Shadrack Meschach Abed-nego White (abt. 1815 - 1912)

Born about 1815 in Roanoke Plantation, Virginia, USA

Died 28 Mar 1912 at about age 97 in Clinton, Shelby, Ohio, United States

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Biography

Shadrack White is Notable.

Shadrack White lived in Virginia.

Shadrack White was an Ohioan.

Shadrack Meschach Abed-nego "Buddie Shang" White was a freed slave who was tried and acquitted of murder in the shooting death of a white man in Ohio in 1890.

Buddie Shang was born c.1815 on the Roanoke Plantation in Roanoke, Virginia. He was the son of Aaron White and Vicey Brown.^[1] He is # 460 on the "Inventory of Slaves in the John Randolph Will". His father is # 457 and his mother is # 458. He, along with his parents and three sisters, settled in Ohio after they were freed.

A story about his 1890 trial for murder in Shelby County, Ohio:

On October 31, 1889, Buddie wandered down the towpath of the canal feeder and became embroiled in an argument with a young resident by the name of James Edwards. During the dispute, Buddie fired a shotgun he was carrying in the general direction of Edwards, missing him, but striking the cottage of Lewis Nichols, a white man who resided in Lacyburg. Nichols appeared at the door, furious. He grabbed a brick laying on the ground nearby, and flung it at Shang. Buddie, then 74 years of age, ducked and the brick missed his head by inches. "I was just foolin,'" the old former slave shouted, but Nichols renewed his attack by throwing another brick at Buddie. The blast of his shotgun echoed through Lacyburg, and Nichols fell to the ground. He died several hours later after several futile attempts to summon a doctor to Lacyburg. Sheriff Joseph Ratermann came to Lacyburg and arrested Buddie for the murder of "Soapstick," as Nichols was known in the community.

Following his indictment by the Grand Jury, Buddie Shang stood trial for the murder of Lewis Nichols. Charged with the shooting death of a white man, not many people in town gave Buddie much chance of convincing an all-white jury that he had done nothing wrong. However, Buddie believed he had acted in self defense. It was therefore with much trepidation that Buddie Shang faced a jury in the new Shelby County Courthouse on January 27, 1890. The Honorable John E. Ritchie presided at the trial. Earlier, Judge Ritchie had appointed 25-year-old attorney A.J. Hess to represent Buddie. Members of the jury included several well-known Shelby County residents, such as Frank Dunnavant, Harvey Carmony, Hiram Birch and Robinson Haney.

After the evidence was presented, the jury deliberated a total of just three minutes - apparently just long enough for each juror to attach his name to a verdict of "not guilty." After the jury had rendered its verdict, Hess slapped the eccentric old slave on the shoulder and said, "You're free again, free for a second time, Buddie. How do you feel?" Buddie is reported to have replied: "Dry as a hoss!"^[2]

He died in Clinton, Shelby, Ohio in 1912.^[1] His burial is listed at two different cemeteries in Ohio.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X6XL-LXJ : 15 August 2019), Shadrick White, 28 Mar 1912; citing Clinton, Shelby, Ohio, reference fn 18187; FHL microfilm 1,953,292.
2. ↑ "A BLACK MAN ACCUSED OF MURDER"
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 November 2020), memorial page for Shadrack “Buddie Shang” White (1815–28 Mar 1912), Find A Grave: Memorial #49635881, citing County Home Cemetery, Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio, USA; Maintained by Joan Shoffner (contributor 46835779).