373]

It should be added in this connection that the same statement would
hold true of the free Negro population of Kentucky at the same period.
Until long after the Civil War there was no provision made for their
education other than that of individual enterprise. The public
education of the whites was not on a plane comparable to that of any
of the Northern States until after the reconstruction period, and even
then Kentucky lagged behind for years.

The church and its influence for the betterment of society under the
slavery system was more effective than the school. The chief religious
paper of the State was the _Presbyterian Herald_ and one of its most
persistent pleas was that the proper religious instruction of the
Negro servant class would answer most of the objections to the
institution. "The most formidable weapon in the hands of the
abolitionist," said the editor, "is the indifference which he charges
to the Christian slaveholder toward the spiritual welfare of the slave
under his control. Disarm him of this weapon, and you have done much
to render him powerless."[374]

Religious instruction in families of Christian habits of life,
however, was not so sadly neglected. The household servants were
usually brought to the house during the family worship and the
scriptures were not merely read to them but explained. No restrictions
were ever placed on church attendance either by law or by custom. Many
slaves united with the white churches and throughout the State today
one may find any number of old churches whose records still show
several of these Negroes on the church rolls. Most of them are very
kindly remembered for their good moral character and abiding faith.
Such a condition was not so prevalent among the agricultural slaves,
except where they were few in numbers. Even here, however, the
religious instinct was not suppressed in any manner. Their religion at
the most was a very crude imitation of the worship of their masters.
They were not confined to the rear seats of the white churches for
their attendance at Sunday services. They could hold their own
meetings in schoolhouses and vacant church edifices.

It was these distinctively slave gatherings that gave rise to one of
the most interesting of all Negro characters--the preacher. Tradition
and story have related many a charming picture of this quaint
representative of Negro faith, but unfortunately few life stories of
any of them have ever been pres