Susan Spencer, a Direct Descendant to Share Slaves’ Unusual Story
Written by Melissa Rake For the Herald-Dispatch 4 April 1994
A copper kettle, a book, and some amazing stories. Those are the only mementos that remind Susan Spencer, 87, of her grandmother’s extraordinary journey in 1849. But they’re enough to keep her grandmother’s legacy alive for many generations.
Spencer is a grandchild of one of the 37 slaves from Virginia, who made a wagon-train voyage to freedom across the Blue Ridge Mountains and 400 miles away from their master’s plantation.
Susan Spencer admires an apple butter copper kettle that her Grandmother brought on the trip from Virginia with other emancipated black family members to settle in Burlington, Ohio.
Many things remind the retired school teacher of her grandmother – her, for instance. Spencer was named after her grandmother, known only as Susan, until she married Isiah Gordon.
The history Spencer will recount Tuesday at Briggs Lawrence County Library in Ironton, Ohio, was born with death, she said.
When James Twyman, a wealthy Virginia plantation owner, died in 1848, he willed his 37 slaves their freedom, new homes, clothes, tools, and a new life in Fayette Township in Lawrence County, Ohio, with about $33,000 allocated to cover their costs, Spencer said.
The arrangement was an astonishing one, she said, considering that Twyman died 12 years before the Civil War began.
It was very unusual for a slave owner to do something like that. Back then, slaves didn’t have any rights at all. It was easy to claim a slave. It’s a wonder they weren’t stopped by people or claimed by someone else,” Spencer said.
She imagines what kind of man Twyman was. “He had to be a very religious man. He didn’t have to give them anything.” She said. “I heard he changed his will two or three times to be sure they got what they needed. I’ve always wondered what other slave owners thought of him for doing that.”
The party of slaves followed what is now US 60 from Lexington, Va., across Gauley Mountain to Burlington, Ohio, which is about four miles downriver from Huntington, WV. They settled on land near where Walmart, Sam’s Shopping, Lowe’s, etc., are now located.
At first, the new residents lived in one dwelling until more homes were constructed. In 1870, the land was divided among the remaining residents. Most of the land given to the slaves has been sold throughout the years, and Spencer, one of the slave party’s three grandchildren still alive.
Spencer recalls a story about a baby who was born during the three-month journey. She said most slaves didn’t need last names when they worked on the plantations, and some were creative in inventing new ones when they moved to Ohio.
“A baby was born on the road coming here, and they called him ‘Little Traveler.’ Later on, he was called Traveler Smith,” Spencer said.
Upon their arrival, most slaves chose surnames such as Pleasants, Cowells, Reynolds, Fry, Gaunt, Boggs, Jackson, Edward, Toms, Smith, Kilgore, King, Reed, and Wilson.
A copper kettle that was used during the voyage was given to Spencer by her grandmother. “I imagine they stopped and cooked beans or boiled baby diapers in it,” she said.
Spencer remembers visiting her grandmother in Burlington, Ohio, but most of her stories about the journey were disclosed by her grandmother’s brother, Horace.
“My grandmother was a very quiet person. Her brother talked about coming here, but I think they all took it as a matter of fact. They didn’t dwell on it,” she said.
Spencer and others want to honor their predecessors. A 44-page book written in 1964 by an Ohio attorney, [The Promise Land] J. Earl Pratt, is being sold to raise to build a monument on which all 37 slaves’ names will be inscribed. The monument will be placed this spring in the 37 Cemetery, located on the old property in Burlington, Ohio.
Most of the slaves’ grandchildren have become successful in medicine, business, and education. Spencer said.
“By giving them homes and a new start, I think he helped them become outstanding citizens.” Spencer is one of them. The first black student to graduate from South Point High School, Spencer earned a bachelor’s degree at West Virginia State College and a master’s degree in school administration at Marshall University.
She taught in South Point for 35 years and retired as the principal of Burlington Annex, a journal high school.
After retirement, Spencer ventured into the real estate business. She now serves as a trustee at First Baptist Church in Huntington. After moving in with her children, she died in Denver, Colorado, on November 5, 2003, and is buried in Spring Hill Cemetery, Huntington, WV.
[NOTE: I was the Vice-President of the Lawrence County, Ohio, OGS Chapter and visited Susan Spencer at her home before and after this story. She was my Principal when I attended Burlington Annex School in Burlington, Ohio. She greatly impacted my life during and after graduating from South Point High School in the Class of 1973. – Martha J. Martin-Kounse]
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