J. Vance Lewis

J. Vance Lewis (December 25, 1853 - 1925?) was a slave who was freed through emancipation and who came “out of the ditch” to become a lawyer who was admitted to the US Supreme Court. Lewis wrote an auto-biographical narrative titled Out of the Ditch the True Story of an Ex-Slave. The introduction describes Lewis’s intentions in writing his auto-biography:

"The readers of this book may think it strange that we call it "Out of the Ditch," but it is a description of actual scenes and occurrences. Under slave conditions the author would have lived and died, both figuratively and actually, "in the ditch." Under condition of emancipation there was a chance to climb out and fight for life and liberty. This book contains a picture of slavery on a gigantic scale. There were many slave owners who were as thoughtful and as sympathetic as Mr. Cage and his son. There were some who were not and this difference in temperament as well as the difference of wealth and blood, led to the paradoxical views which the world held of slavery. I have written this little book not because I felt that there was serious need of another book, nor because I wish to boast of my own personal achievement, but because I felt that my struggles might inspire other boys to pursue their highest aspirations and be proof against discouragement. The stumbling blocks placed in my pathway may be laid in yours and if this book helps you to avoid them it will have accomplished its mission. I felt that "Out of the Ditch" might shed new light upon some of the difficult phases of the Negro problem, and might be the means of helping to change certain adverse conditions for the better. You will find some mistakes in the book, you may intice its leteran merits, but I am sure you will approve of its sincerity. Naturally in a work of this kind I have employed a good bit of ego, but I saw no way to avoid it in a simple relation of facts. Beseeching you to read carefully, and ponder thoughtfully every phase of the author's struggles and the causes therefor, whether of prejudice, jealousy, envy or conspiracy, we send this book into the world. Deal with it charitably and try to see the good rather than the bad it may contain. Into the warp and woof of every book the author weaves much that even the subtlest readers cannot fathom, far less understand. To such it is but a cross and a tangle of threads, but there is a golden thread running through the whole. Follow it and you will enter the spirit of "Out of the Ditch." J. VANCE LEWIS”

lave Life

J. Vance Lewis was born on Christmas Day (by the accounts of his narrative he would have been born in approx. 1853) to Doc and Rosa Lewis. The Lewis’ were slaves on the plantation of Colonel D.S Cage, Sr. Born into slavery, Lewis didn’t know any other life. He describes his mindset as not knowing he was a slave. When he was about ten years old, the emancipation proclamation (1863) brought about the realization that he was a slave.

The rejoicing and excitement surrounding freedom provoked the consciousness of how miserable his parents and everyone else had been on the plantation. Lewis was depressed at this point, he didn’t see himself being freed, he saw freedom as being forced from the life he knew; the plantation was his home.

The farm consisted of, what seemed to Lewis, to be hundreds of slaves. All those who had worked the plantation prior to the Emancipation Proclamation were given the option to stay from Colonel Cage, who claimed to be a “poor man” without them. About two hundred former slaves remained and resumed the work they had done previously as paid employees.

Soon after slaves were transformed into employees, an Irish man by the name of Jimmie Welsh was hired to be an “overseer.” Most of the workers hated him. In an attempt to win the favor of the workers and to keep his power, Welsh offered the following:

"It now becomes my very pleasant duty to bestow upon you certain gifts, as evidence of the appreciation of your excellent service. To every married man, by the authority vested in me by Mr. Cage, I give a pig, which you may go to the hog lot and select for yourself; to every woman, who will come to the commissary, I will give a head handkerchief and a pair of stockings; to every boy and every girl I will give a half gallon of molasses and a ginger cake; to every grandparent a cob pipe and a sack of tobacco."

When everyone was dismissed from the gathering where Welsh had made this announcement, a man named Rev. Frank Benjamin went to go kill his pig. Welsh claimed that Benjamin killed the biggest hog in the pen, which angered Welsh who charged Franklin with hog theft, because he promised a pig, not a hog.

Lewis’s father, Doc Lewis, was appointed to be the judge in this case. This appears to have been J. Vance Lewis’s first exposure to the legal system and its place in his narrative implies that it had some significant influence in the outcome of his future. His father had served well in the trial, and his final word about when a pig becomes a hog convinced the jury that Benjamin was innocent. Benjamin had testified that he killed the pig after he had seen it nursing. After the trail, J. Vance Lewis overheard Mr. Cage remark that Doc was a “born lawyer.”

Education

Eventually, a public school for the African American children on the plantation was founded by Lewis’s father, the “overseer” Mr. Welsh, and Mr. Cage who hired a teacher, a West Indian.

Lewis was an excellent student, friendly and competitive with a boy named Warren who was nicknamed “Dick.” Up until the day when Lewis’s parents died and he was left an orphan, he believed he had an advantage at school, but without parents he had no one to encourage and support him in his schooling.

A few years later, Warren went off to New Orleans to attend Leland University, living out Lewis’s dream. Lewis was crushed and “longed to go with him.” He stayed at home and it was not long before Warren came home to visit. The college student had an arrogant air about him that Lewis did not appreciate. “Dick” was no more, he only allowed people to call him by his proper name. Soon Lewis was motivated to go to school and prove that he could surpass Warren in education and remain the same genuine person he had always been.

Lewis saved a total of sixty-four dollars from working on the plantation. He headed off to college and made arrangements to work out the rest of his tuition. There he met up with Warren, and in the college setting, things had changed: Warren was “Dick” again and Lewis forgave him for everything. They became friends throughout their time at Leland University.

After College

After completing his courses at Leland University, Lewis decided to get his teaching certificate at Orange, Texas. He then began to teach in Angeline County at Cripple Creek School--a school with a bad reputation. Lewis mainly took the job so that he could get the financial status to finish his schooling and follow his dream of becoming a lawyer.

Lewis attended Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) for two terms. Through the advice from a successful African American lawyer, Lewis then decided to finish his education at a school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He graduated in 1894 and was admitted to the Supreme Court of Michigan. After attending Chicago College of Law he was admitted to every court in Illinois.

Lewis decided to apply for admittance to the US Supreme Court and on October 11, 1894 He received a letter that read:

"Washington, D. C., October 11, 1897. J. V. Lewis, Chicago, Ill.Dear Sir: Your application for admittance to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, has been duly filed, and you are hereby notified to be present November 22nd, along with other applicants, in the chamber of the Supreme Court at Washington, on the above date. Chief Justice Harlan will administer the oath. Yours truly, M. M. GRAY."

Lewis was one of 18 lawyers accepted; Lewis was the only African American admitted.

References

"Out of the Ditch the True Story of an Ex-Slave"http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/lewisj/lewisj.html