| Claiming that John was
insane, his brother contested the will and kept the slaves. It would be thirteen years
before the courts would reach their decision to accept the "instrument of
writing...the codicil whereto bears date the 5th day of December 1821...the
codicil...1821...the codicil...of January 1826 the four codicils bearing date the 6th date
of May 1828...and the codicil bearing date the 26th day of August 1831...Therefore it is
ordered that the said several instruments of writing be recorded as the true last will and
testament of the said John Randolph of Roanoke deceased." William Leigh began the process of carrying out the will’s dictates by traveling to Mercer County in western Ohio to arrange for the settlement of the newly freed slaves. According to Leonard Hill and Helen Gilmore, (a Rossville, Ohio, historian), William Leigh, on behalf of the Randolph will dictates, had bought about 3,200 acres of fertile land in Mercer County for over $6,000. It is possible that Leigh was aware of the black settlement of Carthagena, Mercer County, that had been established by a Quaker, Augustus Wattles, in the 1830s. Some of the land purchased was close to Carthagena, however, the bulk of it was in the Celina vicinity. Before returning to Virginia, Leigh contracted with Joseph Plunkett of Mercer County, to attend to the interests of the new arrivals and to ensure their settlement. It was June 10, 1846, when 383 former slaves urged their horses, four to a wagon, pulling sixteen wagons loaded with everything they owned, to head west toward the free state of Ohio. Their ages ranged from a little baby less than 12 months to Granny Hannah who was reputed to have been over 100 years old. They were led by Mr. Cardwell, wagon master, whom Leigh had retained to assist the former slaves in their long journey, and to oversee their successful settlement in Ohio. |
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[Back] [Next] [Up] [New Search] 'Black History' segment written in June, 1998 by David Lodge