According to Eliza’s husband, George Hancock, Isaac was given to Eliza in 1829, when some of the enslaved people at Locust Grove were divided and given to the Croghan siblings per the instructions of their father, Major William Croghan’s 1822 will. Isaac later moved to the household of Ann Croghan Jesup around 1833, and later to Dr. John Croghan around 1842.
Isaac was present when John Croghan died in 1849 and was the only enslaved person who was freed outright in John’s will.
“I direct my Executor to Emancipate & set free from bondage immediately my slave Isaac, who has served me so faithfully.”
-John Croghan’s Will of 10 January 1849
Little is known about what happened to Isaac after he was emancipated, and research is ongoing in the hopes of learning about his life as a free man. Currently, the only possible reference found for Isaac after John’s death is a notice in the Louisville Courier in May of 1849 stating that Isaac Croghan had a letter at the Post Office.