Kentucky Black Trailblazers Markers

In 2024 a new marker tour program was installed by the Oldham County Tourism that features accomplishments of historic African Americans. Oldham County is one of six Kentucky communities selected as a part of the Black Trailblazer tour.  The tour is one of a kind featuring 19 “Immersive augmented reality stops”.  When visiting the markers there is a QR code on the sign that is scanned with your phone and “viola”, the Trailblazer featured on the signage actually “comes to life”, similar to watching a hologram!Oldham County is featured with 3 Trailblazer Markers based on the Underground Railroad research from the Oldham County History Center.  The Oldham County History Center has received 2 designations on the National Underground Railroad Network by the National Park Service.  These designations are a result of archaeological work at the Bibb Escapes/Gatewood Plantation and the from the collections of rare slave documents at the J. C. Barnett Library and Archives.

Henry Bibb Black Trailblazer

Location: Westport, KY

 

Description: In 2005 the Oldham County History Center began research on Henry Bibb based on his book, Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, An American Slave.  Henry writes of his enslavement in the Oldham County area in the early 1800s and his successful escape where he eventually found residence in Canada.  Bibb became the first Black editor of a Canadian newspaper, The Voice of the Fugitive and also established refuge and education programs for people escaping enslavement from the United States. 

 

Bibb grew up around New Castle in Henry County and later was sold to William Gatewood who had a farm outside of Bedford (now in Trimble County, however before 1837, this area was a part of Oldham County).

 

The Oldham County History Center began archaeological programs on the Bibb Escapes/William Gatewood Plantation site in 2005 which continued until the site was closed in 2023.  Over the 18-year period there were numerous field study schools, public archaeology programs, a numerous reports on the site. All of the archaeology research was directed by the K&V Cultural Resources Mgmt. archaeologists Jeannine Kreinbrink and Doug Vonstrohe.  In 2016 the National Park Service designated the Bibb Escapes/Gatewood Plantation on the National Underground Railroad Network.  This designation is held by the Oldham County History Center.

 

The Henry Bibb Black Trailblazer marker was selected at Westport because of its location near the original Oldham County courthouse and its connection to the Ky. Historical Marker nearby.  The courthouse is now home to the Westport Methodist Church but the structure was originally built as the county’s courthouse.  The original common grounds located by the courthouse is a significant well-preserved place where people would gather for courthouse business during those early years.  Slave auctions, property disputes, court sessions and community gatherings were common grounds historically connected to these historic court sites.

 

A Kentucky Historical marker was placed near the courthouse in 2019 to site the Westport Methodist Church as the first courthouse of Oldham County. In addition the marker recognized slave activities in Oldham County  and includes William Gatewood, one of Oldham County’s first Justices of the Peace and enslaver of Henry Bibb.  This is the first marker placed in Kentucky that acknowledges Henry Bibb.

Alex Beaumont Black Trail Blazer Marker

Location: LaGrange, KY

 

 

Description: Alex Beaumont is buried at the Historic African American Cemetery in LaGrange marked by his gravestone with the imprint as a Union soldier, member of Company E, 116th Infantry, US Colored Troops. Research on Alex was compiled by his great granddaughter, Diane “Ruby” Beaumont Booker and by researcher Robert Bell, sponsored by the Morris Mount Roberts Fellowship.

 

Beaumont enlisted at age 25, June 3, 1864 at Camp Nelson (he was 5’8” tall).  He mustered in at Camp Nelson on June 16, 1864. His service record indicates he was from Garrad County, listing his owners as Susan and William Beaumont.  His occupation was farmer.  In his service record he was listed as a cook. 

 

In September 1864 Beaumont’s regiment defended Camp Nelson defeating Forest’s attack at Hickman’s Bridge.  On Sept. 27, 1864, they joined the Army of the James in Virginia and reported to General Butler.  They participated in siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond from Oct. 23, 1864 to April 2, 1865.  The regiment did fatigue duty at Deep Bottom, Dutch Gap, and in the trenches at Richmond. Part of the Appomattox Campaign and pursuit of Lee. Company 117 was at the fall of Richmond and Appomattox Courthouse and the surrender of Lee and his army seeing duty at Petersburg until May, 1865.  On May 25, 1865 the Company left City Point, VA for Texas. They  arrived at Brazos Santiago on June 22 and marched to White’s Ranch on June 24. The Company was assigned to Sub-District, Lower Rio Grande till September 1886 and at New Orleans, LA till January 1867.  Alex Beaumont mustered out at Louisville, KY on January 17, 1867.

 

Alex Beaumont settled in LaGrange, Ky. after the Civil War, married and had seven children.

Eliza Brooks Black Trailblazers Marker

Location: Goshen, Ky


Description: The National Park Service defines the Underground Railroad as the first step an enslaved person takes on their journey to freedom.  This marker, in honor of Eliza Brooks, represents not only her courage but the thousands of others courage and resistance, who walked away from their enslavement knowing the risk and danger was worth the dream of freedom and self-worth. This story came from the research of Marie Brooks, on her great great grandmother, Eliza Brooks, over 100 years after Eliza’s journey.


Marie Brooks and her mother, Doris Benoit Brooks, visited the Oldham County History Center to locate the J. W. Bondurant farm in Goshen where her great great grandmother, Eliza Brooks and her great grandfather, James H. Brooks had been enslaved on the J. W. Bondurant farm in Goshen in Oldham County.   Working with staff at the archives, the J. W. Bondurant was located off Shiloh Lane, about 1 mile north of the Shiloh Methodist Church.  History Center Ex. Director, Nancy Theiss, interviewed Marie about her journey in tracing her great great grandmother’s journey from slavery to freedom.  Nancy transcribed the interview and published her story in the Louisville Courier-Journal in 2016.  Marie Brooks died from breast cancer in the following contains portions of that article:

I was born in D.C.  My parents came from Chicago and Mississippi.  We heard that my family on my father’s  side was from Kentucky but didn’t know the details  My father was  James H. Brooks and my mother is  Doris Bnoit Brooks.  We moved to Lexington when I was about 9.  We always had a framed letter, the Bondurant letter on our wall.  My grandfather gave that letter to my father on one of his visits from Chicago.  The stamp on that letter said Louisville and we knew it was to my great grandfather, James H. Brooks.  The imprint on the letter was from J. D. Bondurant & Co., Real Estate Agents, 508 South Side Main St., between 5th & 6th, Louisville, Ky.

 

Louisville, Ky. Dec. 17, 1885

J. H. Brooks

Monrovia, Indiana

 

Your favor came duly to hand, and I am and have all ways been glad to hear from you.  I remember distinct answering your last letter, the day was reserved but do not remember your enquiring about your brother, Frank.  If you remember he went to or was taken to Massachusetts and I expect joined a Massachusetts regiment under some Yankee name.  I have thought it often, and have no doubt but there is some money coming to you or your mother and that under democratic rule there may be some day a chance of getting it. I should not wonder if some Yankee was not but drawing a pension that should be he. 

 

My father passed away in April (2016) and we (Mom and I) went to Indiana, to Kokomo Indiana where my father grew up.  So when we went to the funeral there I decided I would use that time to do family research.  I found my great grandfather’s obituary, my father’s namesake and learned that he escaped slavery at the age of 5 with his mother, my great, great grandmother, Eliza Brooks.

I went to the public library at Kokomo where I found my great grandfather Brook’s obituary.  We went to the town where he passed away and got the actual obituary from the Morrisville Times, April 18, 1919:

J. H. Brooks, for 39 years in business at Monrovia, died at his home there early Monday morning of kidney trouble, aged 67 years.  Mr. Brooks, who was a colored man, was highly respected and was a model citizen.  He was engaged in the restaurant business and also was a barber.  He was born in slavery in Kentucky, but his mother succeeded in escaping to Indiana with him and a sister when he was five years old. They came to Plainfield and lived there until his mother died. She is buried a short distance west of Plainfield.  He afterward settled in Monrovia. He was married twice. His second wife and a son by that marriage survive.

 

We had heard he was a slave, but we did not know that he and his family had escaped slavery.  The library directed us to resources for his mother, Eliza, and she was listed in the 1870 census which corroborated the person we thought was his mother.  She was 50 years old when she escaped slavery. I started searching for months for Eliza Brooks but couldn’t find anything.  So I was at the Ky. Historical Society at Frankfort and just started searching for first names only, Eliza and Henry as slaves, and found them together.  It gave his approximate birthdate which was July and the right birth year, which matched my great grandfather.  And then the Bondurant letter that we had matched with the slave records.  We had this Bondurant letter in our family all the time but never knew what it meant.  J. D. Bondurant was the son of Dr.  Jeffery W. Bondurant who lived and is buried in Oldham County. 

When my great, great grandmother escaped with my great grandfather and his sister, there was a woman named Lucy that lived with her in Indiana.  I also found there was a slave, Lucy that lived on the farm in Kentucky.  The more I learned about the institution of slavery, it makes me proud of Eliza and I feel privileged to have this information. Eliza worked as a housekeeper in Indiana according to the 1870 census. I also became very proud of my great grandfather’s work in Indiana that was stated in things I found. I also was impressed by these letters between the slave owner’s son, J. D. Bondurant and my great grandfather. 

I think it is important to contact your family members to try to put together pieces of the puzzle regarding African American ancestors.  I know people just want to focus on the positive aspects of history and not think about the negatives which make it hard to put together your African American heritage.  And race, unfortunately, is still taboo to discuss particularly with older people and ask the deeper questions about family.  I feel more empowered knowing my family history.  These are stories of sustenance, courage and survival.  My father’s passing away reminded me how critical time is to get information from older people and it would be nice to preserve this information for future generations. I would definitely encourage people to record and research what they can. When I began this, I had no idea that I had a fugitive slave in my family.