Chicago relative of slave to help mark grave of owner in KY

HENDERSON, Ky. — The relative of a woman who once worked as a slave for the founder of a western Kentucky city will help celebrate the marking of his grave.

Dr. Cheryl Gaines of Chicago plans on traveling to Henderson for Saturday’s ceremony for Gen. Samuel Hopkins at Spring Garden Cemetery. Gaines told The Gleaner that her third great-grandmother was a slave belonging to Hopkins.

Gaines wants to take part in the ceremony and cemetery cleanup because she believes some of her family members are buried there.

The woman driving the efforts to clean up the cemetery, Mary Alice Springer, says the story is plausible because Hopkins had slaves and the full extent of the cemetery remains unknown.

Hopkins served as a member of George Washington’s staff in the Revolutionary War.