Angie Boyce

This is a brief recollection of Angie Boyce’s child, as told to her by her mother.  Angie was born into enslavement in Kentucky early in the Civil War.  Her mother married a man who purchased their freedom and attempted to move them to free territory.  The following excerpt recalls their experience being arrested, returned to Kentucky, and put on trial to determine if they should return to enslavement.
See full document • Visit the Library of Congress to see the original document

Excerpt:

The mother of Angie was married twice; the name of her first husband was Stines and that of her second husband was Henry King. It was Henry King who bought his and his wife’s freedom. He sent his wife and baby Angie to Indiana, but upon their arrival, they were arrested and returned to Kentucky. They were placed in the Louisville jail and lodged in the same cell with large Brutal and drunken Irish woman. The jail was so infested with bugs and fleas that the baby Angie cried all night. The white woman crazed with drink became enraged at the cries of the child and threatened to “bash its brains out against the wall if it did not stop crying”. The mother, Mrs. King was forced to stay awake all night to keep the white woman from carrying out her threat.

The next morning the N***o mother was tried in court and when she produced her free papers she was asked why she did not show these papers to the arresting officers. She replied that she was afraid that they would steal them from her. She was exonerated from all charges and sent back to Indiana with her baby.


Interviewee 
Formerly enslaved person
Birth Year (Age)Interviewer
WPA Volunteer
Enslaver’s Name
Angie Boyce1861 Wm. R. MaysJames Breeding
Interview LocationResidence StateBirth Location
Johnson County, INIndianaKentucky
Themes & KeywordsAdditional Tags:
Family, equality, emancipationThird person

Boyce_A_1

Can we count on your support?

This website is a service of Reckoning, Inc., a small non-profit organization that depends on grants and donations to continue our work. Up to this point, we have avoided putting any paid advertising on our website. If you would like to help us keep it that way, please consider making a donation to our organization.