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as possible and on July 26, 1866 Angelina gave birth to a daughter whom they named Lucy Clayton, in honor of

Angelina's family.

Adjusting to life without slavery, Herndon decided to take on apprentices. In December 1866, Herndon took on

Joshua Davidson, a 12‐year old former slave born on his plantation. Joshua would stay with Herndon, learning
the trade of farming until he was 21‐years‐old. Herndon agreed to teach him to read and write and at the end

of the term to give him $100 in cash and to provide him with a good new suit of clothes. He was also required
to provide proper medical attention, food, and clothing and to treat him with humanity. In January 1867, he

took on another apprentice, Emeline Clayton, to learn the art of “housewifery.” She would stay under the same
conditions as Joshua, until the age of 18, at which time she would be given $50 and a new suit of clothes.

On February 26, 1868, Herndon and Angelina's 5th and final child was born, a daughter they named John Etta.
All of the children by Herndon's first marriage were now out of the house and it seemed that life was taking on

a new normal, but in 1869 life was forever changed for the family.

On Saturday, February 13, 1869, Herndon Davison took a knife to his own throat in his bedroom. Two neigh‐
bors, Micajah and William E. Wheeler, who lived about a mile to the north, arrived soon after. Herndon was

lying at the foot of his bed with his head on a pillow, having been moved some two or three feet away from the
blood on the floor. With his southern manners still intact, he reached up and shook William's hand and

motioned him to a chair.

At some point, Herndon reached into his pocket and pulled out an old locked

pocket book and some keys. He gave these to Micajah and asked him to give
them to Lewis or Lizza, the children by his first wife, whoever arrived first. One of

the keys was to a drawer in a piece of furniture that contained money and
valuables. A crowd of neighbors gathered outside the home, but nothing was

mentioned about where Angelina was at the time. Herndon lingered on for two
more days before he passed away. His wife, Angelina was now a 45 year‐old

widow with 5 children at home, all under the age of 8. She also had her lunatic
niece, Mary Hansford to care for. The events that followed must have been an

unbelievable blur of activity.

The prenuptial agreement between Herndon and Angelina was acknowledged in the Barren County Court.
Then an inventory and appraisal of Herndon's property was made, and an auction was held to sell the

property. The inventory gives us a picture of what their farm and home might have been like. In addition to the
usual farm inventory of crops, animals and tools, Herndon had an impressive amount of money, especially

considering the war had just ended. He had $480.35 in gold, $14.75 in silver, $70 in demand notes, and
$363.80 in greenbacks and legal tenders.