is john henry a real person

These testimonials come from various parts of the United States and Jamaica and were given at least 40 years after the events to which they refer. I invite historians, the more the merrier, to join the search for John Henry in Alabama. I had hoped that Nelson would turn his research attention to Alabama railroads and the question of John Henry there (the "Alabama story" about John Henry Dabney). Although the probability (based on this evidence alone) that John Henry died on September 20, 1887, may be in the vicinity of 86%, this line of reasoning is erroneous. I found my version in a book of songs in my junior high school library, in 1962 or 1963. John Henry is a hero to everyone, especially African Americans and labor-union members. On September 20, 1887, he raced the steam drill outside the east portal of Oak Tunnel. Thus, Nelson cites frequency of testimony as evidence favoring John Henry on the C & O but ignores similarly frequent testimony that he was at Big Bend Tunnel. John W. Henry of Virginia who I discuss in my book Steel Drivin’ Man is listed both in penitentiary records and in the Virginia census as John Henry. I note that Dunnavant is the only proposed location for John Henry that has a long and strong local legend that has confirming ties with coherent testimony, documentation, and ballad texts. The Post-Trump Crack-Up of the Evangelical Community, A Push to Save Landmarks of the ‘Great Migration’ — and Better Understand Today’s Racial Inequities, Rice is a 'Frequent Visitor' at Tables in the South, A New Cookbook Digs Up the Complicated Way it Got There, The Future of L.A. is Here. Only a half-dozen or so of these men placed John Henry at Big Bend Tunnel, the only spot on the C & O where anyone placed him, and they are contradicted by an equal number of others. John Henry was one of them. The informants lived in Utah, Birmingham (Alabama), Michigan, Jamaica, and Leeds (Alabama). I could be wrong but it doesn’t much matter. For those who may have never heard the legend, John Henry was imprisoned for a crime during the black code era. The testimony of the Leeds informant was published in 1955. The relevance of this is not clear. And after his passing, it was not like in the Disney short that Henry saved the day for all those who outlived him and were able to live on the land and remember the man who made it all possible. If it were not in the original, then the Virginia story would have no foundation. Henry Dabney married Margaret Foston in December, 1869. Birmingham: I knew John Henry. Henry.". AL or anywhere else? Name: “John Henry” was actually an uncommon name among black men in the South in the 1870s. Click on this to bring up a page devoted to the September 15 event. Here are some documented facts. In tunnel boring the rock was blasted away by explosives packed into drilled holes. He has also attacked me and my work on websites, on amazon.com, and on numerous blogs. To Jon Sobel (blogcritics) the evidence is "inconclusive." Big Bend Tunnel, West Virginia, has a local tradition but only incoherent testimony, no documentation, and only one confirming tie to ballad texts (the explicit mention of Big Bend Tunnel). The Georgia Historical Society owns massive records of the Central of Georgia system, to which the C & W belonged. John Henry was a steel driver, a man who used a sledge hammer to pound steel drills to make holes in rock. We may have to drive a stake through his heart to stop his perambulating and get rid of his ghost at Big Bend Tunnel and those other places. If he had found the Alabama location, the community of Dunnavant, he would have found there a tradition as old and strong as that for Big Bend Tunnel. THE LEGEND OF JOHN HENRY CLAYTON. Captain Dabney’s uncle owned Burleigh Plantation, Hinds County, Mississippi. Whether or not John William Henry is the man seems almost irrelevant. Captain Dabney was in charge of the construction of the C & W extension. Utah: I saw John Henry collapse and die. The C & W was owned by the Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. The Virginia story is inconsistent with many elements of the John Henry tradition. He moved to Mississippi by age one. I was about 14 years old. Captain Dabney’s father owned a slave boy named Henry. There is no note or citation of a reference. By the 1880s, after the events that I describe in my book, it had become a much more common name. Before listing some of these, it should be noted that each has been recovered rarely, most only once. John Henry's pride in his ability is the psychological core of the ballad and legend. Both types are widespread. "John Henry made fourteen feet / While the steam drill only made nine." The extent of what he has established is that manual and steam drilling occurred simultaneously at Lewis Tunnel for about a year. When Did the Catholic Church Decide Priests Should Be Celibate? My book demonstrates how and when John Henry came to Lewis Tunnel. A few informants who thought John Henry had been at Big Bend Tunnel incorrectly named C. R. Mason as the construction contractor. I don't think that, so I consider it to be less-than-strong evidence. Finally, no legend, testimony, or ballad version explicitly places John Henry at Lewis Tunnel. In “John Henry,” “Big Bend Tunnel on the C & O road” is frequent and is therefore suspect. He used a 14-pound hammer to … I wrote: In the Alabama story, John Henry was John Henry Dabney, an ex-slave from Copiah County, Mississippi, who followed Captain Frederick Yeamans Dabney to Dunnavant, Alabama, to bore tunnels through Oak and Coosa Mountains during the extension of the C & W (Columbus & Western) Railway from Goodwater to Birmingham, in 1887-88. I was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, and I have never lived in Alabama. Captain Dabney’s father lived in Raymond, Hinds County, Mississippi. He could have escaped. Is any of this true? To avoid the fine discussed above, all prisoners had to be returned dead or alive to the penitentiary. Based on census reports for 1870 and 1880, Nelson challenges my assertion that "John Henry Something" was more common than "John Something Henry." Later (pp 89-90) it is stated, "The surgeon's report for the penitentiary listed the names of the men who died in prison but only gave the total number of men who died on the C&O Railroad." Evidence is what counts, of course, not “likes.” There is also a controlling artistic consideration: each singer wants to sing a good story. John Garst would like to believe that John Henry is from his town in Alabama, as would the Alabama Folklife Association, but there is simply no coherent evidence to prove it. If you can not prove that the ledendary J. Henry actually existed, how can you hope to prove or even suppose that he was or has been anywhere in the vicinity of Leeds. Michigan: John Henry died at Oak Mountain. In my opinion, West Virginia and Jamaica are no longer serious contenders. That may not be easy but it is not impossible. Let me rebut his criticisms of my work point by point. The Disney story makes John Henry as a slave. Folklorists have long thought John Henry to be mythical, but historian Scott Nelson has discovered that he was a real person—a nineteen-year-old from New Jersey who was convicted of theft in a Virginia court in 1866, sentenced to ten years in … This tradition could date from the historical event itself. I have presented considerable evidence that two different steam drills were used at this tunnel in the 1870s. To the extent that the original ballad reflects historic events this implies that rare elements are more likely to be historic than frequent ones." He was then a steel worker working on a railway that challenged a new machine that was supposedly faster than humans. In Nelson's response to my essay, he does not address the facts that there is no evidence that John W. Henry was a steel driver and no evidence of a contest between man and machine. Nelson could be entirely correct. The Alabama story very coherent. If "white house" had been part of the original ballad, versions in which John Henry is buried elsewhere would not exist. That is easy enough. "Indeed, the proper understanding of frequency in a mature, history-based ballad tradition may be counterintuitive. The Virginia story accounts for this stanza by making questionable assumptions, that John W. Henry was a steel driver (no evidence), that he was a noted steel driver (no evidence and unlikely), that he raced a steam drill (no evidence), that he died at the tunnel (not the only possibility), that his body was returned and buried at the Virginia Penitentiary (no clear evidence that this was the practice), that a ballad maker would describe him as buried “in the sand” when the grave was in soil that was not sandy (doubtful), that John W. Henry would have been singled out among steel drivers at Lewis Tunnel for immortalization (very doubtful), and that a Lewis Tunnel tradition might never materialize, despite its being the place where it happened (very doubtful). He turned eventually to Big Bend Tunnel because he couldn’t find the relevant place in Alabama (“Cruzee,” “Cursey,” or Oak Mountain) and he thought Big Bend Tunnel had the strongest tradition. Even if I’m right it is just one piece of weak statistical evidence. Fact: September 20, 1887, was a Tuesday. Height: In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, tunnel workers – particularly the men who drilled holes for tunnel blasts and in hard rock mines – were very small men. It is not. “Polly” is very common in balladry and represents an attractive feature. Says there lays that steel drivin’ man. It describes his contest with a steam drill, in which John Henry crushed more rock than the machine did but died ‘with his hammer in his hand.’ Writers and artists see in John Henry a symbol of the worker’s foredoomed struggle against the machine. At the Google Group rec.music.country.old-time, Joseph Scott challenged "rare elements are more likely to be historic than frequent ones." That Dr. Garth was my point in my original contention or as the Leeds News refers to it as “criticism”. John Henry, the steel driver? John Henry Clayton married Eliza Janetta Lankford Clayton. As presented in "Steel Drivin' Man," the evidence that John W. Henry died at Lewis Tunnel is weak. In the 1920s Johnson and Chappell interviewed about a dozen men who had worked on the construction of Big Bend or Lewis Tunnel. That is not easy. For the record, I live in Athens, Georgia. How many little guys were famous steel drivers? According to an old newspaper account (it was in the Atlanta Constitution) granite cutter Bill Hendricks appeared in court on September 1, 1913, to face charges of disturbing the neighborhood. We found out more about the woman who inspired Lina and how, for actor Stephanie Levi-John, portraying her is a source of great pride… In a version of unknown origin, published in 1915, John Henry is brought "from the white house" and taken "to the tunnel to drive." Received wisdom, from Johnson and Chappell, says he passed away in West Virginia. If the song was composed before 1901, and it certainly was, then we must explain why many versions of the song end with a discussion of the white house. This is attested to by the surgeon’s report at the Virginia Penitentiary. With that, there was no bet with the man operating the machine that John had to beat in order to get the land that they were promised in the first place. Utah: It was near Red Mountain. These considerations make the Alabama story far more probable than any alternative that I have been able to think of. He died in at least ten states and Jamaica! Onion On The Good Lord Bird Isn't A Real Person, But He Serves A Very Real Purpose The idiosyncratic character frames the story. Indeed, I once came across a folk song in which it was clear that "white house" referred to a penitentiary or jail. John Henry was not born a free man, but he was imprisoned after being freed from slavery. Similar testimony says that the steam drill was being tested against John Henry in Alabama, so the question whether or not steam drills were actually used in construction, at either place, is irrelevant. "White house" could have entered the known ballad tradition after 1901. Further, the Virginia story is inconsistent with the psychological core, and runs counter to some of the central themes, of the ballad and legend. Utah: John Henry worked for Dabner. Utah: John Henry was probably a slave in the Dabner family in Mississippi. Even so, I don’t think much of the census as a source of information of this type. His latest attack on me was posted on History News Network. According to Nelson, the oral testimony on which the Alabama story is based “was provided by and then dismissed by Chappell and Johnson more than 60 years ago.” Actually, it is written testimony, and to say that Johnson and Chappell “dismissed” it is misleading. And every locomotive come roarin’ by, In fact, coherence is its strength. Bill admitted to one song, an inoffensive stanza of "John Henry" he had known since childhood. Many Americans are familiar with the story of John Henry. If the candidate grave were John Henry's the facts would conform to ballad stanzas containing something like "...they buried him in the sand / An' every locomotive come rolling by / Says, 'There lies that steel-drivin' man,'" not all versions of which refer to the “white house.” My Tributaries article, "Chasing John Henry," cites six items from these newspapers. Aaron Copeland used the melody in his composition, "John Henry," for symphony orchestra. His brawn figure is also falsified from the real recorded prison records of John Henry. Thus, by losing non-attractive elements and gaining attractive ones, a ballad progresses toward one or more stable end points in which only attractive elements remain. They might contain C & W records that mention John Henry, steam drills, or the contest. Neither investigator adequately addressed the Alabama testimony. It is improbable that black convicts would have been buried in a white cemetery near Lewis Tunnel. And unconsciousness which reverses when the person is laid down is classic for blood loss shock. Singers will drop dull factual material, change it to something more attractive, or introduce attractive elements from other sources. There's no way, in my opinion, that John Henry could have been a convict laborer." Indeed, the proper understanding of frequency in a mature, history-based ballad tradition may be counterintuitive. "John Henry obviously had great respect for himself and for his work. He passed away on 22 May 1953 in Archville, Polk, Tennessee, United States . Coosa and Oak Mountains are parallel ridges two miles apart. This is the closest to a Lewis Tunnel John Henry tradition that I know of. However, as noted above, frequency is not good evidence. It would have been unusual and it sings well. He literally worked himself to death in pursuit of defeating the machine. The Disney image of history is, more often than not, fictionalized in order to produce a better movie plot. Burleigh was between Raymond and Crystal Springs, Copiah County. My opinion is that "white house" is unlikely to have been in the original. Professor Garst has done no archival research to make his case, and there are numerous materials available including company reports of the C&W, engineering reports, and local newspapers available to him. Because ballads and legends are unreliable, it is tempting to a truth-seeker to disregard them altogether, but because history-based ballads and legends are likely to contain truth, that would be a mistake. In 1860 Captain Dabney’s uncle owned 154 slaves. The classic folk song that has been covered by artists like Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Presley, was even changed for the Disney story. Nothing in this mass of data can be assumed to be reliable. Rare elements of a ballad are non-attractive. “White house” may be such an element. Birmingham: It was somewhere about 45 years ago. They took John Henry to the White House, Fact: The Dunnavant Valley, Alabama, lies between Coosa and Oak Mountains. MacEdward Leach writing some thirty years later said Jamaica. Lewis Tunnel, Virginia, has some weakly suggestive documentation but no tradition, no testimony, and no confirming ties to ballad texts. Nelson stated that I give “no evidence of steam drills” used in the construction of the C & W extension. As I wrote at rec.music.country.old-time, "Fact: September 20, 1887, was a Tuesday. Unfortunately, it was after Johnson’s book was published (1929) that the Alabama tradition first came to light in print (1930). After acquiring a fortune in the early 1980s from his trading firm J.W. I agree. (about 1882) His body was sent back to the penitentiary and he was buried in a mass grave by a white workhouse near a railroad. There once was a “Delia” ballad tradition in the Savannah area but it seems to have disappeared long ago. As far as these data permit judgment, it seems that West Virginians and Virginians were equally likely to sing of John Henry's burial at the "white house" and somewhere else. If you made it through high school, you've probably found yourself reading one of William Shakespeare's historical plays, Henry IV Part 1, Part 2, or Henry … Utah: It was 1882. We should not be surprised to find that John Henry was short in stature; we should expect it if he were a tunnel driller. Unlike most John Henry testimony, that which places him in Alabama is, within reason, coherent. Leeds: Both John Henry and his boss were from Mississippi. I have not seen many C & W papers because I haven't been able to find them. Kelley’s Radical Imagination Shows Us the Way, The Horrifying American Roots of Nazi Eugenics. These holes were only widened to man-sized holes after the initial drilling was completed. Neither even heard about the Virginia story. The case for the Virginia story rests on the historic truth of a line found occasionally in the ballad, "They took John Henry to the White House" (not always capitalized). John Brown’s men, says Henry in voice-over, were “a ragtag assortment of the scrawniest, saddest-looking individuals I ever saw. It is plausible that the tradition could date from the event itself. Gonna be the death of me." For example, according to “Frankie and Johnny,” Frankie shot “her man” Johnny or Albert three times in a barroom, hotel room, or brothel after he had “done her wrong” with Nelly Bly. Both Johnson and Chappell noted it and found it confusing. How reasonable is it to imagine that the historic John Henry lacked this pride? Scott Nelson states that I have not examined "company reports of the C & W, engineering reports, and local newspapers available to" me. Accepting the Virginia hypothesis requires finding a plausible explanation for the facts underlying the Alabama story. The Virginia story hinges on a number of critical assumptions that are unsupported or poorly supported. This is completely false. This ballad tells the story of John Henry, an American folk hero. Accepting the Alabama hypothesis requires finding a plausible explanation for the facts underlying the Virginia story. After the Civil War, Captain Dabney lived in Crystal Springs. Four gave their testimonies to Johnson and Chappell, probably in 1927-32. First, I am not the only one to opine that the evidence for the Virginia story, presented in "Steel Drivin' Man," is weak. Otherwise they wouldn’t be rare. My version of John Henry has the verse: "The Big Bend tunnel on the C & O Road, The C & W bored tunnels through Coosa and Oak Mountains. Utah: John Henry was at Cruzee Mountain. If Nelson were correct in believing that frequency of recovery is evidence in support of the recovered motif, these would need to be ignored. In an early version of "John Henry" from Florida, the stricken steel driver is taken "on that long white road." Here are especially relevant elements of the testimonies (paraphrased) of five informants. It is likely that Captain Dabney, who was about 15 years older, knew John Henry from birth. "To take the presence or absence of 'John Henry' in a particular census as any indication of reality is to be hopelessly naive. John Henry: Falsifying Disney’s Version and the Real Deal by Morgan Evans The Disney image of history is, more often than not, fictionalized in order to produce a better movie plot. When a rare element coincides with testimony or fact, its probability of being historically correct is greatly enhanced. His father was John Henry's former owner. Jamaica: John Henry worked for Dabner. A young, black, Virginia Penitentiary convict, John W. Henry, who was just over 5’ 1” tall, was probably leased by the State of Virginia to work on the building of Lewis Tunnel, where hand and steam drilling were used simultaneously for about a year, after which the steam drills were abandoned. The ballad itself contains phrases and lines that support the Alabama story. Dunnavant and Leeds are about fifteen miles east of Red Mountain. John Henry said, "Before I'll let that steam drill beat me down / I'll die with my hammer in my hand." and replies, "Maybe." I would have posted the text of my talk here had it not been for HNN's copyright policy. Even if "white house" were in the ballad before 1901, I think singers would have found it attractive and tended to pass it on in oral transmission. It is not only plausible but also very likely that some of those assumptions are wrong. He had drunkenly "shouted and sung bad songs." Testimony and ballad versions vary wildly and are rife with contradictions. It would require a number of very improbable coincidences. The last thing in the accompanying text is Nelson's comments begin with the statement that I "would like to believe that John Henry is from" my "town in Alabama, as would the Alabama Folklife Association." Dunnavant is just south of Leeds and about fifteen miles east of Birmingham and Red Mountain. Before replying to Nelson's comments about the evidence for the Virginia and Alabama stories, I mention thoughts that have recently come to my attention from others. The Long, Ugly History of Anti-Asian Racism and Violence in the U.S. In fact, the contractor at Big Bend Tunnel was W. R. Johnson. And buried him in the san’, If I thought the frequency of a motif in tradition determined its reliability as history, I'd consider John W. Henry’s single status to be strong evidence against the Virginia story. Many factors contribute to mutation, including mishearing and memory failures. Mr. Garst is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens and the author of "Chasing John Henry in Alabama and Mississippi: A Personal Memoir of Work in Progress" Tributaries: Journal of the Alabama Folklife Association (2002) 5: 92–129. It remains hard for me to imagine that a man just over five feet, one inch tall could have been a noted steel driver, a winner of competitions against larger men. But still, at the core of the John Henry legend rests a real man. She appears frequently as the mother of his children, as a distraught wife (after he collapses), and as a widow. One would have to imagine as coincidence that informants from Utah, Michigan, and Jamaica named John Henry’s boss as Dabney/Dabner; that informants from Utah, Birmingham, and Michigan gave information pointing to Dunnavant, Alabama, and 1887 as the place and year of John Henry’s contest; that the man in charge of the construction of the railroad at Dunnavant was, in fact, named Dabney; that the years of construction were, in fact, 1887-88; that informants from Utah, Birmingham, and Michigan named Coosa and Oak Mountain Tunnels as John Henry’s places; that these tunnels were, in fact, bored at Dunnavant under the supervision of Captain Dabney in 1887-88; that informants from Utah and Leeds, Alabama, stated that John Henry and his boss were from Mississippi; that Captain Dabney did, in fact, live in Mississippi; and that his family owned slaves there, among which was at least one named Henry, who was the right age to have been a steel driver in 1887.

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