"Ken McCutchan is a life-long resident of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, descended from pioneer families that entered the area in the early 1800s. He is veteran of WWII, having served with Army Corps of Engineers in both North Africa and Europe. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Composition and Modern Language from the University of Evansville, a certificate in French Language and Culture from the Sorbonne in Paris, and an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from the University of Southern Indiana. His other books include: The Adventures of Isaac Knight, From then Til Now, Saundersville, An English Settlement, At The Bend in the River, and Dearest Lizzie. Mr. McCutchan's books may be purchased at Willard Library in Evansville, IN.

From Slave to Man of the World.    

by Kenneth McCutchan
James Ambrose, or “Uncle Jim” as he was affectionately called, was found dead in his bed at his home in a alley behind Governor St. on the morning of September 5th, 1892. He was 79 years old and hadn’t been feeling well.

When he did not arise for his usual morning walk, a man who rented a room from him discovered he had died in his sleep.

Ambrose was born a slave in about 1813 near Lexington, Ky,. on a plantation owned by one of Kentucky’s most prominent citizens, John J. Crittenden. Crittenden had been a hero in the War of 1812, served as a U.S. Senator and was elected governor in 1848. Crittenden County is named in his honor.

When Ambrose reached manhood, his owner put him to work as a deckhand on a paddle-wheeler that plied the river from Louisville to St. Louis.

After working on the river for several years, Ambrose decided to flee for freedom. One day in St. Louis he ran away and joined a wagon train heading for the gold fields of California.

In San Francisco, he found a job on a merchant ship sailing for Australia. He remained in Australia for several years and there he undertook to educate himself. Eventually he began working his way around the world.

Shortly after the Civil War broke out, he learned that Negroes were being accepted in the Army, so he returned to the United States, joined the Union forces and fought in many skirmishes.

After the war, he settled in Evansville. So far as anyone knew, he had no family.

He was frugal and accumulated an estate valued at several thousand dollars that he left to young man named James Holloway, whom he often spoke as his adopted son.

”Uncle Jim” Ambrose, former slave, adventurer, and soldier is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, but there is no stone to mark his grave. *

*When this story appeared the students at the Newburgh Elementary School launched a fundraiser to buy a marker. More than 80,000 pennies along with other donations were collected and stone measuring 34’’ x 22” was erected in Oak Hill Cemetery. The inscription reads: JAMES AMBROSE “UNCLE JIM”. SLAVE, ADVENTURER, SOLDIER. 1813 –1892.