Silas Johnson, my great-grandfather of whom I personally knew, was the descendant of a slave who was brought across the shores from Africa. He eventually experienced freedom under Abraham Lincoln's declaration and attempted to live life a free man. One day, he was caught engaging in inappropriate activity with a white woman and he was held captive having his left eye purposely removed by the woman's father. Somehow he managed to escape and make his way north where he settled in Ashville, Virginia. It was necessary that he change his name to avoid capture by those he felt would continually look for him. It was at this time that he changed the family name from 'Johnson' to 'Blassingame'. He subsequently married three times and bore three sets of children, one from each marriage. Silas lived to be at least 114 years old and was considered the oldest man in the Philadelphia region. His age is approximated as there were no birth records available when he was born.