Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw: The Real Story of the Old Slave House and America's Reverse Underground R.R. - Hardcover

Jon Musgrave

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 097079844X ISBN 13: 9780970798442

Publisher: IllinoisHistory.com, 2005

Synopsis

The Old Slave House has stood for some 166 years a few miles east of the village of Equality, Illinois. An antebellum plantation manor, it's long held the history of nefarious activities in its attic, stories of kidnappings and victims held against their will. It's been recognized for its ghosts — some say it's one of the most haunted places in America. It's been recognized for its architecture. That's why it's on the National Register of Historic Places and in September 2004, the National Park Service recognized it for its history as a station on the Reverse Underground Railroad by naming it to its National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw is the result of eight years of research into the real history behind the stories long told to visitors, from the kidnappings and slave breeding to the visit of Abraham Lincoln and the potent political connections, both real and those just claimed, held by the owner John Hart Crenshaw and his family. This hardcover edition is an expanded and revised version of the book with more than 66 photographss, more Crenshaw and Taylor genealogy, plus a new timeline about the house.

About this title

About the Author:

A historian active in the effort to preserve the Old Slave House, Jon Musgrave joined with fellow area historians Ron Nelson and Gary DeNeal in the fall of 1996 to research the real history of this much misunderstood historic site. Musgrave's efforts continued for eight years and cumulated with Slaves, Salt, Sex & Mr. Crenshaw. Unknown when he started researching the site, nine months into the research he discovered his own family relationship to the original owner of this antebellum kidnapping station. When not researching and writing about Southern Illinois' history, Musgrave sells real estate in Marion, and has recently been appointed to Illinois' new Amistad Commission to study how the history of slavery is taught in the state's public schools.

Review:

"...Jon Musgrave has performed an outstanding service to this country exposing the atrocities of the Reverse Underground Railroad system..." --Dr. Glenn Poshard, Ph.D., former U.S. Representative

About this edition

• Publisher: IllinoisHistory.com
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 097079844X
• ISBN 13: 9780970798442
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 608