Description
Sudden Death - Uncle Joe Caris a Well Known Colored Man Falls Dead on 5th and Cherokee Streets - - Uncle Joe Caris, aged 61 years (born ~1833), one of the best known colored men in the city died suddenly of hemorrhage of the lunge on the southeast corner of Cherokee and Sixth streets about 8:15 o’clock on Friday morning.
He had been making some early deliveries of fish and at Noll & Fuller’s corner sat down on an iron plate at the corner of the building and began to cough. Henry Lawson, who boards at Fred Riebe’s next door to Noll & Fuller’s happening to be outside was asked by Joe if he would not get him some salt. Lawson procured the salt and when he returned great quantities of blood were flowing from Caris’ mouth. He tried to swallow some of the salt but became too weak and falling over on the sidewalk died in about five minutes.
Uncle Joe was quite corpulent, weighing in the neighborhood of 300 pounds. He had been complaining for about a week, visited Captain W. D. Mathews’ office Thursday evening, and had a long talk about old times, when he and the captain were soldiers together.
He said he had fought hard for his people, took all the blame for recruiting colored men for his regiment, talked of the time when he assisted Captain Mathews in his underground railroad, and concluded by saying: “I don’t see that I can do any more good, I will not take any stand in politics this fall. I give up, and won’t try any more. Old Joe’s work is done.”
This was about 6 o’clock in the afternoon. At 8 o’clock the next morning his word was made good. Joseph Caris was born a slave, in the state of Kentucky, was in that condition previous to the breaking out of the war. He came to Leavenworth in 1861, and when the First Kansas Colored Troops was organized, he was a member of the first company, and remained with that company until the regiment was reorganized as the 79th U. S. Colored Troops in the fall of 1863. He remained in the service being promoted from private to corporal and then first sergeant. He survived many hard fought battles, receiving a severe scalp wound at the battle of Honey Springs.
Uncle Joe was genial, liked by everybody, a holy terror to the Democracy in convention, for he was nearly always with those who are on the side of right.
(Researcher's note: William Phillips a/k/a Spratt Hunt enlisted at Leavenworth, Kansas on August 17, 1862, and was mustered as a Private into the 79th USCT Infantry, Company F.
Joseph Carreas, Sergeant in Company A, 79th USCT Infantry, appeared before Leavenworth County notary public W. A. Burnheen on November 12, 1866, and made affidavit that "Spratt Hunt went by the name of William Phillips" and Carreas "knew him to be the same person.")Date(s) of Creation
7/19/1894
