SANKOFA'S SLAVE DATA COLLECTION

Bon Ridge Plantation

Location: Catahoula Parish, LA
Constructed: ----

History: Bon Ridge Plantation was owned by Absolom Sharp, a migrant from Pennsylvania. At the time of his death in 1851, the 66 year old planter also owned an estate in Adams Co., MS. Sharp was successful in exploiting slave labor to amass a fortune, which may have pushed his human property to a breaking point. The problems that occurred while Sharp was alive became accelerated following his death. Consequently, his wife Clarissa relied heavily upon the overseers to control the slaves. The overseer F.W. Ford was involved in a conflict with Moses (1852), in which Moses attacked Ford; Ford countered with a gunshot into Moses's arm.

Ford's successor, Duncan Skinner was a notoriously violent overseer who flailed slaves at Bon Ridge every evening. It may have been for this reason that three slaves, Henderson, Reuben, and Anderson conspired to rid the plantation of the brutal overseer. They abducted Skinner and killed him in the nearby woods. Soon after, they cleverly crafted the scene of a riding accident using Skinners body, his belongings, and a horse. The scene convinced the county coroner to rule the death as accidental, but a secret investigation led by Skinner's brother unraveled the plot. Anderson panicked and escaped to hide in a cotton gin at nearby Magnolia Plantation. Reuben and Henderson planned to escape. All three were captured and the conspiracy was discovered.

Associated Surnames: Ford, Sharp, Skinner

Asoociated Plantations: Magnolia Plantation (Catahoula Parish, LA)

Associated Free White Names

• ( - 1851) Absalom Sharp: owner; migrant from Pennsylvania; born 1785 - died 1851
  • wife Clarissa Sharp: inherited Bon Ridge Plantation
• F.W. Ford: overseer for Clarissa Sharp
• Duncan Skinner: overseer for Clarissa Sharp

Associated Black Slave Names

Slaves of Bon Ridge Plantation
Slaves extracted from "Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation" (Franklin & Schweninger)

• Anderson: male; conspirator in the murder of Duncan Skinner; escaped Bon Ridge Plantation and hid at Magnolia Plantation
• Andy: male; runaway slave (captured)
• Henderson: male; conspirator in the murder of Duncan Skinner
• Moses: male
• Reuben: male; conspirator in the murder of Duncan Skinner

Slave Revolts

• (1852) A personal confrontation ensued between the overseer F.W. Ford and Moses. Moses sustained serious injuries (gun shot wound and blows to the head), eventually recovered, but remained rebelious. "Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation" (Franklin & Schweninger)
• (1857) Alexander, Henderson, and Reuben had executed a intricately planned plot to murder the notoriously cruel overseer Duncan Skinner. They had succeeded in making the death appear accidental, but the scheme was later discovered. "Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation" (Franklin & Schweninger)

Agriculture

• Cotton

Description of Associated Architecture

• ----

RESOURCES

• Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation. Franklin, John H. and Schweninger, Loren. Oxford University Press. 1999.