Collection Title: Jackson Purchase Oral History Project – Night Riders
Series Number: OH078
Interviewee: Cummings, Ralph
Interviewer: William Fetcher
Date interviewed: December 28, 1973
Processed by: Sheree Wise
Date processed: July 15, 2010
Description: 1 sound disc (6 minutes)
Abstract: Ralph Cummings discusses the activities of Night Riders in Caldwell County, Kentucky during the first decade of the 20th Century. He declares that the Night Riders focused on white men who were not taking care of their families. He once recalled a man not having enough wood cut for his family, so the Night Riders made him cut wood at night. The Night Riders also made sure that farmers took care of their horses and mules by making sure the animals were placed in barns, brushed and properly fed. Cummings also mentions that he knew of a man that was shot when he threatened to turn over names of members.
Biographical / Historical note: Ralph Cummings was a lifelong resident of Caldwell County, Kentucky.
General information: No user access to original recordings. Use audio user copies, digital derivatives, transcripts, and/or tape indexes. This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code). Permission for reproduction must be requested from Murray State University.
Subject Headings / Descriptors:
Cummings, Ralph
Caldwell County (Ky.) – History.
Princeton (Ky.) – History.
Night Riders.
Research Notes: Abstract included with oral history.
