders--Kentucky--Sources. 
             Slave traders--Kentucky. 
             Slaveholders--Dwellings--Kentucky 
             Slaveholders--Kentucky 
             Slaveholders--Kentucky--Sources 
             Slavery 
             Slavery, abolition, and emancipation 
             Slavery--Economic aspects  
             Slavery--Kentucky--Public opinion. 
             Slavery--Kentucky--Sources  
             Slaves--Dwellings--Kentucky 
             Slaves--Emancipation--Kentucky 
             Slaves--Emancipation--Kentucky--Sources 
             Slaves--Kentucky--Biography 
             Slaves--Kentucky--Interviews 
             Slaves--Kentucky--Sources  
             Slaves--Kentucky. 
             Slaves--Legal status, laws, etc.--Kentucky 
             Slaves--Social conditions. 
             Slaves--Trials, litigations, etc.--Kentucky 
             Slaves. 
             True American (Lexington, Ky. : 1845) 
             Uncle Tom (Fictitious character) 
             Underground Railroad--Kentucky 
             Underground Railroad--Ohio. 
             Underground Railroad. 
             Woodford County (Ky.)--History. 
         
         
             
                 
                     Papers 
                     I. 
                     
                         
                     
                     1780-1940 
                 
                 
                     Scope and Contents note 
                     Papers, 1780-1940 includes documents (both original and photocopies), correspondence (mostly in the form of responses to query letters), and notes gathered by Coleman during research for his work 
                         Slavery Times in Kentucky  (1940). Also present are manuscript materials including the original manuscript and a galley for 
                         Slavery Times in Kentucky  (1940). Some textual materials were used as illustrations within the work. A bound volume contains Coleman’s notes from interviews he held with former Kentucky slaves (1939) and with Dr. Wilbur H. Siebert, the author of several books on topics of slavery and the Underground Railroad. 
                 
                 
                     
                         Original documents 
                         i. 
                         
                             
                         
                         1780-1860 
                     
                     
                         Scope and Contents note 
                         Original documents, 1780-1860 consists of bills of sale for slaves, certificates of freedom, indentures, and petitions. 
                     
                     
                         
                             Legal documents 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             1 
                             1780-1850  
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes various legal documents such as a Land-Office Treasury Warrant (1780), a letter (1844) written by Kentucky State Auditor H.J. Bodley to Kentucky Governor William Owsley recommending the denial of a request for a pardon, and a petition (1850) signed by citizens of Athens, Kentucky expressing their irritation with slaves coming into Athens on Sundays. 
                         
                         
                             Bodley, H. J.  
                             Owlsey, William, 1782-1862 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Free papers and bills of sale 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             2 
                             1822-1860 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes original bills of sales for slaves, indentures, deeds of emancipation, and free papers declaring individual slaves freed. Some documents are legal court documents. 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Trials and suits 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             3 
                             1833-1855 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes affidavits concerning failure to provide services for slaves, disputed sales of slaves, failure to pay debts owed on slaves, and correspondence between Lewis C. Robards and P. Robinson regarding a lawsuit. 
                         
                         
                             Robards, Lewis C., 1818-? 
                         
                     
                 
                 
                     
                         Query letters 
                         ii. 
                         
                             
                         
                         1936-1939 
                     
                     
                         Scope and Contents note 
                         Query letters, 1936-1939 includes correspondence (largely responses to Coleman’s query letters) from professors, librarians, authors, and other specialists regarding conditions of life for slaves, the Underground Railroad and fugitive slaves, the slave trade, the emancipation and abolition of slaves, and trials and suits regarding slaves and the slave trade. Responses may be in the form of narratives or may provide information regarding the area of expertise of the letters’ addressee. Authors of letters include Frederic Bancroft, Kentucky governor James Black, Elmer Decker, E.E. Hughes, W.H. Lindo, Lutie Poage Martin, Otis Mather, Mary T. Moore, J.B. Paxton, John E. Richardson, Otto Arthur Rothert, Dr. Wilbur H. Siebert, A.G. Sulser, Beatrice Critser Williams. 
                     
                     
                         
                             Slave life and conditions 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             4 
                             1938-1939 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes responses to query letters sent by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. requesting information regarding the lives, customs, and conditions of slaves. Some correspondence provides autobiographical narratives while some provides information regarding research conducted by the letters' addressees. Information regarding slave marriage and religion, slave cabins and quarters, the effects of cholera on slavery, lists of slaves who left to Liberia, a transcribed letter from Harriet Beecher Stowe regarding Uncle Tom's Cabin, and a letter from Kentucky's Governor James D. Black expressing his opinion of slavery in Kentucky are present. 
                         
                         
                             Black, James Dixon, 1849-1938  
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Slave trade 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             5 
                             1936-1939 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes responses to query letters sent by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. requesting information regarding views held on the slave trade, sending slaves "down the river", and Bowling Green, Kentucky's (1823-1839) establishment of the pattyrollers (night watch or patrol). Also present are personal narratives regarding conditions within the slave trade as well as excerpts from the diary of Warner Lewis Underwood (1808-1872), U.S. Representative of Kentucky. 
                         
                         
                             Underwood, Warner Lewis, 1808-1872 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Underground Railroad and fugitive slaves 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             6 
                             1938-1939 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes responses to query letters sent by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. requesting information regarding fugitive slaves, slaves heading North and the significance of the North Star, locations of fugitive slave settlements, and important crossing and Underground Railroad way station locations for fugitive slaves. Also present are references to newspapers from the North such as "The Voice of the Fugitive" and responses from Dr. Wilbur H. Siebert discussing his works and knowledge of the Underground Railroad. 
                         
                         
                             Siebert, Wilbur Henry, 1866-1961 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Abolition and emancipation 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             7 
                             1938 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes responses to query letters sent by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. requesting information regarding conditions preceding and following emancipation and speeches and newspapers supporting abolition and emancipation. Some responses are in the form of narratives including a sketch of a Covington, Kentucky family, the Stephens. A transcribed letter from James G. Birney declaring the inconsistency of slavery with the Declaration of Independence and a transcribed conversation between James G. Birney and Henry Clay are present. A copy of an affidavit regarding Abraham Lincoln is also present. 
                         
                         
                             Birney, James Gillespie, 1792-185 
                             Clay, Henry, 1777-1852 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Trials and suits 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             8 
                             1938-1939 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes responses to query letters sent by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. regarding various suits and trials involving slaves and slave owners. Included are transcripts, wills, and court proceedings. Trial dates are 1812-1852. Documents pertaining to Lilliburn Lewis including his will and court summaries are present. Records regarding the murder of Edward Stone by slaves, a case filed for writ of habeas corpus on behalf of an African American woman, Eliza Jane Johnson, and records regarding the trial of John B. Mahan are included. An indictment against Harry Slaughter, a slave, for insurrection and conspiracy to commit murder and a case regarding Edward J. Doyle for inciting slaves to rebellion are also present. Correspondence between Coleman and W.H. Lindo regarding the trial and conviction of Thomas Brown and notes concerning the state of slavery in Knox County, Kentucky are included as well. 
                         
                         
                             Johnson, Eliza Jane 
                             Lewis, Lilliburn 
                             Mahan, John B. 
                             Stone, Edward 
                         
                     
                 
                 
                     
                         Notes 
                         iii. 
                         
                             
                         
                         1784-1940 
                     
                     
                         Scope and Contents note 
                         Notes, 1784-1940 includes notes and textual materials gathered by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. during the research of his work 
                             Slavery Times in Kentucky  (1940). Such textual materials include transcribed letters regarding slave life, letters written by freed slaves in Liberia, song lyrics, wills regarding emancipation of slaves, transcribed interviews regarding the treatment of slaves during the slave trade, and notes and records concerning the cost effectiveness of slavery and Kentucky’s hemp industry. Also included are notes and gathered information regarding court suits, trials, and proceedings of slave traders and abolitionists. Broadsides and newspaper advertisements advertising slave sales, runaway slaves, and the emancipation of slaves are also present. Other published materials include a copy of Cassius M. Clay’s antislavery newspaper, the “True American” and a bill concerning the emancipation of slaves. 
                     
                     
                         
                             Slave life and conditions 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             9 
                             1819-1940 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes letters and interviews regarding slave lives and conditions. Some letters are from freed slaves who returned to Liberia informing previous owners of their lives in Liberia. Also present are lyrics to slave songs, accounts of anticipated slave revolts, views on the treatment of slaves in Kentucky, narratives of conditions and treatment of mulattos by slaveholders, and transcribed correspondence between Cassius M. Clay and the citizens of Lexington, Kentucky regarding the "True American" newspaper. A will belonging to James Fishback providing instructions for the emancipation of his slaves and a letter (1848) to Mrs. Fishback from one of the liberated slaves is also included. 
                         
                         
                             Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903  
                             Fishback, James, 1776-1845 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Slave trade 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             10 
                             1784-1939 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes interviews and notes regarding the slave trade in Kentucky. Includes a transcribed interview with Judge George B. Kinkead regarding the sale of two female slaves and several other notes concerning the treatment of slaves during slave trades, the transport of slaves as coffle gangs, and the methods used to make slaves appear more marketable. A list of slave traders, a transcribed letter from Daniel Boone revealing his ownership and trade of slaves, and articles and notes regarding pattyrollers are also present. 
                         
                         
                             Kinkead, George Blackburn, 1849-1940 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Economic aspects of slavery 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             11 
                             1830-1938 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes notes and records regarding the economic side of slavery. Included are lists of slave values and expenses associated with slaves. Also present are opinions regarding the cost effectiveness of slaves and correspondence written by an individual from the Boston Globe discussing the hemp manufacturing economy of Lexington, Kentucky. 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Trials and suits 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             12 
                             1822-1858 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes notes and gathered information regarding court suits, trials, and legal proceedings of slave traders. Much of the material is concerned with the dishonest sales of slaves, especially by Lewis C. Robards and Alfred O. Robards. A transcribed deed giving Lewis C. Robards and Alfred O. Robards power of attorney in the matter of slave sales for Joseph H. Northcutt and Robert W. Lucas is included (see Item 70). Court proceedings for the indictment of slaves for murder and an article from the "Ohio Coon Catcher." 
                         
                         
                             Fairbank, Calvin 
                             Lucas, Robert W.  
                             Northcutt, Joseph H. 
                             Robards, Alfred O. 
                             Robards, Lewis C., 1818-? 
                             Webster, Delia 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Broadsides and publications 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             13 
                             1836-1862 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes broadsides and newspaper advertisements advertising for runaway slaves, the sale of slaves, announcements for public meetings, and advertisements for wanted slaves. Also present is a broadside discussing the use of confederate currency, an issue of the "True American", Cassius Clay's antislavery newspaper, and a bill concerning the emancipation of slaves. 
                         
                     
                 
                 
                     
                         Manuscript materials 
                         ix. 
                         
                             
                         
                         1939-1940 
                     
                     
                         Scope and Contents note 
                         Manuscript materials,1939-1940 includes materials created and produced through the research, writing, and printing process of J. Winston Coleman, Jr.’s 
                             Slavery Times in Kentucky  (1940). Included are note cards, a manuscript, half-tone illustrations, and the dust jackets and advertising leaflets used in the promotion of the work. 
                     
                     
                         
                             Letters and lists 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             14 
                             1940 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes correspondence regarding editing of the manuscript, lists of references, and a list of proposed illustrations and photos for J. Winston Coleman, Jr.'s work "Slavery Times in Kentucky" (1940). 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Notes and labels 
                             
                                 
                             
                             1 
                             15 
                             1940 
                         
                         
                             Scope and Contents note 
                             Folder includes notes and labels used by J. Winston Coleman, Jr. as he wrote his work "Slavery Times in Kentucky" (1940). 
                         
                     
                     
                         
                             Manuscript