TAZEWELL COUNTY, Ill. – The story of a group of horse riders who came to the aid of kidnapped former slaves was the focus of Tazewell County’s 2026 Juneteenth ceremony.
Friday’s ceremony took place at Woodrow Cemetery on Coers Lane in Cincinnati Township near Pekin. That’s where a historical marker and stone monuments honoring the Three Horsemen of Tazewell County sit.
The tale begins in 1826 when Revolutionary War veteran David Shipman fled his Kentucky home with seven enslaved individuals, and eventually secured their freedom in Indiana before coming to Tazewell County.
The peace was rocked a couple months later when Bounty Hunters kidnapped the freed slaves with the intent to sell them in St. Louis. One of the captured former slaves was able to escape and rushed back to Tazewell County to ask the neighbors for help.
Three men then mounted their horses and started a four-day journey to intercept the Bounty Hunters, and successfully stopped their efforts before reaching St. Louis.
For the next three years, Tazewell County residents would travel to Peoria County courts and in St. Louis to testify their support for the freedom of the formerly enslaved family.
Susan Rynerson of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society says the horsemen came to the rescue through a high calling and purpose.
“So they could face their God without fear on the only judgement day that matters to them,” Rynerson said.
One of the ceremony’s guest speakers was Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White. White praised Tazewell County leaders for using the Juneteenth holiday as an opportunity to educate residents about its past.
“For 6 years, Tazewell County has used the Juneteenth holiday to reveal compelling and powerful history from Tazewell County’s past,” White said. “Knowing our history is vital.”
