William Ellison, Slave owner (page 2)

talesin

I wonder, how can one justify in their mind to own another person. It doesn't matter

This has always been an issue for me. Some people may laugh, but as a child, I remember reading the books, Beautiful Joe, and Black Beauty, and couldn't understand human cruelty to any living thing. Slavery still exists, and in the western world. Cruelty is a gross injustice, and we need to look to our own culture first (eg, slaughterhouses and factory farms, and abuse / neglect of the elderly and children).

Fix our own back yard, and the world will follow.

My two.

James Mixon

talesin, hear, hear. "Fix our own back yard, and the world will follow."

talesin

out4good4

I wonder, how can one justify in their mind to own another person.

OH...that's an easy question to answer. You just rationalize to yourself that the bag of meat and water you own is less than a full person or not one at all.

After slavery ended, that was still the justifications used for all of Jim Crow.

Nathan Natas

Cool your jets, Jim and others who have knee-jerk reactions.

For the record, I'm white. It is possible that some of my Scots-Irish or Polish progenitors were slaves. It is not an exclusively Black experience. By the way, I have not the foggiest idea WHO William Ellison is/was, but I will correct that soon.

ONE reason Blacks kept slaves was because that was one way to KEEP THEIR FAMILIES TOGETHER.

I don't know where you are, Jim, but you should see if you can stream episodes of two US TV shows that I highly recommend.

The first is Finding Your Roots, which is hosted by Educator Henry Louis Gates Jr.

The second is Who Do You Think You Are? an American genealogy documentary series that is an adaptation of the British BBC series of the same name.

It was episodes of these shows that opened my eyes to why owning a slave can, in some circumstances, be an ACT OF LOVE.

Good luck in your continuing search for answers.

Nathan Natas

WHO was William Ellison? (from wikipedia)

William Ellison Jr, born April Ellison, (c. April, 1790 – 5 December 1861) was a cotton gin maker and blacksmith in South Carolina, a free negro and former slave who achieved considerable success in business before the American Civil War. He eventually became a major planter and one of the medium property owners, and certainly the wealthiest "black" property owner, in the state. He held 40 slaves at his death and more than 1,000 acres (400 ha) of land. From 1830-1865 he and his sons were the only free blacks in Sumter County, South Carolina to own slaves. The county was largely devoted to cotton plantations and the majority population were slaves.

Ellison and his sons were among a number of successful free people of color in the antebellum years, but Ellison was particularly outstanding. His master (and likely father) had passed on social capital by apprenticing him to learn a valuable artisan trade as a cotton gin maker, at which Ellison made a success. He took a wife at the age of 21. After buying his own freedom when he was 26, a few years later Ellison purchased his wife and their children, to protect them from sales as slaves.

James Mixon

Thanks Nathan I will definitely do some investigation. That is something the borg didn't encourage us

to find your roots.... "And yes It's true it's not exclusively a black experience", the OT.

Also thanks for posting from wikipedia..

Simon

how can one justify in their mind to own another person

That is the fundamental issue - you can't.

And in this regard man's law's are obviously superior to "god's". Lord Mansfield said their was no basis for slavery and the concept that you could own another person under the law.

Anyone who wants to promote the bible as a basis for living has to also promote the idea of slavery which is obviously abhorrent.

Sadly though, African Americans (a stupid label) don't "own" slavery. There are many more people in servitude today as there ever were and little being done to put an end to it.

William Ellison, Slave owner

Share this