Emancipation Papers
This file appears in: 8th of August
Before wholesale emancipation came with the Thirteenth Amendment, Kentucky slaveholders could choose to free their slaves individually. This document shows free man of color Benson Coleman freeing Caroline Coleman and her two boys Orlando and Benson, all of whom were probably Benson Coleman’s family. Courtesy of the Kentucky Historical Society.
This file appears in: 8th of August
8th of August
Historical Marker #1957 in Paducah commemorates the eighth day of August. African Americans in Paducah have traditionally observed this day in celebration of their ancestors' emancipation from…