Larry Michael Ellis

Spizzerinctum: the Life and Legend of Robert "Black Bob" Renfro Larry Michael Ellis

Spizzerinctum, The Life and Legend of Robert "Black Bob" Renfro is an epic saga about a man with an indomitable will to succeed. As a young slave he accompanied his master's family on a perilous 1000-mile river voyage to the lands along the Cumberland in Tennessee, surviving Indian attacks, smallpox, rapids and starvation. This was only the beginning. Through his own industry and ingenuity, he purchased his freedom and became the owner of Black Bob's Tavern. More than twenty documents from the official records of North Carolina and Tennessee, as well as many newspaper accounts are used to reconstruct his life. Bob's life was intertwined with the lives of Andrew and Rachel Jackson. Rachel was among the 170 women and children on the river voyage. Andrew was often the lawyer or judge in precedent setting legal cases involving Bob. One such case made Bob the first slave to be recognized as more than mere property. As a freeman he continued to utilize the legal system, frequently prevailing in cases adjudicated before white male juries and judges. Readers will rediscover an incredible man that history has overlooked. Those who love history and adventure, youth and black Americans will wantto meet and know Robert "Black Bob" Renfro.