Madison County, Illinois - Chapter 28: Noted Fugitive Slave Case, 1912

Mulatto Girl Left in Alton - Seized After Marriage - Released for $i ,200 - Illus¬ trates Workings of Fugitive Slave Law - Over Fifty Per Cent to "Slave Catchers" - An Eye Witness of the Trial - Judge Resigns in Disgust - The Principals' After Life.

In the year 1853, a case involving the arrest of an alleged slave, under the provisions of the notorious fugitive slave law, transpired at Alton and attracted national attention. It was brought before Hon. Levi Davis, United States commissioner, by a slave trader, who had purchased the slave "running," as the term was. The slave was an attractive look¬ ing young mulatto woman, who had supposed herself free. The story is told in the Presby¬ tery Reporter of March, 1853, of which the late Rev. A. T. Norton was the editor, and is given below.

"On Saturday, November 22, 1851, a young man came to the Alton House, in this city, and entered his name on the register as J. T. Leath. In his company was a mulatto girl, named Amanda Kitchell, at that time about seventeen. The young man was somewhat older. The pair were from Memphis, Ten¬ nessee. The girl had an aunt in town, with whom she found lodgings. The young man remained at the Alton House until the Mon¬ day following. He stated repeatedly, in the hearing of Mr. A. L. Corson, keeper of the Alton House, and of others, that the girl had been a slave in his father's family, that he brought her here to set her free, and that he should send her free-papers as soon as possible.

"The girl remained in Alton, residing in dif¬ ferent families and sustaining a good charac¬ ter until December 23, 1852, when she was married to Alfred Chavers, a respectable young colored man of this city. During all this period of thirteen months, her aunt and other friends seem to have given themselves little or no concern about her free-papers, relying implicitly upon the word of the young man - who was her master's only son - that she was free. Under this pleasing illusion, she re¬ mained in her husband's house, unsuspicious of danger, for about three weeks after her marriage. But on Saturday, Sabbath, and Monday, the 15th, 16th, and 17th of January last, two or three men were noticed prowling about town, and visiting the houses of various colored citizens, pretending they wished washing done.

"About sunset of the last of these days, five armed men burst suddenly into the house of Alfred Chavers, in his absence, seized his wife, who was sitting by the fire, and without giv¬ ing her time to take a bonnet or a shawl, dragged her into the street and hurried her off to the office of the United States commis¬ sioner, Levi Davis. Here a pause ensued until the court could take supper, when the trial proceeded.

"The leading spirit in these outrageous proceedings was Malcolm McCullom. Of the other four, two were witnesses brought with him from Memphis - one his brother, J. C. McCullom - one a witness found in Alton ; the other, the constable employed to make the arrest. McCullom had laid his train well. He had three witnesses to prove the girl's identity, all the paper documents which the Fugitive Slave law of 1850 requires and a power of attorney from J. T. Leath, the father of the young man who brought Amanda here. These proofs the commissioner deemed sufficient and immediately consigned Amanda, in due form, to the tender mercies of the slave-catcher. No time was allowed for deliberation, or for the collection of rebutting evidence.

"Amanda was marched off to the Franklin House and carefully guarded through the night. During all this time, there was no out¬ break. Most of the citizens knew nothing of what was going forward ; and those who did, suffered the odious Fugitive Slave law to pursue, unobstructed, its merciless course.

"The next morning, January 18th, negotia¬ tions were entered into for Amanda s re¬ demption. McCullom had the impudence, at first, to demand $2,000. When Chavers begged him not to take away his wife, promis¬ ing to redeem her, the brute replied that he 'wanted her for a wife himself!' He finally, however, reduced his demand to $1,200, and there he stood inflexibly saying that if $1,- 199.99 were proffered, he would not take it. In the course of the day, the money was raised; $1,000 by voluntary donations from the citizens, and $200 by loan - $100 of which was from the savings of an industrious colored girl. These $1,200 were handed to the slave-catcher and the girl restored that evening to her husband.

lar 9 o'clock packet for St. Louis ; but went on board the 'Excel,' an Illinois river boat, which passed down about an hour after the 'Altona' left. Why was this? We have it on good authority, that young Leath - the same who brought Amanda to Alton - was on the 'Altona' that morning, having come up on her the evening previous. Did the McCulloms wish to avoid him? Had he - having failed to procure from his father the girl's freepapers - followed them all the way from Mem¬ phis, to prevent the accomplishment of their design? These questions we have not now sufficient light to answer positively; but from the evidence before us, we imagine the young man honestly designed to set the girl free. For this purpose he brought her here, with¬ out the knowledge of his father, and left her here, telling her and others that she was free and that he would send her free-papers; which he doubtless expected to procure, but could not. As to his motives in pursuing such a course, we hazard no conjecture.

"We have said that McCullom proceeded against Amanda under a power of attorney from J. T. Leath, the elder. All the docu¬ ments which he used in the trial, were in ac¬ cordance with the idea that he was only Leath's agent. He appeared in no other char¬ acter until after Amanda had been adjudged to him. When, however, the citizens of Al¬ ton wished to purchase Amanda's freedom, it came out that McCullom was her true owner. While proceeding against her as the slave of another man, he carried in his pocket a bill of sale - the original of which is now in Amanda's possession - from J. T. Leath to himself. This document is as follows:

"For, and in consideration of four hundred dol¬ lars, in hand paid, I have sold to Malcom Mc¬ Cullom, ALL MY RIGHT, TITLE, AND INTEREST, with a certain female slave named Amanda, aged 18 or 19, and of yellow complexion, and who is now a fugi¬ tive, supposed to be in the State of Illinois. I guar¬ anty the said girl to be a slave for life ; but I do not guaranty her recapture; the said McCullom buying the chances of her, and he being at all expenses for her recapture ; but I give the use of my name and my power of attorney to proceed for her recovery under the authority of my name and right. - Jan¬ uary ii, 1853. J. T. Leath."

"Now we ask, with all due deference for lawyers and judges, if a man can legally - we say not morally, that is too plain a question to be argued a moment - but can a man legally act as agent for another, when and where he is himself entire and complete owner, and that other has no more present right or claim than the man in the moon? If this question is answered in the negative, then the entire legal proceedings in Amanda's case were con¬ trary to law; as every one, with the least spark of a soul, knows they were to all nat¬ ural justice.

"Again : Amanda is termed a fugitive. She was recovered under the Fugitive Slave Law. But was she a fugitive? Did not her own master's son take her away, carry her to a free State, and leave her there, telling her and others that she was free? If there was any fugitive in this case it was J. T. Leath, the son, and not Amanda Kitchell, the ser¬ vant. We believe it is both law and gospel, constitution and common sense, that when a slave is brought into free territory by those who claim ownership, and left there, that slave is therefore free.

"This case exhibits the practical workings of the Fugitive Slave law. We have just been reading a copy of this law, contained in the Western Law Journal of November, 1850. It is preceded by the following just and truth¬ ful remarks : 'In its serious aspect, it seeks to secure the purely legal right of the master to his slave, or to indemnify him for his loss, by violating the plainest principles of justice, that no man shall be deprived of his liberty upon an ex parte trial; by setting aside the constitutional guarantee of the writ of habeas corpus, which can never be suspended except in cases of rebellion or invasion ; by declar¬ ing that the decision of the lowest judicial officer known to the law, upon one of the gravest questions that can be submitted to any tribunal, shall be final ; by holding out a pre¬ mium, in the shape of double fees, for a deci¬ sion adverse to liberty; by forbidding any inquiry, before that officer, into the facts which constitute the very gist of the defense, and confining it exclusively to a question of identity ; by punishing public officers, guilty of no fault or negligence, for their inability to resist irresistible force, or inevitable acci¬ dent; and by determining beforehand the quantum of damages in a civil suit between two citizens, and fixing those damages with¬ out any reference to the value of the property, and at an exorbitant amount. Looking at the law in another aspect, one cannot but smile at the wisdom that seeks to make laws effectual by merely piling up penalties; and hopes, by outraging justice and common sense, to in¬ duce all good citizens to aid in their execu¬ tion.'

"The citizens of Alton have the comfort of knowing that, by the operation of this law, they have been swindled out of $1,200; more than one-half of which must be clear profit to the slave-catcher. Yet, all this is nothing to the degradation. These $1,200 are so much 'Black Mail.' This money has been extorted from us by the crack of the slave whip, and at the pistol's mouth. While look¬ ing at it in this aspect, we have seen the strong man weep bitter tears of indignation. Be¬ cause we believed a decent-looking woman - whose father was a full-blooded white man - might, perchance, have a human soul, and not desire to be dragged away from her newly-married husband and thrust back into that slavery from which she thought herself forever rescued, we must, at the bidding of a black-hearted slave dealer, armed with the Fugitive Slave law, pay $1,200 as the price of our philanthropy! Well, better so a thousand fold, than to possess un-human, un-sympathizing hearts ! But what a burlesque to call this a land of freedom, when we are obliged to submit to such extortion, or resign our humanity !"

''The above article was penned by the editor of this magazine. He has personally, and with much painstaking, investigated the facts, and feels quite sure of their correctness. The opinions he has expressed, will, of course, be taken only for what they are worth; but the facts may be relied on.

" 'For, and in consideration of the sum of twelve hundred dollars, to me in hand paid, by Amanda, the Mulatto girl, mentioned in the above bill of sale, (that from Leath to McCullom on a previous page,) I do hereby sell and transfer all my right, title, and inter¬ est, in and to the said Amanda; and I do hereby guarantee unto her, her freedom and absolute control of herself, and that I have good rights so to dispose of her to herself ; as witness my hand and seal, this 18th day of January, 1853.

The case excited intense public interest as may be inferred from the above recital. Mrs. B. F. Sargent, of Alton, who witnessed the trial, or a part of it, favors the writer with such incidents thereof as she saw or heard. Mrs. Sargent is the last survivor of her gen¬ eration, of a family that has been prominent in the growth and development of Alton dur¬ ing the past seventy-five years. Her maiden name was Miss Susan Phinney, and her brother, the late Mr. Charles Phinney, was actively engaged in the mercantile business in Alton from 1838 until his death in 1904, a period of sixty-six years. She is doubtless the only survivor of those who participated in or witnessed the trial. And now in a serene old age with mental faculties unimpaired, she re¬ calls with interest the early days of Alton. At the time of the trial she was at the residence of her sister, Mrs. E. L. Dimmock on Second street, which was separated from the office by a narrow vacant lot. The windows were open and she saw the proceedings and heard some¬ thing of what passed.

The woman and her friends were grouped on one side of the room, and the slave catcher and his assistants on the other. Hon. George T. Brown, then a young attorney, appeared for the defense. Judge Davis sat at his desk which was piled high with legal authorities he had been consulting. The prosecuting and de¬ fendant lawyers presented their cases, and when the arguments were concluded the judge rendered his decision in favor of the prosecu¬ tor, remarking in addition : "It is the law and this is my duty under the law." All his sym¬ pathies were with the woman and he gave the decision reluctantly, but it was in accordance with the law and his duty under his oath of office.

Mrs. Sargent recalls the face of the slave catcher as a repulsive one. When he saw how much sympathy there was for the woman and that an effort would be made to purchase her release he kept raising the price of her re¬ demption until it reached the sum of $1,200. All classes of citizens, white and colored, joined in raising the sum necessary. Chavers mortgaged the little home owned by himself and his mother, and other colored men helped to the best of their ability. Mrs. C. W. Hun¬ ter, wife of Major Hunter, personally circu¬ lated a subscription list. Some of the Abo¬ litionists, Mrs. Sargent says, were reluctant to subscribe for the reason that they did not be¬ lieve in the purchase or sale of human beings, but, in this case, their sympathies overcame their scruples and they subscribed liberally.

A notable change in public sentiment is here exhibited, sixteen years previous to this inci¬ dent Lovejoy had been slain in Alton by a proslavery mob, for advocating the freedom of the slave; but later, when the horrors of slavery are brought to their doors, we find the citizens uniting in raising a large sum to pur¬ chase liberty for a slave. Thus was Lovejoy's saciifice vindicated in the place of his martyr¬ dom.

Judge Davis felt the affair so keenly, when the inquity of the slave law was thus brought home to him for the first time, that he indig¬ nantly resigned this office of commissioner, re¬ fusing longer to hold a position where he could be made a party to the enforcement of a law so obviously opposed to morality and hu¬ manity. Judge Davis was for many years one of Madison county's most distinguished law¬ yers and was held in universal esteem. He was a native of Cecil county, Maryland, and was born in 1808 of an old Revolutionary family. He came to Illinois prior to 1830, in company with David Davis afterwards of the United States supreme court. He located near Vandalia, in 1835, was elected state auditor by the legislature and served two terms. When the state capitol was located at Springfield he removed to that city, and came to Alton in 1846. He was prominent in public affairs and was a friend of Uincoln, Douglas, Trumbull and other great men of the day. He was a man of the highest integrity and of spotless char¬ acter. In his young manhood he was a sol¬ dier in the Black Hawk war of 1832 and his three sons, Capt. James W. Davis, Surgeon Charles Davis and Uieut. Uevi Davis, Jr., served with honor in the Civil war as officers in the Ninety-Seventh Illinois. Judge Davis died at the residence of his son, Dr. Davis, March 3, 1897, at ripe age of eighty-nine.

A word as to the Chavers family: The hus¬ band, Alfred Chavers, "ran on the river" and, some two years after this incident lost his life in a disaster on a steamboat plying between St. Louis and New Orleans. After his death his wife removed to a town in Southern Illi¬ nois where she had relatives, and nothing more seems to have been known of her in Alton. The couple left no children.