From Enslavement to Hallettsville History
He outlived his enslaver and witnessed the birth of Lavaca County
By Murray Montgomery - Staff Writer
Tate Hicks would never forget where he was when the news came that slavery had been officially abolished. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring all slaves to be free. However, the enslaved people of Texas did not receive the word until June 19, 1865 (Juneteenth).
"I was living with the…