A ONE-TIME SLAVE WHO MADE GOOD

THE HERALD-ADVERTISER
FEBRUARY 7, 1938

Submitted by Martha Martin

THE EXPERIENCES OF THEODORE WILSON, BORN INTO BONDAGE, MAKE UP ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE SUCCESS STORIES OF THIS AREA

If you have ever traveled the highway between Proctorville, Ohio and Rome, about three miles to the north-east, you have passed the modest but neat and comfortable home of Theodore Wilson. Perhaps you did not notice it particularly, But if you knew the life story of occupant for over half century, you certainly gave it more than a passing consideration. For the life story of Mr. Henry Wilson rivals any of the inspirational success fiction of Alger, Henry or other of the professional tellers of poverty-to riches stories. For while Mr. Wilson is perhaps not a rich man, in the sense that tern is so frequently used, he certainly is rich in worthy accomplishments against all odds.

Born in slavery, denied the advantages of modern schooling, persecuted by bigoted Negro haters, seriously injured in his youth, he overcame all these handicaps, secured not only a common school education but college training as well, taught school for years in Ohio and West Virginia and Kentucky, became a farmer and market gardener, purchased a home and became not only a leader of his race(blacked out, fold in original) example of citizenship for all races.

NOW PAST EIGHTY

Now past the age of 80 years, Theodore Wilson is widely known in southern Ohio as a gentleman of whom his community may well be proud.

We have known the high lights of his career since the days of our youth, for we were born and raised in sight of his home, and his family and ours have been neighbors for generations, or ever since those days soon after the Civil War, when his father came to Ohio seeking a home suitable for the rearing of his children. And so we had heard the story of his life from our father and we have intended, for some time, to pass it on to our readers. Recently we had an interview with Mr. Wilson and talked over old times, for we had not seen him for the past year or so. We found him as interesting and instructive a talker as ever and have secured direct from him some of the interesting facts of his life which we had either not learned before or which had grown .

But before taking up the story of Mr. Wilson's career, we should perhaps , relate briefly that of his father, who was also for years one of the respected citizens of Quaker Bottom and whose career was in many ways as remarkable as that of his son. We shall merely list some of the highlights, so to speak of his life.

NATIVE OF VIRGINIA

George Wilson was a native of Virginia, having been born in the year 1827. He was born in slavery and was owned for a time by a man named Bailey who lived in the eastern part of the state. But when he was about eight years of age, he was sold to Frederick Beuhring who lived in Cabell County in what is now West Virginia. That, of course, was long before the division of the "Old Dominion: and Virginia extended to the Ohio and Big Sandy Rivers.

It was then quite customary, at least in certain localities, for the slaves to take the name of their masters, and so Mr. Wilson became commonly known as George Beuhring. He went by this name until after the Civil War or at least until he secured his freedom just previous to the war.

It appears that slavery did not press as heavily upon its subjects in Virginian as it did in the far south. Particularly was this true of western Virginia which later became West Virginia. And it appears that Mr. Wilson led as happy a life as could be expected for one not entirely a free man. But no matter haw paternalistic and philanthropic servitude may be, it is still servitude and few people who have ever experienced it that did not embrace the first opportunity to free themselves. So it was with Mr. Wilson.

HAD TWELVE CHILDREN

Meanwhile, however, he had taken on the responsibilities of a wife and family and naturally he was anxious--even more anxious perhaps--to provide for their future freedom and happiness than he was for his own. George Wilson married Dorcas Franklin, who had been born in the western part of Virginia, i.e. what is now West Virginia, and like her husband, was a slave. The following children were born to this union: Selena, Louise, Albert, Arthur, Benjamin, Georgia, Theodore, Marcellus, Jonathan, Julias, Charlotte, and Nancy. Of these, five boys and three girls experienced slavery.

Mr. Beuhring must have been a farsighted business man, and perhaps a more humane one too than the average slaveholder of his day. He probably reasoned that it was better for himself and his slaves to permit them a certain amount of freedom of action. It not only contributed to their contentment but to his financial gain as well. So he permitted Mr. Wilson to have some time to work for himself and even permitted him to receive pay for his labor for others. In this way, Mr. Wilson was able to lay aside a little cash for the comfort of his family and in preparation for the day of freedom which he doubtless saw ahead.

The farsightedness of Mr. Beuhring was further shown by a proposition he made to Mr. Wilson just before the outbreak of the Civil War. That was the chance he gave to the latter to secure his freedom by purchase. In other words, he offered Mr. Wilson the opportunity to "buy himself" as was the expression descriptive of an agreement between master and slave by which the latter was to receive his of her freedom upon the performance of a certain amount of work or the payment of a certain amount of money to be earned by working for the owner or some one else.

WORKED AT NIGHT

In this case, Mr. Beuhring agreed to manumit, i.e. make out papers of freedom for Mr. Wilson upon the latter's payment to him of $600. Or rather, Mr. Wilson was to pay $300 in cash and the rest when and if he became financially able to do so. However he gave his note for the deferred payment and set about to earn the money necessary to meet it. He earned a large part of the amount to be paid by working on the construction of the old suspension bridge over Guyandotte River at Guyandotte, West Virginia, at night after his days work for the master was done.

The Civil War came on, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued and all the slaves were freed by these acts and the constitutional amendments following in their wake. Naturally these things freed Mr. Wilson of all legal obligation to complete the payment for his freedom. But George Wilson was a man of his word. He believed that a contract was a contract and morally binding on those who made it and so he insisted on paying the rest of the amount-- every cent he had agreed to pay. Such was the high standard of Christian character, morality and honesty set by George Wilson and which has been carefully followed by his descendants.

After securing his freedom, he came to Lawrence County, Ohio, crossing the river at what is now Tenth Street, Huntington and going to Fayette Township, then to Union, and finally settling near Rome, in Rome Township.

RENTED SEVEN ACRES

The details of his movements, after coming to Ohio, will be traced in the story of the life of his son, Theodore, the subject of this sketch.

After coming to Rome Township, Mr. Wilson rented seven acres of land from L. D. Morrison and established his home near the settlement know as Rome. He was a hard working and accommodating man and soon found plenty of work to do. HE began to garden his small tract of land and particularly to raise melons, but during the winter and his spare time he added to his small income by hauling coal for various persons of the community. By this time all his children had succeeded in getting out of Dixie, as the country south of the Ohio River was generally know to such folks, and their father was anxious that they gain an education. In fact he himself lamented the fact that he had had no such opportunity and determined to remedy that defect. He did learn to read and spell but writing proved too tedious for one of his years and disposition. But he wanted so much to learn to sign his name that he even began to go to school with his children. However, he could stand it but a few days and relinquished the matter of education to his children.

After some time at Rome, George Wilson bought the seven acres of Mr. Morrison and then added to it by purchasing two and 22 hundredth acres from what was known as the T. A. Walton tract. He also bought 14 acres from the Kimble tract as it was then known. This gave him a nice tract of land for the purposes of small farming and market gardening.

A RELIGIOUS MAN

George Wilson was not only a man of thrift and industry but religious as well and many evidences of his fine Christian character were recognized by his white neighbors. As he was of the Methodist persuasion and had no church of his own in the neighborhood, he was taken under the watchcase of the old Rome Methodist Episcopal Church of which he became a faithful attendant. We have heard older folks tell many times how he used to sit in the rear of the church listening attentively to the services and on Communion Day, after the regular members had taken the sacrament, the minister would extend the invitation to others and he would reverently advance to the alter for the sacrament. After the Ebenezer Church was established at Huntington, he moved his membership there. His wife passed away in 1868 after which he married Mrs. Laura Wyatt. They had tow children, Elmer and Elsworth.

But now to the chief subject of our sketch for today.

HIRED OUT SLAVES

Theodore Wilson, son of George and Dorcas Franklin Wilson, was born on the 17th day of August, in the year 1855 in Cabell County, Virginia. The great changes that have taken place about his birthplace are reflected in those which occurred throughout the country and the world. The house in which he was born stood in the country, now its site is in the heart of a great city. Then it was Virginia, now West Virginia. Then the county was divided over slavery; now it is united in freedom. To be more exact, the house in which Mr. Wilson first saw the light of day, stood on the bank of the Ohio River directly north of Marshall College, in what is now the city of Huntington.

Although the Wilson's, or those then living in that neighborhood, were slaves of Mr. Beuhging, it appears that the latter did not need the services of them all or figured that he could profit more by hiring them out. Thus Dorcas and two of her children, Theodore and Benjamin became hirelings to Edward Wright on Pea Ridge near where to Colored Orphan's Home was later established. To those unfamiliar with the terns of slavery it may be well to state that a hireling was. as the word indicates, a person hired to work, but in this case a slave whose master hired him or her to work for another.

Of course Theodore was not kept at work in slavery long, for he was only about six years of age when his father purchased his freedom. That ism in the year 1861, when George Wilson was given the opportunity to purchase his own freedom, he not only succeeded in doing so but also in purchasing the freedom of his wife and tow sons, Theodore and Marcellus.

Mr. Beuhring appears to have wished well by his former slaves and, although, in a sense he drove a hard bargain as it was pretty evident he would not be able to hold them long anyway, yet considering his viewpoint and the loss emancipation would have entailed upon him, he was probably rather generous. AT any rate he did not send them away entirely empty handed. He gave Mr. Wilson a one horse wagon and an old horse which bore his own name, George.

As was natural, the Wilson's turned toward the north side of the Ohio River. But suppose we let Mr. Wilson tell his own story of the seceding days.

A CALL FROM THE KLAN

The following few paragraphs are just as Mr. Wilson prepared the notes he submitted to us although he had no knowledge they were to be quoted.
"His master gave him a large bay horse, his name was George, also a one horse wagon. We headed down the river. Our first stop was at the house of Steve Dillon. He gave us permission to go in a cabin on the farm, and promised father work.

The little cabin was fixed up, the dirt floor was swept, fire put in the fireplace, the old faithful George horse was put in the shed, an Oh! How happy we were! The happiness lasted just a short time. Just at dark we heard a knock at the door; was it some one coming to greet us? Alas, it was a bank of Ku Klux. They gave us orders to move on, no niggers wanted. The next morning, father saddled the old faithful George horse. He left us in the little cabin and started to find some place to stop. He started up the road this time reaching Proctorville. From there he took the Jackson Road running north. Five miles back, he came to Bartramsville. One half mile farther, on the left side of the road, the passer by today will see a large dwelling. It was the home of an old pious Quaker named Thomas Sloan. On reaching the house, father asked him if he had a cabin that he would let him move into and clear up some ground. The old gentleman replied, 'Are you a runaway slave?' "No sir, I have bought my freedom and am hunting a home for my wife and tow small boys. I have left behind one daughter, with a family near Marshall College, eight years old, tow daughters in Charleston, West Virginia, one son in Staunton, Virginia, one son in Giles County working in a tan shop, one son driving team in the Confederate Army." (forced in service)

SECOND VISIT

"After this narrative, Mr. Sloan said to him 'I have a log house down on the creek (Indian Guyan), move there and clear up some land and I will do what I can for you! Father with a glad heart rode back to the cabin where he had left us. On reaching the cabin on the Dillon farm, mother told father the Ku Klux had been there again, and left word for him to move out. Mr. Dillon placed a guard over the house. Mother prepared supper, father took the old George horse a quilt and an armload of horse weeds and went up a cliff nearby and slept there all night.

The next morning he loaded us all in the one horse wagon and drove to Mr. Sloan's house. On reaching the place, we moved into the little cabin, with its dirt floor. Making a long story short we began life.

The Ku Klux tried to run us off from there, but Mr. Sloan gave them to understand they had to let us alone. After four years on the farm of Mr. Sloan, we moved to Rome. Father rented seven acres of land from L. D. Morrison."

We have quoted the above several paragraphs from some notes we asked Mr. Wilson to prepare on his experiences. As they tell so vividly of that portion of his life and show so well his ability, even after all these years, to recall and relate the events in which he participated, we have felt sure the reader would appreciate hearing them direct from him, so to speak.

SCHOOLS NEARBY

After his father got settled at Rome, he looked about for means to educate his children. In this he was assisted by the farseeing and philanthropic citizens of Quaker Bottom who made arrangements to provide a school for colored as well as white students. And it was not long before the board of education of Rome Township and also that of Union Township was offering schooling facilities to the colored folks. The Wilson children attended some in both townships and had to trudge a long distance through the snow and cold of winter to avail themselves of this opportunity. But Mr. Wilson says that they liked it and the result, in his case speaks for itself. For by the year 1876, he was able to secure a teacher's certificate.

Thus as the age of 19 years, Theodore Wilson entered the profession of teaching. He secured a school in Huntington, Which was just then beginning to show signs of the great city into which it was destined so quickly to develop. And one of those first signs was the progressive attitude by its leading business and professional men on the question of education. Moreover their wisdom was further shown by their sponsorship of schools for the colored citizens such as that to which Mr. Wilson was called. It is interesting to note that this, his first school, was located within four city blocks of his birthplace, mainly at the corner of Third Avenue and Twelfth Street, Huntington. Hie immediate and continued success as a teacher is indicated by the fact that he taught in Huntington for 13 years.

MANY SUPPORTERS

Naturally his success was due in part to the support given him by the leading white citizens of the city, and no one could show greater gratitude for this support that Mr. Wilson himself. Of his own accord he has listed for us the names of the following gentlemen whom he ways ere his “ardent supporters” during the 13 years of his work there: Gen . J. H. Oley, Col. D. W. Emmons, Foster Steward, D. II. Smith