April 17, 1903 The Jackson Hustler says: At 1 o'clock p.m. Wednesday, in front of the courthouse in this city, an event transpired that is without a parallel in the history of this county since its formation, and one that has been but seldom, if ever, witnessed in any community. The incident referred to was the public sale into servitude for a period of six months, for vagrancy, of Bruce Marcum, a young, robust and able-bodied man about twenty-seven years of age. This being the first time a white man (one Negro having been sold for the same cause a few years ago in Breathitt) was ever sold in the county, quite a large and curious throng gathered in front of the courthouse to witness the sale. Berry Turner, of Crockettsville, a Deputy Sheriff, cried him off, and performed the duty with all the skill of a professional auctioneer, calling attention to the health and physical qualifications of a young man, and impressed upon the crowd the value of the young man's labor to the would-be buyers, yet the bidding was rather slow and dull. Marcum was finally sold to Mr. William Griffith, of the Frozen precinct, for $650. The man sold is an only son of Edward Marcum, of this city. Marcum was tried at the March term of the Breathitt Circuit court on a charge of vagrancy and offered no defense. ______________ From Knott County Historical Society's - A Century Ago This Week (1903 Edition) Does anyone have or know where we can obtain a photo of Bruce Marcum? Thanks. David R. Smith, Pres. Knott County Historical Society, Inc.