Perry Cisco

The Barrons of Spring Hill...: ...where All men Are Not Equal Perry Cisco

The Barrons of Spring Hill, a secular story, deals with slavery and how it affected the lives of the Barron families. The honeymoon of Ralph and Linda Barron is interrupted when Linda purchased two slaves. Traveling in wagons with two slaves, Zeke Fitts and his Indian squaw, is not Ralph's idea of a honeymoon. Linda keeps the secret of her pregnancy from Ralph thinking he may want to return to England. Linda coaxes Ralph to buy some land and Linda stays there when Ralph is called back to England to settle an estate. Returning to Linda and a son that was born while he was away Ralph is impressed with Linda's plans to build a home near a spring. The Barrons do not like slavery but it is a way of life in the South. The Barrons' attitude toward slaves differs from neighboring plantations. When the Barrons build a school and include black students the school is destroyed by white racists. Ralph's interest in a pretty face and the "devil in a jug" eventually lead to his demise. The sons of Ralph and Linda are totally different. Joseph marries Sarah a slave and becomes the target of white racists, while Henry cannot commit to one woman, certainly not one of color. Under Joseph's guidance the plantation is divided among the freed slaves and they gain independence as well as their own land to farm.