_Lindsey Moore_, blacksmith, leather-tanner ex-marble shooting champion
and a number of other things, represents one of the most resourceful
former slaves yet found in the state.
Moore was born in 1850 on the plantation of John B. Overtree, in
Forsythe County, Georgia. He was one of the six children of Eliza Moore;
all of them remained the property of Overtree until freed.
On the Overtree plantation the slave children were allowed considerable
time for play until their tenth or twelfth years; Lindsey took full
advantage of this opportunity and became very skillful at
marble-shooting. It was here that he first learned to utilize his
talents profitably. 'Massa Overtree' discovered the ability of Lindsey
and another urchin to shoot marbles, and began taking them into town to
compete with the little slaves of other owners. There would be betting
on the winners.
Mr. Overtree won some money in this manner, Lindsey and his companion
being consistent winners. But Lindsey saw possibilities other than the
glory of his victories in this new game; with pennies that some of the
spectators tossed him he began making small wagers of his own with his
competitors, and soon had amassed quite a small pile of silver for those
days.
Although shoes were unheard-of in Lindsey's youth, he used to watch
carefully whenever a cow was skinned and its hide tanned to make shoes
for the women and the 'folks in the big house'.
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