Hampton, A. S. ~ alias Alex S. Jackson [court case]

Controversies over the extradition of African Americans from Ohio to Kentucky continued long after slavery ended. The case of Rev. A. S. Hampton is only one example of the ongoing struggles. In January of 1895, the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court handed down the final opinion on the extradition of Rev. A. S. Hampton [alias Alex Jackson]. Rev. Hampton was wanted in Kentucky for the shooting injury of  J. C. Durham in Green County, KY. In 1893, Durham had confronted Rev. Hampton about the raiding of Durham's orchard. During the disagreement, Rev. Hampton shot Durham then fled to Cincinnati where he was arrested. J. C. Durham had recovered from his wound. Family and friends sent word to Rev. Hampton that he would be lynched if he came back to Kentucky. This news was confirmed in the Cincinnati courtroom in 1894 by Deputy Sheriff W. W. Perin from Lebanon, KY. Deputy Sheriff Perin was acting on behalf of Kentucky in the attempt to extradite Hampton back to Kentucky. The judge in the case was Morris Lyons Buchwalter (1846-1924). Four months earlier Judge Buchwalter had received extradition papers for another prisoner, an Italian peddler who was charged with shooting at someone. The man was sent back to Kentucky and was lynched shortly after he stepped off the train. At the extradition hearing for Rev. Hampton, Judge Buchwalter refused to turn over Rev. Hampton to Deputy Sheriff Perin, and Rev. Hampton was returned to his Cincinnati jail cell. Judge Buchwalter requested assurance from Kentucky Governor John Young Brown, and the judge of the Kentucky trial court, that Rev. Hampton would be protected from violence and be given a fair trial. Governor John Young Brown of Kentucky was furious and took Judge Buchwalter's actions as an affront to state's rights and the Republican Party. No assurance would be forthcoming from Kentucky. So, in January of 1895, Judge Buchwalter delivered the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court opinion. With no assurance received from Kentucky, Rev. A. S. Hampton was set free. Hampton had been a school teacher in Whitewood, KY. He was confronted by J. C. Durham because the school children were eating fruit from Durham's trees. During the disagreement, Rev. Hampton shot J.C. Durham and fled to Cincinnati, where he was a Baptist minister when arrested by Deputy Sheriff  W. W. Perin. In Cincinnati, Rev. Hampton was going by the name Alex S. Jackson, he lived at 2530 Burnet Avenue [source: p.745 in Williams' Cincinnati Directory, June 1896]. The arrest warrant and the extradition papers for Rev. Hampton were signed by Ohio Governor William McKinley [who would become the 25th Presiident of the United States in 1897]. Rev. Hampton was brought before Judge Buchwalter for extradition to Kentucky, but Judge Buchwalter acted in contrast to the extradition document signed by Ohio Governor McKinley. The judge determined that "...extradition provisions of the Federal Constitution do not require a judge to become a party to probable mob violence." [source: "Morris Lyons Buchwalter," The Western Christian Advocate, 02/10/1897, p.162 (online at Google Books)]; the newspaper called the Hampton case "...the crowning glory of his [Morris L. Buchwalter's] record as judge."  For more see "Requisition denied," San Francisco Call, 01/06/1895, front page (online at the California Digital Newspaper Collection); "A New version of the old, old story," Cambridge Tribune, 01/05/1895, p.4 (online at Cambridge Public Library); "Judge Buckwalter, of the Hamilton County...," Ohio Legal News,  p.168 (online at Google Books), & "Judge Buckwalter...," Ohio Legal News, p.188 (online at Google Books), both articles are in v.II, Oct. 13, 1894 to October 13, 1895. See also "Judge Morris Buchwalter '69, President of first graduating class, Dies in Cincinnati," The Cornell Daily Sun, 03/13/1924, front page (online at The Cornell Daily Sun, Keith R. Johnson '56 Digital Archive).