a by a cordon of posts, or relays, which came to be known
as the "Underground Railroad". A number were stolen and carried away on
horses. The abductors traveled with the slaves at night and concealed
them during the day. The old McFerron house in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky was
used as a relay post to hide slaves enroute to Ohio, Michigan and
Canada. The slaves in these parts were locked in the old McFerron
cellar which was situated under the ground, and they were concealed
under the cover until night, when they would travel again.

There were never at any time any slaves sold from auction blocks in this
county. It is reported that the life of the slave in Rockcastle County
was a happy lot. Their masters built them cabins to live in, furnished
with bunks, tables, stoves, and other necessities. Their masters gave
them chickens, cows and other stock and gave them plenty to eat.

There are no slaves living in Rockcastle at this time.

CLARK CO.
(Mayme Nunnelley)

The first records of Slaves in Clark County was given by a descendant of
one of the members of the little band of resolute Revolutionary
soldiers who had been comrades and mess mates throughout the long bloody
war. These fifteen families, some from Virginia and others from
Maryland, started westward in the early spring of 1783 for Kentucky.
They bought with them some horses, a few cattle, thirty or forty slaves
and a few necessary household articles.

After many hardships and trials, borne heroically by both men and women,
they halted on the banks of the Big Stoner, in what is now the eastern
part of Clark County. Two years later another group of families with
their slaves came to join this little settlement.

In some cases the owners were good to their slaves had comfortable
quarters for them at a reasonable distance from the main house. Their
clothing was given them as they needed it. In most instances the
clothing was made on the plantation Material woven, and shoes made. The
cabins were one and two rooms, maybe more if the families were large.
The slaves ate their meals in the kitchen of the main house.

A cruel and inhuman master was ostrazied and taught by the silent
contempt of his neighbors a lesson which he seldom failed to learn. In
1789 the general assembly passed an act in which good treatment was
enjoined upon master and all contracts between master and slaves were
forbidden. The execution of this law was within the jurisdiction of the
county