Hensley, Peter Lee
(born: 1858 - died: 1926)Peter L. Hensley was born a slave in Mt. Sterling, KY. He was the son of Howard and Margaret Magowan Hensley; the family was owned by the Magowan Family during slavery.
Hensley became a horseman who owned and bred trotters; he also owned a grocery store and restaurant when he was 19 years old, and later owned the Yellow Rose Farm in Montgomery County, KY.
Two of his winning horses were Temple Bar (who won 24 of 25 races) and Alcyo (who won 17 consecutive races). He was also president of the Montgomery County Colored Fair Association.
For more see Peter Hensley on p. 392 in The WPA Guide to Kentucky, by F. K. Simon; P. W. L. Jones, "The Greatest Negro harness horse owner," Crisis, Sept. 1937, pp. 266, 284-285 [online with photo at Google Books]; and the following articles in The Mt. Sterling Advocate: "Alcyo and Temple Bar," 4/18/1906, p. 2, and "Home of Alcyo and Temple Bar," 5/09/1906, p. 3 [photo with article].
