Old Ned’s Cabin A Reminder Of Former Slave

During pre-Civil War years, there were several slaves on the more prosperous farms in the beautiful Holston Valley near Bristol.
Here and there are reminders of that long ago era. For example, between Cold Spring Presbyterian Church and the James (Jimmy) Thomas place there is a large formation of rock near which once stood a humble home of ex-slaves.
Old-timers called this the “slave rock” and said they remember seeing children of slaves playing around this large rock formation.
But probably the most outstanding of these reminders is Old Ned’s cabin, standing in the backyard of Old Cedar Hill, now known as Painter Place on the Tennessee/Virginia border.
As David King Sr. prospered on the 640 acres given him by his father-in-law John Sharp, he needed the help of several slaves. Indeed, slaves cleared the beautiful fields that now surround the old King home.
Mr. King erected cabins for the slaves along the trail that led from the house down to the family spring. This spring is the beginning point of the well-known Painter Creek.
On Jan. 11, 1804, a son was born to one of the slave women. She named him Ned. The next day, a son was born to Mrs. David (Elizabeth Sharp) King. He was named David Orestes King. These boys grew up together, played together as children, and in youth and early manhood, worked together in the King fields. (David King Sr. always had his family members to work along with the slaves).
On Oct. 5, 1826, David O. King married Mariamna McChesney, his first cousin, and built his home on the family farm. Ned never married but was a very helpful and highly valued slave on the King plantation.
In the early 1840s, David King Sr., who had long thought seriously on the question, finally decided that slavery was wrong. He then, using three wagons, one of which was driven by Ned, took the slaves to Clark County, Ind., and set them free. He sold all the wagons and teams, except one horse on which he rode toward home.
David O. King was so saddened by the separation of his long-time slave friend that he wrote a poem about the event. Somewhere in my possession, I have the hand written poem today. No news was ever heard from these slaves until many years later.
On the evening of Sept. 1, 1865, Old Ned appeared unexpectedly at Cedar Hill, having walked the nearly 400 or so miles from near Henryville, Clark County, Ind. He asked to be made a servant on the place he had loved so well.
David O. King gladly granted his request. Only two of the former slave cabins still stood. One of these was fixed up for Ned’s home.
David O. King died on May 21, 1881. His daughter and son-in-law, Caroline and John F. Painter, gladly kept Old Ned on the place. On May 29, 1887, this faithful old servant volunteered to go the Cold Spring Cemetery to clean up the King lot in preparation for a memorial service that was to be held the next day.
Later that day, another man in that community went to that cemetery to work on his family lot. He found Old Ned lying dead near David O. King’s grave. His funeral was part of the memorial service the next day. He was buried, as the custom then was, outside the cemetery fence, but as near the King graves as possible. The site is now lost.
Soon after Ned’s death, Mr. Painter moved Ned’s cabin to near the back porch of the main house. It then became the family smoke house.
It remains today as a reminder of an era that is long passed and of the faithfulness of a slave who served during that period.

BUD PHILLIPS is a local historian and author. He can be reached at (276) 466-6435.