Kite, Elijah

Item

Title: Kite, Elijah
Alias: Keyte, Elijah
Gender: Male
Biography: A man, woman and child escaped from Wilson Harper of Boone County (Elijah, Arelda and Spencer). The enslaved man was the son of a free man in Cincinnati named Keyte (Joseph Kite). Harper agreed to sell the family to Keyte, with his property in Cincinnati as collateral, a case was brought before the courts when the mortgage was due yet unpaid, in 1851. Harper was ultimately awarded the property and the enslaved people remained free.; In January 1856, Freedom seeker Margaret Garner and her family sought refuge in Kite's home in Cincinnati after escaping from Boone County, Kentucky. Soon after arriving, the freedom seekers were captured and one of Garner's children was killed by her in an act of resistance against their enslavement. Elijah Kite, who may have been a cousin of Margaret Garner, was accused of turning the family in to her slave holder Archibald Gaines and a posse. Alternately, Kite is named as a friend of the family who assisted the Garners during their attempt to escape enslavement.
Member: Kite family
Birth date: circa 1825
Place of birth: Boone County (Ky.)
Father: Keyte, Joseph
Life event(s): Marriage: 20 Oct 1849; Hamilton County (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
Spouse(s): Harper, Mary Arelda
Child(ren): Kite, Spencer; Kite, Mary E.
Military service: Co. C, Second Regiment, Black Brigade of Cincinnati; Black Brigade of Cincinnati
Allegiance: United States of America
Participant in: 1849--Family Escape From Wilson Harper
Relationship: Slaveholder(s): Harper, Wilson; Harper, Wilson
Bibliographic citation(s): "Family Escape," The Times-Picayune, New Orleans, LA, 7 Aug 1851; "Family Escape From Wilson Harper," The Tennessean, Nashville, TN, 16 Aug 1851
Source(s): Ancestry.com; Family Escape; Family Escape From Wilson Harper; Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; Eighth Census of the United States, 1860

Item sets: AA--Margaret Garner story--Enslaved; AA--Enslaved--Kentucky--Boone County--H; Civil War, 1861-1865--Veterans--Kentucky--Boone County--A-K

Linked resources

Filter by resource type and property:

Items with "Participant: Kite, Elijah"
Title	Class
1849--Family Escape From Wilson Harper	Event

Items with "Relationship: Kite, Elijah"
Title	Class
Harper, Wilson	Person

Items with "Father: Kite, Elijah"
Title	Class
Kite, Spencer	Person

Items with "Child(ren): Kite, Elijah"
Title	Class
Keyte, Joseph	Person

Items with "Spouse(s): Kite, Elijah"
Title	Class
Harper, Mary Arelda	Person