Slavery in Illinois Illinois came into the United States as a free state. As it says in the Illinois Constitution of 1818, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall hereafter be introduced into this State.” Even though the Illinois Constitution of 1818 states this, it also specifically states, “No person bound to labor in any other State, shall be hired to labor in this state, except within the tract reserved for the salt works near Shawneetown; nor even at that place for a longer period than one year at any one time; nor shall it be allowed there after the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five: any violation of this article such person from his obligation of service.” Crenshaw’s Involvement in Slavery John Crenshaw operated a salt well supplying water to the salt works of Guard, Choisser & Co, in addition to his own works. Therefore, he was permitted to own slaves. In the book Slaves, Salt, Sex, & Mr. …show more content…
This explains why the extent of John Crenshaw’s kidnapping remained hidden for over a century. As it explains in the Old Slave House’s application form to be in the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, “Until the second or third decade of the 19th Century, Crenshaws throughout the South pronounced their name in a way that could easily be spelled Granger, or occasionally Granshaw or Cranshaw. The Crenshaws of Gallatin County did the same. Official records such as deeds used the correct spelling, but records written by someone else, such as a census enumerator, used spelling based on whatever the person thought they heard. When research started in 1996, neither local legends nor 19th Century histories recalled the alias. Only a mistake by Shawneetown lawyer Henry Eddy led to the discovery. While defending Crenshaw in a lawsuit over some debts, Eddy wrote a counterclaim for Crenshaw. He started Crenshaw’s name with John Granger, drew a line through Granger, and continued with