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Archiver > KY-FEUDS > 2001-07 > 0996427835


From: Teri Pettit <>
Subject: [KY-FEUDS] The Shapeshifter of Trent Ridge
Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2001 10:30:35 -0700
References: <f4.cf0769c.288f9491@aol.com>
In-Reply-To: <001801c114f2$fb4aa9a0$ec4f3318@chlcoh.adelphia.net>


At 3:06 AM -0700 7/25/01, Ramona Gayle Bayes Woods wrote:
>Hi Bud and All,
>Bud if anyone knows good stories related to the feuds-I would love to
>hear them.
>I know some ghosts stories of murders and the Regulalors of Elliott
>Co. KY. That is where I spend the most time growing up-in Elliott Co.
>Who would like to be our first story-teller of haint-tales?
>Thank you,
>Ramona

Ramona,

This thread has been called "The Bell Witch of TN", but unless I missed
something early on, there hasn't been any discussion of witches on it.
Are witches open game?

I don't have any Kentucky 'haint' stories, but I do have some kin who
were reputed to be witches.

For example, John A. BLACK, b. 1831 Morgan Co KY died 1899 Rowan Co KY,
married first Rebecca EPPERHART, they divorced about 1869, he married
second about 1871 my GGG Grandmother Martha Ann RIDDLE, as her third
husband. (I am descended from her marriage to her 2nd husband John B.
CLARK.)

According to John Black's great-grandson Omer Trent, John A. Black
was a witch and a shape-shifter. He supposedly dabbled in black magic
and could change at will into any animal he chose. Omer says that John
was killed by his youngest son Willie while in the shape of a huge black
dog chasing Willie's mare. Apparently John wanted the mare and Willie
didn't want to let him have it, so he made a silver bullet out of a coin
to shoot the big dog that had been chasing the mare. After he shot the
dog it changed back into its human form, John Black, and died a pretty
gruesome death three to five days later.

Willie Black's wife, Letha Jane CONN (1880-1961), daughter of Freeland
Harrison CONN & Mary Angeline SHELTON, was also supposedly a witch. She
wasn't known as a shape-shifter, though. But she was said to cast hexes.

These Blacks, Trents and Conns lived on "Trent Ridge", which is just
east of Elliottville and Wagner, near the border between Rowan and
Elliott counties.

Here is an overview of the relationship between John A. BLACK and the
Omer TRENT who related these stories (view with a fixed-pitch font):

John A. BLACK (1831-1899) m2. Martha Ann RIDDLE (1839-aft 1910)
|
+-----------------+------------+
| |
Willie BLACK (~1875-1929) Martha Ann BLACK (1877-1949)
m. Letha Jane CONN (1880-1961) m. Julius Caesar TRENT (1873-1957)
|
William "Harrison" TRENT (1897-1976)
m. Gladys HOWARD (1901-1972)
|
Omer Lee TRENT (b. 1919, living)

Aside to Ramona: There is a STURGILL connection to this family, too.
Milzia BLACK (1914-1976), son of Willie BLACK and Letha Jane CONN,
married Geneva STURGILL (1912-1996). I don't know Geneva's parents,
but you may.

Willie BLACK & Letha Jane CONN family group:
http://www.best.com/~tpettit/family/pettit/FG04/FG04_130.htm

Omer reportedly heard these stories about John, Willie and Letha from
his grandmother, Martha (BLACK) TRENT, who was speaking about her own
father and brother. She was 22 when her father died, so she surely
remembered his death well.

It sure would be interesting to know what the grain of truth is behind
the above story. Such as, did John Black really died of a gunshot wound,
and was he really shot by his son Willie, perhaps accidentally?

Unfortunately, I can't find any official records at all about John Black's
death. Would anyone on this list have access to Rowan County court records
from 1899?

Omer tells the story as if it were pure fact that John Black changed
into a dog. It makes him a great source of folklore stories, but it
also makes it kind of hard to use him as a source for the straight
truth (unless you believe that people can turn into dogs, which I don't.)

It is interesting that shape-shifting is a skill commonly attributed to
witches in Kentucky, especially male witches. This goes back to the ancient
Celtic traditions in which taking on the form of animals is one of the
major attributes of a wizard. But it isn't something that mainstream
American culture associates much with witches - we speak of brews and
potions and flying and animal familiars, but not often of witches taking
on animal form.

-- Teri




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