In 1855, Col. Charles Kearney encountered a terrified young girl at a slave auction. She begged him to buy her to avoid being sold to a man known for brutality. Kearney entered the bidding and purchased the ten‑year‑old, Harriet Drisdom, for $1,300.

Harriet was brought into the Kearney household, where she was raised alongside the family’s children and became a trusted caregiver. Two years later, Kearney granted her freedom, but she chose to remain with the family and accepted only gifts rather than wages. By the end of her life, she had saved $5,000.