On Jan. 27, 1890, Buddie Shang, an African-American, was acquitted of killing a white man by an all-white jury in Sidney, Ohio.

Buddie, whose real name was Shadrack White, was born into slavery on a Virginia plantation around 1815. His master freed Mr. White and all his other slaves before the Civil War but the will was contested by relatives and the freed people had to wait 13 more years for their freedom.

Together they migrated to central Ohio, where Mr. White settled in Lacyburg, a shantytown near Sidney. He supported himself by shining shoes outside a tavern in town and spent his spare time fishing in the canal. A fixture around Sidney, he was affable and well-liked by the townspeople.

When he was about 74 years old, Mr. White got into an argument with a young man on the way to the canal and fired a shotgun in his general direction to scare him away. He hit the nearby cottage of Lewis Nichols, who ran out and began throwing bricks at Mr. White, who apologized. When Mr. Nichols continued throwing bricks, Mr. White shot and killed him in self-defense.

Mr. White's jury returned a "not guilty" verdict in three minutes.

His attorney turned and said, "You're free again, free for a second time, Buddie."

- Rebecca Goodman

Ohio Moments will appear here during 2003. Have a suggestion? Contact Rebecca Goodman at rgoodman@enquirer.com or (513) 768-8361.