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DOCUMENTARY

The Case of Robin Holmes vs. Nathaniel Ford

The Quarterly is indebted to Mr. Fred Lockley for the following documentary record of the judicial proceedings in the case in which Robin Holmes, a former negro slave of Nathaniel Ford of Polk County, sued Mr. Ford for the freedom of three of his children. Mr. Lockley in Vol. XVII, pp. 107-115, of The Quarterly first contributed "Some Documentary Records of Slavery in Oregon." Since then in his gleanings of historical data in journeys up and down the State the stock of information pertaining to ex-slaves in Oregon has been constantly added to. He says:

During the pasj 25 years I have met a number of interesting ex-slaves in Oregon. Some years ago I interviewed Lou Southworth near Waldport. He told me of his childhood days as a slave and of his trip to Oregon. A few months ago I interviewed at Albany, Amanda Johnson, who was born at Liberty, Clay County, Missouri, August 30, 1833. When I asked her if she had ever been sold as a slave, she said, "No sir, I was never sold nor bartered for. I was given as a wedding present to my owner's daughter. I belonged to Mrs. Nancy Wilhite. Mrs. Wilhite later married Mr. Corum. When her daughter, Miss Lydia, was married, she gave me to her as a wedding present. I have known seven generations of the family. I had five brothers and six sisters; none of us were sold like common negroes. We were all given away as the different young folks got married. In 1853 my owners came to Oregon. A man offered my master $1,200 for me. I was 19 years old then. My owner said, 'Amanda isn't for sale. She is going across the plains to the Willamette Valley with us. She is like one of the family. I don't care to sell her.' It took us six months to come from Liberty, Missouri, to Oregon City. We reached our destination on September 13, 1853. Lou Southworth, also a slave, crossed the plains the same year I did. So did Benjamin Johnson, another slave, who later became my husband."

On the street in Portland recently, I