Ladies and Gentlemen,
I saw this on Afrigeneas, anyone care to confirm or deny the story's
accuracy? Any comments?
Karen E. Sutton
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2003 01:20:49 -0600 (CST)
From: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Jefferson nephew chops a Black man to pieces
FYI ... this comes from another ListServ. Interesting but not
surprising to
me! Sources follow the story.
Please read this shocking account written by a white man about Lillburn
Lewis, nephew of Thomas Jefferson of Livingston County, Kentucky:
> Lillburn Lewis (nephew of Thomas Jefferson, the penman of the
> Declaration of
> Independence), of Livingston County, Kentucky, was the owner of about
> fifty
> Slaves, whom he drove constantly, fed sparingly, and lashed severely.
> The
> consequence was that some of them were in the habit of running away.
> This
> gave Lewis great anxieties until he found them, or until they starved
> out
> and returned. Among the rest was a boy named George, about seventeen
> years
> of age, who, having just returned, was sent to a spring for water, and
> let
> fall a pitcher breaking it. This was the occasion. It was night.
> Lewis
> then collected all the slaves into an out house, and ordered a rousing
> fire
> to be made. When the door was secured, that none might escape, either
> through fear or sympathy, Lewis opened the design of the meeting,
> namely,
> that they might be effectually taught to stay at home and obey his
> orders.
> All things being now in train, he called up George, who approached his
> master with the most unreserved submission. He bound him with cords
, and aid him on a meatblock, and seizing a broad axe, proceeded to
chop him
> into pieces, commencing at the ankles.
> In vain did the unhappy victim call upon his Master to forgive him.
In vain did he scream. Not a slave durst interfere. Casting the feet
into the
> fire, he lectured the Slaves at some length. He then chopped off
> below the
> knees, and admonished them again, throwing the legs into the fire. He
> then
> chopped off above the knees, tossing the joints into the fire,
> lecturing as
> he proceeded. The next two or three strokes severed the thighs from
> the
> body. These were also committed to the flames. And so were the arms,
> head
> and trunk, until all was in the fire. Still protracting the intervals
> with
> lectures, and threatenings of like punishment, in case of disobedience
> and
> running away. The Slaves were then permitted to disperse.
>
> When the monster returned to his house, Mrs. Lewis exclaimed, Oh! Mr.
> Lewis where have you been, and what have you done! She had heard a
> strange pounding, and dreadful screams, and had smelled something like
> fresh meat burning! He replied that he had never enjoyed himself at a
> ball
> so well as he had enjoyed himself that evening.
>
>
According to scholars, Jefferson, an enslaver of 154 Africans, would
never
confront the murder in any of his writings. Reprinted in Tingba Apidta,
The
Hidden History of Washington, DC: A Guide for Black Folks (Roxbury, MA:
Reclamation Project, 1996); William Loren Katz, editor, The Suppressed
Book
About Slavery (New York: Arno/New York Times, 1968), pp. 199-200.
Peace, blessings, favor and grace, Alta
"I have learned that no one can experience true love, or a joyful
presence,
or create an optimal future until one makes peace with one's past.
Genealogy
heals the soul!"
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
|