Basil Hayden: A Man of His Word
29 October 1823 - 14 August 1909
edited by
Jhon Hampton, B. A.
Basil Hayden of Nelson County, Kentucky, was a Kentuckian who was a man of his word. Before the election of 1860 he declared that if Abraham Lincoln were elected he would never come out of his house again. He had slaves and wanted to keep them, and he didn't like Mr. Lincoln's views on the subject.
After the election everyone in Nelson County had forgotten about Basil Hayden's declaration, except for Basil. There he was inside his house, and no amount of talking would bring him out. He conducted his business through a window. He continued in the horse trade, conducting trades through the window. His overseer would bring his livestock past the window for inspection. He never shaved again, nor cut his hair after that election. Until his death forty-nine years later Basil kept his word: He never came out of his room again.
See the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 97 no. 2 (Spring 1999): 131-132.