"I first realized that William Easley was a slave holder when I read on his tombstone that  'He Was a Kind Master'." (Uncle Carlos)

William does not mention slaves in his will in 1854 -only property.  And, there is nothing under Emily Alice Easley regarding her owning slaves in 1860; however, Father Minor J. Cliett and Brother Dewey Ellington gained additional slaves between 1850 and 1860 (I am not sure if "freed" slaves appeared on the Slavery Schedules).  It seems unlikely that Emily Alice could have run the farm without help, considering her husband was dead and her son's were fighting for the Confederacy.  Probably, it is true that the previous slaves worked on for the Easleys after being freed.

A frontier sheriff must have been a very strong individual by way of mind and body.  William Easley, our ancestor, was respected by his slaves.   And, for whatever reason, he freed his slaves long before the Civil War.  I would like to think that our ancestor was of exceptional, moral character.  Historically we know, that the fate of the slaves,  after the end of the Civil War, was worse than slavery.  One can only wonder what happened to the folks that were cared for and then freed by our William Easley.  And, why did William want his family to leave Talladega, Alabama, when it appeared his establishment there was grounded and secure?  He seemed to be thinking about some kind of move before his death as evidenced by the freeing of the slaves and the plan to liquidate his holdings (this occurring between 1850 and 1854).  I wish we knew more about this subject of slavery in regards to William Easley.

Another question is whether or not the Easleys migrated to Texas with former slaves.  It is possible, and if so, the North East Texas region was very dangerous for settlers and blacks as the so called "Second Civil War" was raging out-of-control without government intervention.  Consequently, many settlers and probably even more blacks were killed by the unofficial confederate groups.  Perhaps African American researchers will be able to shed light on this subject. See Texas (unavailable at this time.)