Learn more about the enslavers and slave traders from Martin’s “Love’s Young Dream”
Isaac Franklin, John Armfield, Daniel Hillman
Isaac Franklin
Notorious, preeminent slave trader of the Alexandria-based slave trading firm, Franklin & Armfield.
John Armfield
Junior partner with Isaac Franklin in the slave-trading firm, Franklin & Armfield.
Daniel Hillman
Known as the “Iron King,” Hillman was the biggest slave-holder in Kentucky.
Dr. Edward Noel Franklin, author of the 1871 letters in Martin’s “Love’s Young Dream,” was the nephew of both Isaac Franklin and John Armfield. Edward grew up in the Armfield home and was with him when Armfield died in Beersheba Springs, Tennessee in 1871. Edward’s letters contain a first-hand account of the final days and death of John Armfield, making the letters important to researchers on Armfield and the Domestic Slave Trade.
Edward’s love, Nannie Hillman, was the daughter of Daniel Hillman, one of the largest iron manufacturers in the South as the Civil War began. Most of Hillman’s slaves ran away during the war. Following the war, Hillman rebuilt his iron empire. His sons, John Hartwell Hillman and Thomas Tennessee Hillman, would go on to become huge players in the industrial development of the cities of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Birmingham, Alabama.
Related Reading:
Joshua D. Rothman, PhD: “The Ledger and the Chain”
Rothman is one of the preeminent historians on the Domestic Slave Trade. His book, “The Ledger and the Chain,” focuses on Isaac Franklin, John Armfield, and their business partner, Rice Ballard. Click the link below to Amazon for a summary.
Edward E. Baptist: “The Half Has Never Been Told”
“The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism” will enlighten everyone on the dirty horrors and economics of American Slavery. The idea suggested by many that slavery would have ended soon anyway whether or not the Civil War was fought is destroyed by Baptist’s analysis. Slavery was becoming more and more efficient and more and more ingrained, growing rapidly even as the war began. Click the Amazon link below for a summary.
Short Biography of ironmaster Daniel Hillman
“County of Trigg, Kentucky, Historical and Biographical” contains a short bio of ironmaster Daniel Hillman, by William H. Perrin. Click the link below.
Hannah Natanson: article from “The Washington Post”
“They were once America’s cruelest, richest slave traders. Why does no one know their names?” This article from September 2019 has enlightened many on the infamous slave traders, Isaac Franklin and John Armfield. Click the link below.
Michael Harris: article from “The Root”
In “Donald Trump is the Most Effective President Ever,” African-American author Harris has written a scathing essay comparing the brutal and efficient tactics of the Franklin and Armfield slave-trading firm to those of the former president’s administration. Click the link below.
Judith Hillman Paterson: “Sweet Mystery: A Book of Remembering”
Paterson is a descendant of Daniel Hillman. In her memoir, “Sweet Mystery: A Book of Remembering,” Paterson explores her Hillman ancestry with familial connections of depression, addiction, and other mental illness through the family back to Daniel Hillman himself. This is a great read endorsed by the incomparable Harper Lee of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Click the link below.