Monk Estill

Monk Estill (died 1835) arrived in Kentucky in the 1770s as a slave but was later freed, becoming the first freed slave in Kentucky. He made gunpowder at Boonesborough, KY. His son, Jerry, was the first African American born in Kentucky.

Much has been written about the first white settlers of Kentucky, especially Fort Boonesborough, but many histories make only passing reference, if at all, to the Black slaves who accompanied them.

The first Black Kentuckians suffered the same hardships and dangers as the whites, and performed much of the work required to carve out a new life in the woodland that was the frontier.

One of the first Black people named in the historical record was Monk Estill, who historians agree was the first slave to be freed in Kentucky. He started his life as a slave and ended life as a free man, making him the first in Kentucky.

As the slave of Capt. James Estill, for whom Estill County is named, he came to Madison County in the 1770s, according to an entry by Ted Franklin Belue in the Kentucky Encylopedia, published in 1992.

Scads of information exist on Monk but the all refer to him as an extraordinary man. Monk Estill stood only 5 feet, 5 inches tall, but weighed 200 pounds and was known for his strength. It doesn’t take much from what is said to tell he was as heroic as they came. He seemed to face fear unflinchingly and with a clear head. His survival instinct was uncanny.

Monk Estill was an American superman of sorts a skilled craftsman and horticulturist who knew how to manufacture black powder -- an essential skill that was strangely uncommon on the frontier.

He was married three times, and his wives bore 30 children. One of his sons, Jerry, is believed to have been the first Black child born at the Boonesborough settlement, according to Belue.

By 1779, Monk Estill planted and maintained an orchard of apple trees at Boonesborough.

Monk Estill later distinguished himself as a maker of gunpowder, which was essential for survival on the frontier, both in battles with local tribes and for hunting. He is believed to have mined saltpeter (potassium nitrate crystals), a necessary component of black powder, at Peyton Cave. He also learned and practiced the skill of tanning.

From “Kentucky Pioneers - Kentucky Genealogy” (2018) < link >

The Wyandot Indians raided Mt. Sterling on March 20, 1782 and a 14-year-old Jennie Gass was tomahawked and a former slave of Captain James Estill, Monk Estill, was captured. Captain Estill came to Estill's Station about 1779. This area is often called Fort Estill and a historical marker is posted near its location between Berea Road and the Blue Grass Army Depot fence. The Indians interrogated the slave and got an exaggerated version of the number of fighting men at Estills Station which convinced the Indians to put off an assault on the settlement. Two days later, Captain Estill and 26 settlers found the raiding party at Little Mountain near Mt. Sterling and attacked. Captain Estill was killed, and 13 of his fighters were killed or badly wounded. However, during the fight, Monk Estill managed to escape and carried with him one of the wounded white settlers back to the Estills Station. The distance was almost 25 miles.

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Because of his service to the family, James Estill's son Wallace granted Monk Estill his freedom.

Ordained a Baptist minister, Monk Estill eventually moved to near Shelbyville.

Although he was no longer their slave, the Estill family still maintained contact with Monk Estill in his old age. Wallace Estill provided for the former slave until his death in Madison County in 1835.

Belue's account makes no mention of Monk Estill's birth year. Belue's account references Robert Cotterill's "History of Pioneer Kentucky," published in 1917 at Cincinnati.

The drawing of Monk Estill which appears with this article is taken from Z.F. Smith's "The history of Kentucky, From Its Earliest Discovery and Settlement, to the Present Date," published in 1895 at Lousiville.

An example of the slighting of Blacks' role in the settlement of Kentucky can be seen in J.T. Dorris' "Glimpses of Historic Madison County, Kentucky." Published in 1955, it was the main narrative of Madison County history until publication in 1985 of "Madison County: 200 Years in Retrospect." It makes no mention of Monk Estill.

The 1985 book calls him a hero of the Siege of Fort Boonesborough as well as Estill's Station and Little Mountain. It also makes reference to his skill as a tanner.

In more recent years, Monk Estill's heroism and role in the successful settlement of Kentucky has been given more recognition.

When it placed the first markers in the Walk of Fame in front on the courthouse in Richmond, the Madison County Historical Society, which published "200 Years in Retrospect," included Monk Estill.

While most of their names have been lost to history, the 1985 book tells about other slaves on the frontier, their work and what they suffered.

Capt. Tweety and his slave Sam were killed by Native Americans in the spring of 1775, when Tweety's party camped for the night near present day Duncannon Lane on the last leg of their trek to Boonesborough. The makeshift fortification the party erected for the site has been known since as Tweety's Fort. The Daughters of the American Revolution monument placed a monument at the location.

Col. Richard Calloway, a leading resident of Boonesborough and rival to Daniel Boone, was granted a license by Virginia to operate a ferry on the Kentucky River at Boonesborough. While he and a group of slaves worked on building watercraft for the ferry, they were all killed in an Native American attack, according to first section of "200 Years in Retrospect" that was written by Dr. Henry Everman.

By 1790, the slave population of Madison County totaled 737. No free people of color were listed in the census of that year, according to Everman. Ten years later, the census counted 1,729 slaves and three free people of color. Those 1,732 came to about 16 percent of the population.

References

• NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database < link > cites
  • Kentucky Encyclopedia 2000
  • The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians, by A. A. Dunnigan.
• Estill County (KY) Enslaved, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870 < link >
• < WeRelate > cites
  • Recorded, in Smith, Zachariah Frederick. The History of Kentucky: from its earliest discovery and settlement, to the present date ... its military events and achievements, and biographic mention of its historic characters. (Kentucky: Courier-journal job printing Company, 1892) 193. < Archive.org >
• < Wikipedia > The Battle of Little Mountain, also known as Estill's Defeat, was fought on March 22, 1782, near Mount Sterling in what is now Montgomery County, Kentucky. One of the bloodiest engagements of the Kentucky frontier, the battle has long been the subject of controversy resulting from the actions of one of Captain James Estill's officers, William Miller, who ordered a retreat that left the rest of Estill's command to be overwhelmed by the attacking Wyandots. … Monk Estill won particular distinction for bravery during the battle, having carried a wounded militiaman, James Berry, almost 25 miles (40 km) back to Estill's Station. He was granted his freedom soon afterwards by Wallace Estill, becoming the first slave to be freed in Kentucky.[9] The traditional site of Estill's death is marked by a millstone marker pointing to an old sycamore tree on Hinkston Creek.[10]
  • 9. Pipkin, J.J. The Story of a Rising Race: The Negro in Revelation, in History, and in Citizenship. St. Louis: N.D. Thompson Publishing, 1902. (pp. 45–47)
  • 10. Federal Writers' Project. Kentucky: A Guide to the Bluegrass State. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1939. (pp. 392)
• Monk Estill by: Kara Estill < link >
• BLACK HISTORY MONTH: “Monk Estill: A man of bravery and selflessness.” Richmond Register staff report (Feb 2, 2021) < link > While he was away, the Wyandots attacked a number of nearby settlements, including Estill's Station, killing 14-year-old Jennie Glass and capturing Munk Estill, a slave who belonged to James Estill. Under interrogation, Munk was able to persuade the Wyandots to hold off their attack, convincing them that Estill's Station was at full strength. (In reality, with the exception of one man on the sick list, only women and children were present at the fort.)
• “Meet Monk Estill.” < rdhardestry.blogspot.com >
• “ Firefight At Little Mountain — Estill’s Defeat.” June 20, 2020, by JimC. < frontierpartisans.com >
• FindAGrave < MEMORIAL ID 78355612 >
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BwdmL96GNQ
• https://youtu.be/5BwdmL96GNQ
• “Kentucky Pioneers - Kentucky Genealogy” (2018) < link >