John C. Sanders

Clay Hill Farm was a slave plantation. We do not know how many slaves were at Clay Hill but at the probate sale of the estate of James Sanders, 35 were named. Carrie Sanders and Harry White were married in October 1862, on the weekend that the Battle of Perryville (KY) was fought. A year earlier, Carrie's mother Mary A. Sanders had inherited 13 slaves from her husband's estate (James, 9 September 1861). President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation became effective on 1 January 1863. But slavery remained legal in Kentucky until the 13th amendment to the constitution banned it in December of 1865. Because Kentucky was a border state, the emancipation proclamantion did not apply here. Slavery was legal on this farm until 1865. We are not certain but slaves probably remained on this property for two years after those in the deep south were freed. One of the slaves inherited by Carrie Sanders was named John. There was a John C. Sanders (slave) who served in the union army and was stationed at Camp Nelson, Jessamine County Kentucky. We believe these two were one and the same. Harry F. White sought compensation for John Sanders' service and filed papers in Taylor County on the 18th of May of 1864 claiming his ownership of Sanders and his right to compensation. Transcript of these papers (in part) follows:

"We ********* do certify that H. F. White of the State and County aforesaid, was on the 18th day of May, 1864, the lawful owner of the slave named John C. Sanders; referred to and described in the foregoing claim for compensation."

We don't know whether Harry recieved payment or what happened to John C. Sanders. But it is interesting to know that Clay Hill may well have been one of the last operating slave plantations in the country.

 Published 30 May 2014 ;  last modified 27 March 2018          © Clay Hill Memorial Forest 2014