This article was in today's Evansville IN paper, thought it might be interesting, Cindy Slave secrets buried in historical cemetery Owner leases property with a warning By FLYNN MCROBERTS Chicago Tribune January 13, 2003 EQUALITY, Ill. - Atop a hill covered in ash and oak trees, a short walk from Harlan Booten's rolling cow pastures, there sits what may be a vital piece of Illinois history that many would sooner forget. Aside from a scattering of blank sandstone markers, the site near this deep Southern Illinois town doesn't look like much. But local historians have good reason to believe this nondescript plot holds a special distinction: the state's first cemetery for African-Americans, most likely slaves. The burial ground may have remained a bit of local folklore had Booten not confirmed its existence recently when he agreed to lease his property's mineral rights to a coal company. In doing so, he unwittingly threw light on one of the darker chapters of the Land of Lincoln's past: Though the glow of the Great Emancipator has obscured the fact, Illinois entered the Union as a free state with a big loophole. The Illinois Constitution of 1818 allowed the operators of vast saltworks near Equality to rent slaves from Kentucky who would chop trees and man the furnaces that boiled down saltwater from the area's natural springs. The U.S. Salines, as they were known, brought huge profits at the time because salt was in great demand as a food preservative. Some of the laborers forced to perform the dismal work of harvesting that wealth may be among those buried on Booten's land. A 79-year-old cattle farmer, Booten said he doesn't know whether the people buried on his family's property were slaves or not. But "I've been told all my life there's a Negro cemetery out there," he said. So when Booten leased the property to the coal executives earlier this year, he gave them a warning: "Them people's got a soul, just like you and me." The mystery surrounding the crude cemetery is another case of trying to unearth memories in a portion of Illinois still struggling with its historical role as a place where Dixie met the North. Even after Illinois politicians eliminated the slavery exemption for the saltworks, slavery existed in Illinois until the 1840s, when the state Supreme Court ruled that the descendants of French slaves were no longer valid property of anyone in Illinois. "That's a fairly well-kept secret. We're not altogether proud of the fact that we had slavery around here," said Ray Hines, 85, a longtime resident of Gallatin County who hastens to add that Gallatin, unlike some other Southern Illinois counties, staunchly supported the Union in the Civil War. Such a conflicted heritage has made for some volatile quarrels over the years - the noisiest being waged over a hilltop mansion a few miles on the other side of Equality from the cemetery. The keepers of the National Register of Historic Places called it the Crenshaw House when it was added to its list in 1985. But locals know it as the Old Slave House. For decades, they were sold a lurid tale about what transpired on the third floor of the Greek Revival home of John Crenshaw in the years before the Civil War. It was said that Crenshaw tortured and even bred blacks there, both freed men and escaped slaves, before selling them into slavery across the nearby Ohio River to Kentucky and parts farther south.

Intrigued by the last paragraph of the slave cemetery story that Cindy recently posted to the list, I sent an e-mail to reporter Flynn McRoberts to ask him what he had meant by writing "For decades, [locals] were sold a lurid tale about what transpired on the third floor of the Greek Revival home of John Crenshaw in the years before the Civil War." Was he saying that locals were "sold a bill of goods," I asked. And did he have some evidence that the stories were not true? McRoberts replied as follows: "I didn't mean to suggest the stories weren't valid. By "sold a lurid tale'' I meant they literally were charged admission to the house to hear the tales. Now that you point it out, though, I realize my phrasing suggests another connotation--that the stories were all a sham. Sloppy writing on my part. ----- Original Message ----- From: Cindy Birk Conley <cbconly@midwest.net> To: <ILGALLAT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 7:29 PM Subject: slave cemetery story > This article was in today's Evansville IN paper, thought it might be > interesting, Cindy > > > Slave secrets buried in historical cemetery > > Owner leases property with a warning > > By FLYNN MCROBERTS Chicago Tribune > January 13, 2003 > > EQUALITY, Ill. - Atop a hill covered in ash and > oak trees, a short > walk from Harlan Booten's rolling cow pastures, > there sits what > may be a vital piece of Illinois history that many > would sooner > forget. > > Aside from a scattering of blank sandstone > markers, the site > near this deep Southern Illinois town doesn't look > like much. But > local historians have good reason to believe this > nondescript plot > holds a special distinction: the state's first > cemetery for > African-Americans, most likely slaves. > > The burial ground may have remained a bit of local > folklore had > Booten not confirmed its existence recently when > he agreed to > lease his property's mineral rights to a coal > company. > > In doing so, he unwittingly threw light on one of > the darker > chapters of the Land of Lincoln's past: Though the > glow of the > Great Emancipator has obscured the fact, Illinois > entered the > Union as a free state with a big loophole. > > The Illinois Constitution of 1818 allowed the > operators of vast > saltworks near Equality to rent slaves from > Kentucky who would > chop trees and man the furnaces that boiled down > saltwater > from the area's natural springs. The U.S. Salines, > as they were > known, brought huge profits at the time because > salt was in > great demand as a food preservative. > > Some of the laborers forced to perform the dismal > work of > harvesting that wealth may be among those buried > on Booten's > land. > > A 79-year-old cattle farmer, Booten said he > doesn't know > whether the people buried on his family's property > were slaves > or not. But "I've been told all my life there's a > Negro cemetery > out there," he said. > > So when Booten leased the property to the coal > executives > earlier this year, he gave them a warning: "Them > people's got a > soul, just like you and me." > > The mystery surrounding the crude cemetery is > another case of > trying to unearth memories in a portion of > Illinois still struggling > with its historical role as a place where Dixie > met the North. > > Even after Illinois politicians eliminated the > slavery exemption for > the saltworks, slavery existed in Illinois until > the 1840s, when > the state Supreme Court ruled that the descendants > of French > slaves were no longer valid property of anyone in > Illinois. > > "That's a fairly well-kept secret. We're not > altogether proud of > the fact that we had slavery around here," said > Ray Hines, 85, a > longtime resident of Gallatin County who hastens > to add that > Gallatin, unlike some other Southern Illinois > counties, staunchly > supported the Union in the Civil War. > > Such a conflicted heritage has made for some > volatile quarrels > over the years - the noisiest being waged over a > hilltop mansion > a few miles on the other side of Equality from the > cemetery. > > The keepers of the National Register of Historic > Places called it > the Crenshaw House when it was added to its list > in 1985. But > locals know it as the Old Slave House. > > For decades, they were sold a lurid tale about > what transpired > on the third floor of the Greek Revival home of > John Crenshaw in > the years before the Civil War. It was said that > Crenshaw > tortured and even bred blacks there, both freed > men and > escaped slaves, before selling them into slavery > across the > nearby Ohio River to Kentucky and parts farther > south. > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >

Wanda, Stories are only true when they are proven. We do not assume a "story" is true until someone comes up with evidence to disprove it. It is up to those who tell the story to prove that it is true. Just out of curiosity, I would like to know who started these stories. Was it the Sisk family? Hmmm...the better the story, the more people will want to tour the house for the past hundred years or so. And if you tell the story long enough... won't the state pay dearly for the house in the end. Do we really want to stir up the Crenshaw pot again on this list? Rose Park (Crenshaw Lawler) -----Original Message----- From: Wanda Avila [mailto:wavila@synpub.com] Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 9:43 AM To: ILGALLAT-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: slave cemetery story Intrigued by the last paragraph of the slave cemetery story that Cindy recently posted to the list, I sent an e-mail to reporter Flynn McRoberts to ask him what he had meant by writing "For decades, [locals] were sold a lurid tale about what transpired on the third floor of the Greek Revival home of John Crenshaw in the years before the Civil War." Was he saying that locals were "sold a bill of goods," I asked. And did he have some evidence that the stories were not true? McRoberts replied as follows: "I didn't mean to suggest the stories weren't valid. By "sold a lurid tale'' I meant they literally were charged admission to the house to hear the tales. Now that you point it out, though, I realize my phrasing suggests another connotation--that the stories were all a sham. Sloppy writing on my part. ----- Original Message ----- From: Cindy Birk Conley <cbconly@midwest.net> To: <ILGALLAT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 7:29 PM Subject: slave cemetery story > This article was in today's Evansville IN paper, thought it might be > interesting, Cindy > > > Slave secrets buried in historical cemetery > > Owner leases property with a warning > > By FLYNN MCROBERTS Chicago Tribune > January 13, 2003 > > EQUALITY, Ill. - Atop a hill covered in ash and > oak trees, a short > walk from Harlan Booten's rolling cow pastures, > there sits what > may be a vital piece of Illinois history that many > would sooner > forget. > > Aside from a scattering of blank sandstone > markers, the site > near this deep Southern Illinois town doesn't look > like much. But > local historians have good reason to believe this > nondescript plot > holds a special distinction: the state's first > cemetery for > African-Americans, most likely slaves. > > The burial ground may have remained a bit of local > folklore had > Booten not confirmed its existence recently when > he agreed to > lease his property's mineral rights to a coal > company. > > In doing so, he unwittingly threw light on one of > the darker > chapters of the Land of Lincoln's past: Though the > glow of the > Great Emancipator has obscured the fact, Illinois > entered the > Union as a free state with a big loophole. > > The Illinois Constitution of 1818 allowed the > operators of vast > saltworks near Equality to rent slaves from > Kentucky who would > chop trees and man the furnaces that boiled down > saltwater > from the area's natural springs. The U.S. Salines, > as they were > known, brought huge profits at the time because > salt was in > great demand as a food preservative. > > Some of the laborers forced to perform the dismal > work of > harvesting that wealth may be among those buried > on Booten's > land. > > A 79-year-old cattle farmer, Booten said he > doesn't know > whether the people buried on his family's property > were slaves > or not. But "I've been told all my life there's a > Negro cemetery > out there," he said. > > So when Booten leased the property to the coal > executives > earlier this year, he gave them a warning: "Them > people's got a > soul, just like you and me." > > The mystery surrounding the crude cemetery is > another case of > trying to unearth memories in a portion of > Illinois still struggling > with its historical role as a place where Dixie > met the North. > > Even after Illinois politicians eliminated the > slavery exemption for > the saltworks, slavery existed in Illinois until > the 1840s, when > the state Supreme Court ruled that the descendants > of French > slaves were no longer valid property of anyone in > Illinois. > > "That's a fairly well-kept secret. We're not > altogether proud of > the fact that we had slavery around here," said > Ray Hines, 85, a > longtime resident of Gallatin County who hastens > to add that > Gallatin, unlike some other Southern Illinois > counties, staunchly > supported the Union in the Civil War. > > Such a conflicted heritage has made for some > volatile quarrels > over the years - the noisiest being waged over a > hilltop mansion > a few miles on the other side of Equality from the > cemetery. > > The keepers of the National Register of Historic > Places called it > the Crenshaw House when it was added to its list > in 1985. But > locals know it as the Old Slave House. > > For decades, they were sold a lurid tale about > what transpired > on the third floor of the Greek Revival home of > John Crenshaw in > the years before the Civil War. It was said that > Crenshaw > tortured and even bred blacks there, both freed > men and > escaped slaves, before selling them into slavery > across the > nearby Ohio River to Kentucky and parts farther > south. > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237