isa-normaladvance-1913-00005

Description:	THE NORMAL ADVANCEthere wTere 81. In Dearborn county there werenone reported to the census officials. Thus, inthe decade, from 1800 to 1810, the number ofslaves in the four counties of Indiana Territoryhad increased from 28 to 237, at least . Tn theWestern Sun, published at Vincennes, thereappeared, numerous advertisements for escaping negroes. From 1721 to 1784, when Indianawas controlled successively by France, GreatBritain and Virginia, no one questioned theauthority to hold slaves in Indiana, 3and fromthe time the United States obtained control ofthe Northwest Territory, until 1816, it is evident that the civil authorities in the Territorydid not enforce the Ordinance of 1787.In 1800 there were only two considerablewhite settlements in Indiana of the presentboundaries. One consisted of the 1,533 Frenchand Americans at Vincennes and in the vicinity of Vincennes, and the other was on theClarks Grant, given to George Rogers Clarkand his army for their services in taking Kas-kaskia and Vincennes from the British duringthe Revolutionary War. The grant was inwhat is now Clark county, and consisted of 929settlers. Before 1763, this territory had beengoverned by the French, and Vincennes, theonly white settlement of any note within thepresent bounds of the State, was made a partof the Province of Louisiana. The northernpart of this province, by a royal proclamationissued in the same year that the immortalWashington was born on the Potomac, extendedas far as Terre Haute on the Wabash. Canadaextended to Terre Haute at the south. ^Before1732, Louisiana had been held by the FrenchCompany of the Indies, just as Virginia wasat first held by the London Company. In 1720the Company of St. Phillips, a subordinatecompany of the Indies Company, importedabout 500 negro slaves to work the lead minesof Missouri and Illinois. Some of these slaveswere later brought to the settlement at Vincennes, where, to this number, wTere gradually2Niles Register, Vol. I, p. 235.3Dillon, John B., History ot Indiana, p. 410.♦Dunn, Jacob P., Indiana, p. 295.5Ibid, p. 58.added those which the Indians stole from theEnglish colonists along the seaboard and soldto the French traders on the Wabash. Forthe Indians soon learned that live negroes wereworth more than negro scalps.As the Northwest began to be settled by theAmericans, the number of slaves increased, andthis increase was especially great from 1805 to1810. The causes for this increase in the number of slaves were two. First, Knox county,which until 1813, comprised the southwesternhalf of the State, wTas largely settled by theSoutherners, who wTere reared by slave owners,and some of whom brought their slaves to Indiana with them. In the second place, theseSoutherners, bringing their inborn customs anddispositions with them, together with theFrench who for generations had held slaves,secured territorial legislation favorable to theintroduction of slaves.A study of the history of the settlement ofthe southern counties partly explains the increase in the number of slaves. Luke Decker,the first of the (Decker) family to come to thiscounty (Knox) came from Virginia previousto the year 1783, while this (State) was a partof the territorial limits of Virginia. Hebrought with him his slaves, and among themwas Dinah, a slave woman, who was the motherof Bob and Anthony. These were held as slavesby Luke Decker, son of Luke Decker, after thepassage of the ordinance of 1787 and after Indiana became a State.7Most of the early settlers in Daviess countycame from the Southern States, and as was butnatural many of them brought along theirslaves. Eli Hawkins, who came from SouthCarolina, probably brought the first slaves intoDaviess County in 1806. * * * James CVeal had one slave * * * William Ballowbrought in four. * * * John Coleman hadone. * * * William HawTkins had four.3And this number might be supplemented by relating similar facts in other counties.«Ibid, p. 258.History of Knox and Daviess Counties (1886), p. S5.8Ibid, p. 600.
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/34450
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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