Description
Greenup Hays enlisted at Leavenworth, Kansas, on July 12, 1863, and was mustered as a Private into the 2nd Kansas Colored, Company A. On November 16, 1866, John W. Martin of Buchanan County, Missouri, signed claim for compensation #0001 for enlisted slave Greenup Hays and swore an oath of allegiance before Buchanan County Notary Public Hiram Roberts.
Martin claimed he had acquired title to Greenup Hays by “…I bought him (the slave Greenup Hays) from Mrs. Jane Armstrong, Administrator of A. H. Armstrong, deceased in Fayette County, Kentucky, near Lexington the 17th day of April 1854. The Bill of Sale is not recorded but I still have it in my possession. I paid the sum of $950 for Greenup Hays. I purchased the slave at his request as I owned his wife and children and moved from Kentucky to Missouri and did not desire to separate them, and at the same time knew the man to be healthy, faithful, and trusty.
Bill of Sale - Fayette County, Kentucky, April 17, 1854 - I have this day sold and delivered to Dr. J. W. Martin a Negro man named Green aged about 34 years for the sum of $950 and the receipt whereof is acknowledged. I warrant said man Green to be sound in mind and body and a slave for life. Witness my hand the day and date above written. Jane Armstrong, Administratrix of A. H. Armstrong, deceased.'"
Martin stated, "The certificate of enlistment is misplaced. The description of my slave Greenup Hays is as follows, viz; He was about 6 feet high, copper color, straight, weight generally about 160 pounds, was about 45 years old when enlisted. Had a blemish in one eye, I think the right eye, which had existed from childhood, the eye had a white spot in the sight and could not see much out of that eye. J. W. Martin."
William L. Harlow and John Taylor swore under oath that Martin had owned Greenup Hays for “8 or 9 years" and Capt. Peter A. Jones (57th Infantry Missouri Volunteers, Co. A) and Jasper Wilson of Buchanan County also swore oath that Martin was loyal to the U.S. Government and had defended it against the Confederate States of America. Buchanan County Notary Public Hiram Roberts certified that Martin, Harlow, Taylor, Jones and Wilson had personally appeared before him and swore an oath to the truth of the claim.Date(s) of Creation
11/16/1866
