Interviewer’s Comment

Mr. Miller lives with his family in a very comfortable home.

He has only one eye, wears a patch over the bad one.

He does not like to talk of his early life as he said it was such a “nightmare” to him; however he answered all questions very pleasantly.

Submitted December 9, 1937
Indianapolis, Indiana

William R. Mays
District 4
Johnson County

Henry clay Moorman
born in slavery in Kentucky
427 W. King St., Franklin, Ind.

Henry Clay Moorman has resided in Franklin 34 years, he was born Oct. 1, 1854 in slavery on the Moorman plantation in Breckenridge County, Kentucky.

Mr. Moorman relates his own personal experiences as well as those handed down from his mother.  He was a boy about 12 years old when freedom was declared.  His father’s name was Dorah Moorman who was a cooper by trade, and had a wife and seven children.  They belonged to James Moorman, who owned about 20 slaves, he was kind to his slaves and never whipped any of them.  These slaves loved their master and was as loyal to him as his own family.

Mr. Moorman says that when a boy he did small jobs around the plantation such as tobacco planting and going to the mill.  One day he was placed upon a horse with a sack of grain containing about two bushels, after the sack of grain was balanced upon the back of the horse he was started to the mill which was a distance of about five miles, when about half the distance of the journey the sack of grain became unbalanced and fell from the horse being too small to lift the sack of grain he could only cry over the misfortune.  There he was, powerless to do any thing about it.  After about two hours there was a white man riding by and seeing the predicament he was in kindly lifted the sack up on the horse and after ascertaining his master’s name bade him to continue to the mill.  It was the custom at the mill that each await their turn, and do their own grinding.  After the miller had taken his toll, he returned to his master and told of his experience.  Thereafter precautions were taken so he would not again have the same experience.

The slave owners had so poisoned the minds of the slaves, they were in constant fear of the soldiers.  One day when the slaves were alone at the plantation they sighted the Union soldiers approaching, they all went to the woods and hid in the bushes.  The smaller children were covered with leaves.  There they remained all night, as the soldiers (about 200 in number) camped all night in the horse lot.  These soldiers were very orderly; however, they appropriated for their own use all the food they could find.

The slave owners would hide all their silverware and other articles of worth under the mattresses that were in the negro cabins for safe keeping.