Theodore Wilson

The experiences of Theodore Wilson, Born into Bondage
Makeup One of the Most Impressive Success Stories of This Area

A One-Time Slave Who “Made Good”
By R.C. Hall – Herald-Advertiser 27 Feb. 1938

If you have ever traveled the highway between Proctorville, Ohio and Rome, about three miles to the northeast, you have passed the modest, but neat home of Theodore Wilson. Perhaps you did not notice it particularly, but if you knew the life story of its occupant for over half a century, you certainly gave it more than passing consideration. For the life story of Mr. Wilson rivals any of the inspirational success fiction of Alger, Henty 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 term is so frequently used, he certainly is rich in worthy accomplishments against great 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 schools for years in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, became a farmer and market grower, purchased a home and became not only a great leader of his race in his neighborhood but a splendid example of citizenship for people of all races.

Now Past Eighty

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

We have known the highlights 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 onto 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 he had either not learned before or which had grown. [sentence stops here]

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 was 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 which 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 that war.

It appears that slavery did not press as heavily upon its subjects in Virginia as it did in the far south. Particularly was this true of western Virginia which later became known as 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 how 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 – 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 Virginia, and like her husband, and was a slave. The following children were born to this union:

1. Selena 2. Louisa 3. Albert 4. Arthur 5. Benjamin 6. Georgia

7. Theodore 8. Marcellus 9. Jonathan 10. Julias 11. Charlotte 12. Nancy

Of these, five boys and three girls experienced slavery.

Mr. Beuhring must have been a farsighted businessman 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 him to receive pay for his labor for [from-mm] 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 the expression descriptive of an agreement between master and slave by which the latter was to receive his or 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 of someone 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 he paid by working on the construction of the old suspension bridge over the Guyandotte River at Guyandotte, West Virginia, at night after his day’s work for his 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 Ohio River at what is now Tenth Street, Huntington [West Virginia] and going to Fayette Township, then to Union and finally settling near Rome in Rome Township.

Rented Seven Acres

After some time at Rome, George Wilson bought the seven acres of Mr. Morrison and then added to it by purchasing two and twenty – two hundredths of an acres from what was known as the T. A. Walton tract. He also bought fourteen 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 watch care 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 and 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 altar for the Sacrament. After the Ebenezer church was established at Huntington, West Virginia he moved his membership there. His wife passed away in 1868, after which he married Mrs. Laura Wyatt. They had two children, Elmer and Ellsworth.

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 17^th day of August in the year 1855 in Cabell County, Virginia. The great changes that have since 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 in Virginia, now West Virginia. Then the country 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 [now University-mm], in what is now Huntington, [West Virginia].

Although the Wilson’s, or those then living in that neighborhood, were slaves of Mr. Beuhring, it appears 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 hireling’s to Edward Wright on Pea Ridge near where the Colored Orphans’ Home was later established. To those unfamiliar with the terms of slavery, it may be well to state that a hireling was, as the word indicates, a person hired for word, 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 is, 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 two 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 succeeding days.

A Call from the Klan

The following few paragraphs are just as Mr. Wilson prepared them in 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. Oh! How happy we were! The happiness lasted just a short time. Just at dark we heard a knock at the door: was it someone coming to greet us? Alas, it was a band of Ku Klax. They gave us orders to move on, no n—-s 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 mile further, on the left side of the road, the passerby today will see a large dwelling. It was the home of an old pious Quaker called 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 two small boys. I have left one small daughter with a family near Marshall College [University], eight years old, two daughters in Charleston, West Virginia, one son in Staunton, Virginia, one son in Giles County [Virginia] working in a tan shop, one son driving team, one son in 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 ground 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, 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 arm load of horse weeds and went up to 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 farm. 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 may tell so vividly of that portion of his life and show so well his ability, even after all these years, to 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 for 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 his teacher’s certificate.

Thus, at the age of nineteen years, Theodore Wilson, entered the profession of teaching. He secured a school in Huntington, WV, which was just then beginning to show signs of the great city into which it was destined to so quickly develop. And one of those first signs was the progressive attitude taken 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, namely at the corner of Third Avenue and Twelfth Street, Huntington, WV. His immediate and continued success as a teacher is indicated by the fact that he taught in Huntington for thirteen 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 than Mr. Wilson himself. Of his own accord he has listed for us the names of the following gentlemen who he says were his “ardent supporters” during the thirteen years of his work there:

• Gen. J.H. Oley
• Col. D. W. Emmons
• Foster Steward
• D. I. Smith
• George F. Miller
• J. Hope Russell
• Sam Gideon
• B. T. Davis
• Dr. Buffington
• W. H. Holeswade
• Taylor Wellington
• B. H. Thackston
• W. O. James
• J. M. Jasper
• Wm. Morgan
• Thomas Welkins

Meanwhile, young Wilson had been severely and dangerously injured in playing what was even then perhaps considered as “the great American game”, baseball. Somehow, during a hard game, he had the misfortune to turn one limb in such a way that the hip was dislocated. Such an injury is perhaps always serious, but in those days of comparatively limited surgical skill, it presented a permanent cripple, so far as that one limb was concerned. But even this did not prevent him from continuing his education and his work. After three years of hobbling about on a crutch, he was able to dispense with this assistance and to walk unaided although with a limp, as the accident left him with that limb slightly shorter that the other.

Red Hill School

After teaching in Huntington, [West Virginia] Mr. Wilson returned to Ohio and was employed to teach at what is known locally as Red Hill. That is the community just over the hill, on the Jackson Road, about a mile north of Proctorville, [Ohio]. A half century and more ago, it was essentially a colored community and the Proctorville Board of Education maintained a special school there for the colored folks of that district. The well-known colored Baptist church known as Mount Pisgah still stands in that community, but the school, was generally known as the Red Hill School. After a successful tenure as teacher at this school, Mr. Wilson returned to the West Virginia schools and secured a position as teacher at Guyandotte, [West Virginia].

Meanwhile, this progressive and able young man had found knowledge and skill both by study and formal school as well as by experience. Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio, then offered the best and most available means for a young colored person to secure a college education. Accordingly, Mr. Wilson finally succeeded in being able to attend that great institution. That was in the year 1884. After studying for a time at Oberlin, Mr. Wilson returned home and again took up his work.

Was Not Highly Paid

Another one of the leading colored schools of Cabell County, West Virginia, at that time was located at Barboursville and Mr. Wilson taught there for a while and the secured a position at Wayne County Court House, as the county seat of Wayne County, [West Virginia] was then called. After that, he taught in Kentucky, both at Louisa and Blaine. Thus, it will be seen that he had a wide and varied experience as a schoolteacher in three states.

But teaching has been and was a boisterously poorly paid profession. That is, teachers themselves were poorly paid so far as actual money was concerned although the satisfaction coming to a really interested teacher is something not to be measured in dollars and cents. However, Mr. Wilson wished to establish his permanent home in his boyhood neighborhood and returned to the old homestead to look for a place of his own. He had the opportunity to buy a small tract of land and although he lacked the necessary cash, his reputation for honesty, industry and thrift was such that he had no difficulty in securing the financial backing of Mr. O. A. Ash, who still is a neighbor to him and the late C. H. Hall, of Huntington, [West Virginia], this writer’s uncle, that he was able to purchase the farm on which he still lives. The venture naturally was a success and now for many years the Theodore Wilson home has been one of the landmarks, so to speak, of the Rome community in Quaker Bottom, OH.

Mr. Wilson’s first wife didn’t not survive long after their marriage and his life was further saddened by the passing of their son, Kelso Lee Wilson, who was born on 21 September 1882 and passed away in the year 1890.

On 16 July 1896, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage with Miss Emma Layne. They had one son, H. C. Wilson, who was born on 15 March 1897. He was but slightly younger that this writer. We were boys together in the same community.

An Expert Gardener

For a short time, we attended the same school, and as our fathers were at times associated with each other in farming ventures, we boys played together. He was a likable boy and grew up to be a bright young man, full of promise and of course dearly beloved by his parents. But he was stricken ill in the year 1917 and passed away while just on the verge of manhood.

We have just referred to Mr. Wilson’s association with our father in farming and so perhaps should explain, that by that time, which was about thirty-five years ago, Theodore Wilson had become one of the leading gardeners of Quaker Bottom and frequently, in addition to farming, or gardening his own land, he rented land of neighboring farmers and marketed their produce for them.

Thus, for a number of seasons he marketed the strawberry crop produced on our home farm and preformed other services for our family. He had the reputation of being able to handle such crops with the least loss and to sell them for the best prices of any of the hucksters of the community. And our folks found this to be so true that they secured his services, year after year. No doubt, many people who frequented the Huntington market and groceries in days gone by will remember Mr. Wilson distinctly. He kept a spic and span delivery service, on the side of which was painted in bright letters “Lizzie B”, which was the name of the spirited horse which drew the conveyance, which pulled his plow across the field at home and which frequently led him the proverbial merry chase when her spirit was aroused.

Worked Long Hours

In those days it was necessary for a Quaker Bottom gardener to start with his produce for the market the night before the day of the sale. That is, and was necessary, if he expected to sell his produce for the best prices. Accordingly Mr. Wilson, after a hard day in the field, a little sleep in the evening and the rest of the night spend on the wagon in-route to market and under the riverbank, waiting his turn on the Proctorville Ferry, would precede to Huntington [West Virginia], dispose of his products, return home and perhaps catch a short nap before returning to the field again. Such was the life of a market gardener in Quaker Bottom thirty years ago. At least such was the life of those, who like Theodore Wilson, made a success of it. It is little wonder that he succeeded where so many failed.

Nor should we neglect to mention the faithful help and cooperation given to him by his beloved wife. For many years, Mrs. Wilson not only faithfully preformed the duties of a wife and companion, but assisted her husband in the field, in a small store in which he operated on his premises, and by serving a number of wealthy families in various occupations. Like her husband, she is highly intelligent and well-educated person.

In addition to the many other services, Mr. Wilson has rendered the community in which he lives, he acted for many years as caretaker of Rome Chapel and as sexton of the Proctorville-Rome Cemetery.

In Christian work Mr. Wilson has long been a member of the Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church in Huntington, [West Virginia], he and Mrs. Wilson having joined under the pastorate of Rev. S. M. Jefferson.

He is also a charter member of the A.F. & A.M. Lodge of Masons of Huntington, [West Virginia], a charter member of his lodge of Odd Fellows and a member of the Order of Galliean Fishermen.

And now, after over eighty years of life well spent, Mr. Wilson, in a recent communication to the writer, expressed his contentment and peace of mind by simply saying that he is “waiting the call.” However, his many friends on this side cannot help hoping devotedly that “the call” will be long deferred.