This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: JanSlater Surnames: SELLERS, HUDSON, ROSE, SMITH, HORNER Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.pennsylvania.counties.greene/11100/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Vol. 8 No. 166 The Press, Philadelphia, Saturday, February 14, 1860 PERSONAL AND POLITICAL Arrest Of Three Pennsylvanians From Greene County On A Charge Of Conspiring With Slaves In Virginia - The Waynesburg (Greene County) Republican, of the 7th inst., gives the following account of the arrest of three citizens of Greene county, in Virginia: "Three young men of this county - Atkinson H. Sellers, Walter Hudson, and Perry Rose - went over into Virginia last month to purchase furs, such as muskrat, mink, &e. "Sellers and Hudson left this county on the 16th ult., and travelled in company through parts of Monongalia, Marion, and Harrison counties making purchases at various places on their route. On Saturday, the 21st ult., a few miles from Clarksburg, Harrison county, they happened to fall in company with Rose, who had left home on the 18th ult., neither party having any previous knowledge of the whereabouts of the other. That evening all three went together to Clarksburg, to remain over Sabbath, and, on Sabbath night, they were all arrested and taken to prison. "Sellers and Hudson had retired for the night, at the hotel where they stopped, and were aroused from their slumbers to be informed by the sheriff of Harrison county that they were prisoners of the Sate of Virginia, and must march off to jail. Rose escaped the unpleasant operation of being "waked up" under such circumstances as he had not yet gone to bed. Naturally enough the young men were quite anxious to know what such extraordinary proceedings meant, when they were informed that they were charged with having conspired with slaves. "They were hurried off to jail, and cooped up in a small cell, and kept there until about two o'clock P.M., on Monday the 23rd, at which time they were taken out, and brought into the court-house for examination by a magistrate's court. A large crowd soon gathered into the court-house for examination by a magistrate's court. A large crowd soon gathered into the court room, all anxious to get a peep at the 'Abolitionists' who had invaded their State, for the purpose of raising an insurrection among their 'niggers.' "Every eye was turned towards the fellows, who (in the terrified imaginations of the Clarksburgers) pretended to be in search of fur, but really were on the hunt of wool. "I a short time the State Attorney called up the case, and displayed to the astonished gaze of the young men an array of some ten or twelve witnesses for the Commonwealth. Things began to look a little serious, and visions of Virginia penitentiaries and scaffolds, now doubt, occasionally danced before their eyes, for they were strangers, and they could no know how many there might be in that crowd of witnesses whose love for the 'peculiar institution' would prompt them to sear falsely against its supposed enemies. But, the, on the other hand, they knew that they had nothing to fear, if the witnesses would swear the truth, and the magistrates discharge their duty. So they took courage. The examination lasted some two hours, and at its close the young men were dismissed by the magistrates. "As they passed out of the court house, a fellow by the name of A.J. Smith, of Clarksburg, a person of rather unenviable character, (as we are informed,) and the same man on whose oath the warrant of arrest was issued, not content with having wrongfully thrown them into prison, imperiously ordered them to leave as soon as possible. It needed no incentive of this kind after what they had undergone, to hasten their steps homeward. They were already thoroughly convinced that they had better buy furs in some other locality. "The following are the facts which gave rise to the above proceedings, as the young men learned after their arrest and during their examination: saying the week preceding their arrest sellers and Hudson were at the store of a Mr. Horner, in Lumberport, a small place not far from Clarksburg. Here they purchased some furs, and here also, they became acquainted with Mr. James Y. Horner, of Clarksburg, the father of Mr. Horner the storekeeper, and here, too, they saw a black man, the slave of Mr. James Y. Horner. This negro was in the store where they were purchasing and pacing their furs, and thus they became acquainted with him. After dinner, on Sabbath, Sellers and Hudson were taking a walk 'to see the town' and they stopped in front of the residence of James Y. Horner to admire its beauty, and the beauty of its situation. While there, the same black man they had seen at Lumberport came up and spoke to them, and Hudson, somewhat surprised at seeing him there, said to him,! 'How did you get here?' There was some further conversation on the same subject, and while it was going on several negroes, who happened to be passing along the street, stopped close by. In a very short time, Sellers and Hudson passed on, and returned to their hotel without giving the occurrence a moment's thought. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.