In 1826, Joseph Kite was fighting for his freedom in the courts of Madison County, KY. Even though he was the plaintiff in the suit, Joseph was required to remain in jail while the defendants walked free. Such was the nature of the laws of enslavement. Joseph was born in Virginia around 1798. He and other family members were brought to Boone County by their enslaver George Kite, a Revolutionary War soldier. Near the end of his life, George Kite freed all of the people he enslaved three times over; once, through a deed filed in Boone County on February 7, 1825, again in the Cincinnati courts on April 6th, 1825 and a third time through his 1826 will, filed in Boone County. Sadly, all of this documentation did not secure the newfound freedom of Joseph and his family.
In April 1825, George Kite rented property in Butler County, OH, and moved there with the people he intended to free, possibly as a way to reinforce their free status. After a single growing season, George Kite returned to Kentucky, leaving behind Joseph, his grandmother, aunt, sister and her children. Several months after his return, George Kite died in Boone County.
The family’s freedom did not last. Late one April evening in 1826, when Joseph was away in Cincinnati, the women and children (including an infant born on Ohio soil) were kidnapped. Upon his return, Joseph wasted no time; pleading his case to Governor Morrow who produced an order for their return. The sheriff and another man left for Kentucky to serve the papers, bringing Joseph to identify his family members. They were met by nine armed men led by William Daniel, who was married to George Kite’s granddaughter.
Joseph was claimed as a slave, his hands tied and a rope around his neck, forced to walk 160 miles in two days to Richmond, KY where he was sold to Jefferson Curle. Somehow, Joseph convinced the authorities he had been illegally confined and sold.
In July 1826 a case was opened in Madison County Circuit Court. Joseph’s witnesses, including neighbors from Boone and Butler County and Cincinnati’s first millionaire, Nicholas Longworth, were convincing. The court found for Joseph in September 1827. He was awarded $1 plus court costs and his freedom.
Joseph returned to Ohio, successfully sued for the freedom of his family, and went on to secure the freedom of several other enslaved people by purchasing them himself. Among these were Joseph’s son Elijah Kite and his wife and child. After Elijah’s family escaped Boone County enslaver Wilson Harper, Joseph negotiated a price and nearly lost his home, but ultimately was able to secure their freedom. Joseph Kite died in 1884, having lived an eventful and heroic life.
