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The Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, June 14, 1793.
Went away on the 9th inst. from the subscriber living in the city of Annapolis, a negro man named Jem, a lively, brisk, active fellow when he pleases, 28 years of age, about 5 feet 8 inches high, slender made, rather thin face, has a great hesitation in his speech, and when he laughs shows his gums very much, takes snuff, one of his legs is sore; he is very artful and can turn his hand to any thing; he has been used to waiting, to taking care of horses and driving a carriage, is something of a gardener, carpenter and bricklayer; IS OR PRETENDS TO BE OF THE SOCIETY OF METHODISTS, HE CONSTANTLY ATTENDED THE MEETINGS, AND AT TIMES EXHORTED HIMSELF; he took with him a watch of his own, a fine hat, a new drab coloured surtout coat, lined about the body with green, light cloth waistcoat, buckskin breeches; a black coat lapelled is missing from the house; it is probable he may change his dress; he had some time in the summer from me a pass for a limited time (three or four days) to go to Baltimore, it is not improbable but he may get the date altered and make use of it. Whoever takes him up and delivers him to me, or secures him in any gaol so that I get him again, shall receive TWENTY DOLLARS. December 16, 1797.
JAMES BRICE.
The Maryland Gazette, January 4, 1798.
Ran-away from the subscriber on the 19th of October last, Negro Jacob, 35 years of age, about 6 feet high, smooth face, high forehead, his wool growing in a peak leaves his temples bare, speaks low and rather hoarse, had on and took with him when he went away, a brownish cotton coat, a blue coarse short coat with metal buttons, old breeches, osnabrig shirt, and a match coat blanket; his Sunday apparel, a purple cloth coat with rimmed buttons, nankeen breeches, mixed worsted stockings, and half boots; HE PROFESSES TO BE A METHODIST, AND HAS BEEN IN THE PRACTICE OF PREACHING OF NIGHTS; it is expected he is harbouring about the city of Annapolis, West river, South river, South river Neck, or Queen Anne, as he has a wife at Miss Murdoch's. Whoever takes up and secures said fellow in any gaol so that I get him again, shall receive the above reward paid by
THOMAS GIBBS, living near Queene Anne.
N.B. All masters of vessels and others are forewarned harbouring employing or carrying off said fellow at their peril.
March 7, 1800. T. G.
The Maryland Gazette, September 4, 1800.
Ran away from the subscriber, living in Anne Arundel county, on the 21st of February, a negro man named Dick, about forty years of age, five feet six inches high, round full face, large eyes, very bow legged, slow of speech, and fond of smoking a pipe, HE IS A METHODIST PREACHER, took along with him a country cloth coat, and one gray coloured, and breeches, two osnabrig shirts, short kersey coat and trousers, shoes nailed. Whoever takes up the said negro, and secures him in any gaol shall receive the above reward, and if brought home all reasonable charges paid by me.
HUGH DRUMMOND. Feb. 24, 1800.
The Maryland Gazette, Sept. 4, 1800.
Philadelphia, Sept. 4, 1746.
RUN AWAY on the 16th of July from Thomas Rutter, of this city, a Negro Man, named Dick, commonly CALLED PREACHING DICK,[2] aged about 27 Years. * * *
THOMAS RUTTER.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Sept. 4, 1746.
[2] It is not known whether Dick was a Methodist or Baptist Preacher.
FORTY DOLLARS REWARD
Ran-Away from the subscriber on the 8th of November last, a negro fellow named Simbo. He was formerly the property of Francis Burns dec. of Onslow County, HE IS A METHODIST PREACHER, AND CAN READ AND WRITE.—He is about 6 feet high, very black and smooth skin, and speaks very distinct.
He is supposed to be lurking some times down Neuse river, and at others up the same, and so he ranges through Craven, Jones, and Onslow Counties.
Any person apprehending the said negro, and delivering him to the subscriber, within five miles of Swansborough, shall be entitled to the above reward.—Or any person who will so secure him that I get him again, shall receive Twenty Dollars.
The most probable method to catch him, will be at Methodist meetings.—All masters of vessels and others are forewarned from harbouring employing or carrying him away, at their peril.
June 27. HENRY LOCKEY.
The Newbern Gazette, August 15, 1800.
SLAVES IN OTHER PROFESSIONS
RUN AWAY ON THE 4TH INST., AT NIGHT FROM James Leonard in Middlesex County, East-New-Jersey, a Negro Man named Simon, aged 40 Years, is well-set Fellow, about 5 feet 10 Inches high, has large Eyes, and a Foot 12 inches long; he was bred and born in this Country, talks good English can read and write, is very slow in his speech, CAN BLEED AND DRAW TEETH PRETENDING TO BE A GREAT DOCTOR AND VERY RELIGIOUS, AND SAYS HE IS A CHURCHMAN. Had on a dark grey Broadcloth Coat, with other good Apparel, and peeked toe'd Shoes. He took with him a black Horse, about 13 Hands and a Half high, a Star in his Forehead, branded with 2 on the near Thigh or Shoulder, and trots; also a black hunting Saddle about half worn.
Whoever takes up and secures the said Negro, so that his Master may have him again shall have Three Pounds Reward and reasonable Charges, paid by
JAMES LEONARD.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Sept. 11, 1740.
Whereas Cambridge, _a Negro Man belonging to_ James Oliver _of_ Boston _doth absent himself sometimes from his Master: SAID NEGRO PLAYS WELL UPON A FLUTE, AND NOT SO WELL ON A VIOLIN. This is to desire all Masters and Heads of Families not to suffer said Negro to come into their Houses to teach their Prentices or Servants to play, nor on any other Accounts. All Masters of Vessels are also forbid to have anything to do with him on any Account, as they may answer it in the Law.
N.B. Said Negro is to be sold: Enquire of said_ Oliver.
The Boston Evening Post, Oct. 24, 1743.
SIX DOLLARS REWARD
Absconded on or about the 1st instant, a Negro Fellow, named Pero. He is remarkably tall being nearly 61/2 feet in height, his hands have been frost bitten, in consequence of which he has lost several of his finger nails. He speaks the French and English languages; PASSES FOR A DOCTOR AMONG PEOPLE OF HIS COLOR, AND IT IS SUPPOSED PRACTICES IN THAT CAPACITY ABOUT TOWN. The above reward will be paid on his delivery at the Work-House, or the Subscriber
JAMES GEORGE.
N.B. All masters of vessels are forewarned from carrying him off the State as they will be prosecuted to the utmost rigor of the law.
The City Gazette and Daily Advertiser, June 22, 1797.
CLOSE RELATIONS OF THE SLAVES AND INDENTURED SERVANTS
RUN AWAY in April last from Richard Tilghman of Queen Anne County in Maryland a Mulatto slave, Named Richard Molson, of Middle stature, about forty years old, and has had the Small Pox, HE IS IN COMPANY WITH A WHITE WOMAN NAMED MARY, WHO IS SUPPOSED NOW GOES FOR HIS WIFE; AND A WHITE MAN NAMED GARRETT CHOISE, AND JANE HIS WIFE, which said White People are servants to some Neighbors of the said RICHARD TILGHMAN. The said fugatives are Supposed to be gone to CAROLINAS or some other of his Majesty's Plantations in AMERICA. Whoever shall apprehend the said Fugatives and cause them to be committed into safe custody, and give Notice thereof to their Owners shall be well rewarded. The White man has one of his fore fingers disabled.
Whoever shall carry them to the Sheriff of PHILADELPHIA shall have Twenty Pounds current money paid him or them or shall convey the Molatta to the said sheriff shall have Ten Pounds, or whoever shall convey the Molatta to the said RICHARD TILGHMAN shall have Fifteen Pounds reward.—
The American Weekly Mercury (Philadelphia), Aug. 11, Aug. 25 and Sept. 1, 1720.
RAN AWAY from the Subscribers in Baltimore County in Maryland, a Negro Man named Charles, of middle stature, aged about 28 or 30 Years, talks tolerable English: Had on when he went away, an Ozenbrigs Frock with brass Buttons on it, dark colour'd Kersey Jacket, a Cotton Jacket, old Leather Breeches, Ozenbrig Trowsers, Felt Hat, and old Shoes. HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE IN COMPANY WITH TWO SERVANT MEN belonging to John Fuller, sen., the one of them is a Scotch Man, named James M'Cornet, of middle stature, age about 26 Years, long black Hair if not cut off, and a black Beard; has with him a dark Kersey Jacket and a Cotton Jacket, old Leather Breeches, a pair of Ozenbrigs Trowsers and a pair of Crocus Trowsers, Ozenbrigs Shirt and a Dowlass Shirt, Country made Shoes and Stockings and an old Felt Hat bound round with the same. The other named Charles King of middle Stature, aged about 23 Years; has with him a Drugget Coat much worn, of a Cinnamon Colour, Cotton Jacket, Leather Breeches with Pewter Buttons on one Knee covered with Leather and none on the other, two ozenbrigs Shirts, a pair of Trowsers, Country made Shoes and Stockings of a bluish grey Colour, topt with black and white Yarn.
NOTE James M'Connet speaks broad Scotch very thick, and snuffles a little.
Whoever takes up the said Negro together with his Companions, shall have Twenty Shillings Reward for each besides what the Law directs paid by us
DARBY HERNLY JOHN FULLER.
The Philadelphia Gazette, June 26, 1740.
Run away 21st of August, from the Subscribers, of Kingsess, Philadelphia County, A WHITE MAN AND A NEGRO, IT IS SUPPOSED THEY ARE GONE TOGETHER, the White Man's Name is Abraham Josep, a Yorkshire Man, a Shoemaker by Trade aged about 24 Years * * *
The Negroe's Name is Tom, of a yellowish colour, pretty much pitted with Small Pox, thick set * * *
Two nights before there were several things stolen, and it is supposed they have them
JAMES HUNT PETER ELLIOT.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Sept. 10, 1741.
RUN away from Talbot County School, Maryland, on Monday, the 5th of this instant August, George Ewings, MASTER OF SAID SCHOOL, WHO TOOK WITH HIM A NEGROE MAN, named Nero and two Geldings, the one of a grey, the other of a black Colour, the Property of the Visitors of said School. The said Ewings is an Irishman, of a middling Stature, and thin Visage, is pitted with Small-pox, and has the Brogue upon his Tongue, and had on when he went away a light blue new coat.
Whoever apprehends and secures said Ewings, Negro and Geldings, so that they may be had again, shall receive a Reward of Five Pounds, Maryland Currency, paid by the Visitors of said School
Signed by order, WILLIAM GOLDSBOROUGH, Register of Said School.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Aug. 15, 1745.
RUN away on Saturday the 26th of October, from Cadwalder, of Trenton, a Negro Man, named Sam, a likely Fellow, about 26 Years of Age, speaks very good English: Had on when he went away, a good Duroy Coat, a fine Hat, almost new, a Pair of good Leather Breeches with Trowsers over them; but as he has other Clothes with him, he may have changed them since. HE WAS ENTICED AWAY BY ONE ISAAC RANDALL, AN APPRENTICE OF THOMAS MERRIOT, jun. They took with them a likely bay Gelding, six Years old, thirteen Hands and a Half high, paces well, and is shod before: And they are supposed to have gone with a Design to enter on board a Privateer, either at New York or Philadelphia. Whoever takes them up, and secures the Negro and Gelding shall be rewarded, by
THOMAS CADWALDER.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Oct. 31, 1745.
RUN away, the 2nd of last month from the subscriber, living at the old town Potomack, Frederick county, Maryland, a mulattoe servant man named Isaac Cromwell, about 40 years of age, a tall slim fellow, very smooth tongued, by which some people may perhaps be imposed upon: Had on when he went away, a blanket coat, leather breeches, worsted Stockings, new shoes, with brass buckles on them.
RUN AWAY AT THE SAME TIME, AN ENGLISH SERVANT WOMAN, named Anne Greene, about 45 years of age, short and well set, one of her legs much shorter than the other, much pock-marked: Had on when she went away, a white jacket, striped linsey coat. They took with them the following goods, viz. blankets, a striped cotton gown, and petticoat, several shirts and skirts, with other clothing, too tedious here to mention, also a small bay horse not branded, a large bay pacing horse, his hind feet both white, about 7 years old, branded on the near buttock with a heart and a T through it; and a small old black horse, his brand not known, with some white spots on his back. Whoever takes up the said servants, and secures them, so that their master may have them again, shall have Five Pounds, if taken in Maryland, and if in Pennsylvania, or the Jerseys, Seven Pounds and reasonable Charges, paid by Thomas Cresap or James Whitehead, Work-house-keeper in Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania Gazette, June 1, 1749.
RUN AWAY FROM FRANCIS MINES, APPOQUINIMY, New Castle county, a servant woman, named Ann Wainrite: She is short, well-set, fresh coloured, of a brown complexion, round visage, was brought up in Virginia, speaks good English and bold. Had on when she went away, a blue linsey-wolsey gown, a dark brown petticoat, and a Bath bonnet. She hath taken with her a striped cotton shirt, and some white ones, a drab coloured great coat, a silver hilted sword, with a broad belt, and a cane; with a considerable parcel of other goods: Also a large bay pacing horse, roughly trimmed, shod before, and branded on the near buttock S.R. THERE WENT AWAY WITH HER, A NEGRO WOMAN belonging to Jannet Balvaird, named Beck; she is lusty strong and pretty much pock-broken; had on when she went away, a brown linnen gown, a striped red and white linsey-wolsey petticoat, the red very dull, a coarse two petticoat, and calico one, with a great piece tore at the bottom, and stole a black crape gown: Also a bay horse with three white feet, a blaze down his face, and a new russet hunting saddle. Whoever takes up the above mentioned women and horses, and secures them, so as they may be had again, shall have Four Pounds reward and reasonable Charges, paid by
FRANCIS MINES JANNET BALVAIRD.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Oct. 8, 1747.
RUN AWAY from the subscriber, on Elkridge, in Anne Arundel county, Maryland, TWO WHITE SERVANTS, AND A NEGRO; one of the servants named John Wright, a shoemaker by trade, has a red nose, and a crooked finger; Had on, an ozenbrigs shirt, and breeches of the same, and a dark colour'd coat, with a large cape. The other a Yorkshire-man, named William Cherryhome, a stout fellow, with yellowish hair: Had on ozenbrigs shirts and trowsers, a white fustian coat: they both have hats and shirts. The Negro named Sam, is a lusty young fellow, with large scars on his breast and back. Whoever takes up and secures the said servants and Negro, so that they may be had again, shall have NINE POUNDS, besides what the law allows, paid by
JOHN HAMMOND.
N.B. They were seen coming from Lancaster to Philadelphia.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Aug. 2, 1750.
RUN away from James West, the first of April last a servant man, named Willis M'Coy, a small short fellow, his right eye looks red; he had on when he went away, a blue jacket and a striped flannel jacket under it, a pair of trowsers, and under them a pair of cloth breeches, too long for him, and were ripped at the knee; he had two shirts on, one ozenbrigs, the other check linnen, he is supposed to have run away with a Negro man, named Toby, WHO LEFT HIS MASTER THE SAME DAY THE OTHER DID; the Negro has a dark coloured duffil great coat much torn, he is a lusty well-set fellow, betwixt 40 and 50 years old, has sundry jackets, and coarse and fine shirts; they have no doubt changed their apparel; the Negro speaks good English, born in Philadelphia. Whoever takes up the white servant, shall have Three Pounds reward, and reasonable charges, paid by James West; and whoever takes up the Negroe above, shall have Forty Shillings paid by James Mockey, and Charges.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Aug. 2, 1750.
RUN away from the Subscriber, living at Cambridge in Dorchester County, on the 15th of this Instant July, a dark Mulatto Man Slave, named Prince: HE WENT OFF IN COMPANY WITH A WHITE SERVANT MAN whose name is John, but his surname forgot, belonging to Mr. William Horner, Merchant of the same Town. The said slave is of middle Stature, well made, well featured, and is a pert lively Fellow and plays well on the Banjer. He had on a country Linnen Shirt, short Linnen Breeches, and an old Felt Hat.
Whoever takes up the said slave and brings him to the Subscriber, shall have Four Pounds Reward, besides what the Law allows paid by
JOHN WOOLLFORD.
If the White Man is secured, so that he may be had again, I doubt not but they who secure him will have a handsome Reward paid by William Homer.
The Maryland Gazette, July 25, 1754.
RAN away from Jonathan Sergeant, at Newark, in New-Jersey, A young Negro man, named Esop, of middle size, with round forehead, strait nose, and a down guilty look; he can write, and it is likely he may have a counterfeit pass: Had with him a beaver hat, light grey linsey-wolsey jacket, tow trowsers, new pumps, and an old purple colour'd waistcoat. IT IS SUPPOSED HE WENT AWAY IN COMPANY WITH A WHITE MAN, named John Smith, who is an old lean, tall man, with a long face and nose, and strait brown hair; who had on an old faded snuff-coloured coat. Whoever takes up and secures said man and Negro, so that their master may have them again, shall have Forty Shillings reward for each and all reasonable Charges, paid by
JONATHAN SERGEANT.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Aug. 28, 1755.
FORTY SHILLINGS REWARD
Run away from the manor of Eaton in Suffolk County on the 18th of November, a negro named Caesar, about 40 Years of age, near 5 feet 8 inches high; has thick lips, bandy legs, walks lame, and speaks very bad English; had on when he went away, a blue jacket, check flannel shirt, tow Cloth trowsers, black and white yarn stockings, half worn shoes, and an old felt hat; has formerly lived in some part of West Jersey, where 'tis suspected he is gone; HE WENT OFF IN COMPANY WITH ONE THOMAS CORNWELL, WHO CALLS HIMSELF A BRISTOL MAN, and who 'tis feared has forged a pass for the Negro. Whoever secures the Negro so that the subscriber may have him again, shall have the above reward and all reasonable Charges, paid by
JOHN SLOSS HOBART.
All masters of vessels, and others are forbid to conceal or transport said Negro at their peril.
The New York Gazette or Weekly Post-Boy, Dec. 5, 1765.
RAN away on the 25th of April last, from a Mine Bank, belonging to Alexander Lawson and Company, in Anne Arundel County, near Elk Ridge, Landing, a Convict Servant Fellow, who came in the County last Year in Captain James Dobbins: He is an Englishman about 6 Feet high, and of a black complexion. Had on two Cotton Jackets, the under one without Sleeves, a Pair of Cotton Breeches, an Osnabrigs Shirt, a Felt Hat, a white Linnen Cap, a Silk Handkerchief, white Yarn Stockings, and Country made Shoes.
A NEGRO FELLOW BELONGING TO THE SAID COMPANY WENT AWAY WITH HIM, who is acquainted with the back Roads, and is supposed to be conducting him that Way. He is about 5 Feet 6 Inches high, pretty aged, and speaks good English. Had on a Cotton Jacket and Breeches, and Osnabrigs Shirt, an old Felt Hat, a white Linnen Cap, white Yarn Stockings, and Country made Shoes. They took with them a Drugget Coat of a light Colour, lined with Shalloon, and trimmed with Metal Buttons.
Whoever apprehends the said two Fellows, and secures them in any Gaol, so that the Subscriber may have them again, shall have, if taken within the Province, Four Pistoles Reward, for each, and reasonable Charges, if brought to Alexander Lawson.
The Maryland Gazette, May 9, 1754.
FIFTY PISTOLES REWARD
Annapolis, in Maryland, March 25, 1754.
Ran away on the 18th Instant with the Sloop Hopewell, belonging to the Subscriber, William Curtis, Master, the TWO FOLLOWING CONVICT SERVANTS, AND NEGRO MAN, viz:
John Wright, a White Man, of a swarthy Complexion, very lusty, talks hoarse, and is much pitted with the Small Pox.
John Smith, also a lusty White Man, with short black Hair.
Toney, a yellowish Negro, and not quite so lusty, pretends to be a Portugese, speaks good English and pertly, is a good Hand by Water, also can do Cooper's Work, Butchering, &c. Had on or with him, a Dove colour'd Surtoot Coat.
They may have sundry Cloaths, Wigs, Linnen, Cash &c. belonging to the Captain, as it is believed they have murdered him; and the above Wright was seen with the Captain's Cloaths on, which were red; though he had Cloaths of sundry Colours with him: He also had a neat Silver hilted Sword, and Pistols mounted with Silver.
The Captain had the Register of the Sloop with him, but he was not endorsed thereon, as he was to return here to make up his Load, and clear at the proper Office.
They were seen off Patuxent on the 22nd Instant, at which time the said Wright assumed Master, and took two Men with them, belonging to Schooner of Mr. James Dick's and Company one a White Man belonging to Capt. William Strachan, of London Town, who went on board with some Bread for them, at which Time they hoisted Sail, and cut their Boat adrift, and carried them off.
They had some Lumber on board, such as Staves, Heading, and Plank; also Rum, Molasses, Sugar, Linnen &C. &C.
The Sloop is about 45 Tons, Square sterned, with a Round House, with a Partition under dividing the Cabin and Steerage, the Waste black, yellow Gunwales and Drift Rails, and the Drift and Stern blue.
Whoever secures the said sloop and Goods so that the Owner may have her again, and the three White Servants and two Slaves, so that they may be brought to Justice, shall have FIFTY PISTOLES Reward, paid by
PATRICK CREAGH.
Maryland Gazette, April 11, 1754.
New-York, July 10, 1760.
RUN away from Dennis Hicks, of Philipsburgh in Westchester County, and Province of New York, a mulatto man Slave named Bill, aged about 20 Years has a long sharp Nose, with a black Mole on the Right side of his Face, near his Nose, has very large Ears, speaks good English, and pretends to be free, and can read and write well: SAYS HE HAS A WHITE MOTHER AND WAS Born in NEW-ENGLAND. He is of a middle size, and has a thin Visage, with his Hair cut off. All person are forbid to harbour him, and all Masters of Vessels are forbid to carry him off, as they will answer it at their Peril. TWENTY-FIVE POUNDS Reward for securing him in any Gaol, or bringing him to me so that I may have him again, and reasonable Charges paid by
DENNIS HICKS.
N.B. This Fellow was advertised in the New York Papers the 5th of June and in Newhaven the 11th of June 1759, was afterward taken up in Waterbury, and was put into Litchfield Gaol, from thence he was brought to Belford, and there made his escape from his master again. Those who apprehend him are desired to secure him in Irons. He was taken up by Moses Fort, of North Waterbury in New England. It is likely he will change his Cloaths as he did before. The Mole above mentioned is something long.
N.B. By information he was in Morris County in the Jerseys all the Winter; and said he would enlist in the provincial service.[3]
The New York Gazette, Aug. 11, 1760.
[3] This advertisement appears under another heading on page 199.
TEN PISTOLES REWARD
Kent County Maryland, March 19, 1755.
Whereas there were several advertisements, (some of which were printed, and others of the same Signification written), dispersed through this Province, describing and offering a Reward of Two Pistoles, &c. for taking up a SERVANT MAN, NAMED JAMES FRANCIS, AND A MULATTO MAN SLAVE call'd Toby, both belonging to the subscriber, and ran away on the 11th Instant: And whereas it has been discovered since the Publishing of the said Advertisements, that they carried with them many more Things than is therein described, I do hereby again and farther give Notice that the White Man James Francis, is aged about 21 years, his Stature near five Feet and and half, slender bodied, with a smooth Face, almost beardless, born in England and bred a Farmer. The Mulatto is a lusty, well-set Country born Slave with a great Nose, wide Nostrils, full mouth'd, many Pimples in his Face; very slow in Speech, he is a tolerable Cooper and House Carpeter, and no doubt will endeavour to pass for a Free-Man; Each hath a Felt Hat, Country Cloth Vest and Breeches, and Yarn Stockings: one of them has a light coloured loose Coat of Whitney or Duffel: The White Man a dark close bodied Coat, a striped short Vest of Everlasting, another of blue Fearnothing, with other Cloaths. The Slave has also many other valuable Garments; they took with them likewise a Gun, Powder and Shot, and are supposed either to cross, or go down Bay in a Pettiauger.
Whoever brings the said Servant and Slave to the Subscriber on the Mouth of Chester River or to Thomas Ringgold at Chester-Town, shall have for a Reward Ten Pistoles and all reasonable Charges in taking and securing the said Servant and Slave, paid by[4]
JAMES RINGGOLD. THOMAS RINGGOLD.
The Maryland Gazette, March 20, 1755.
[4] This advertisement occurs also under the heading of "The Relations of the French and Negroes."
ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD
RAN away from Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland in September last, a Negro wench named PEGGY, but sometimes calls herself NANCY, about 26 years of age, talks on the Welsh accent, her complexion of a yellowish cast, the wool on her head is longer than negroes commonly have: Had on a blue petticoat of Duffil cloth, old shoes and stockings, her other clothes uncertain. IT IS SUPPOSED SHE WENT OFF WITH A PORTUGESE FELLOW WHO SERVED HIS TIME WITH MR. JACOB FUNK: they probably may be in the neighborhood of Georgetown or Alexandria or gone towards camp, and that she will attempt to pass for a free woman, and wife to the Portugese fellow. Whoever takes her up and secures her in any gaol, so that the subscriber get her again, or delivers her to Daniel Hughes, Esq., in Hagerstown, shall have the above reward, and reasonable charges,
JOHN SWAN.
The Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, Oct. 19, 1779.
SIX DOLLARS REWARD
On Monday night, the 18th instant, ran away, from the subscriber, living in Montgomery County, near Georgetown, a likely, bright MULATTO MAN named GEORGE PINTER, about 21 years of age, 5 feet 9 or 10 inches high, spare made, with long bushy hair; he is remarkably talkative, and generally smiles when spoken to; he had on, and took with him, a drab-coloured country-cloth surtout, one white broad-cloth coat with plated buttons, one striped nankeen ditto, two striped silk and cotton waistcoats with gilt buttons, one pair of blue yarn stockings, all of them about half worn, and a pretty good felt hat, with a very wide but shallow crown; his other clothes unknown. It is highly probable he is furnished with a pass and will assume the character of a free man; he went off, IT IS SUSPECTED IN COMPANY WITH A COUPLE OF IRISH SERVANTS WHO LEFT THE LITTLE FALLS ON THE SAME DAY, where they had been at work together for some time past. Whoever apprehends and secures the said Runaway, in any gaol, so that his master may get him again, shall receive the above reward, with reasonable charges, if brought home.
WILLIAM WALLACE. March 25, 1793.
The Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, March 29, 1793.
Westmoreland County, Virginia, Aug. 17, 1749.
RUN away from subscriber on Monday last, a Convict Servant named Thomas Winey; he professes farming, was imported lately from Maidstone gaol in the County of Kent, Great Britain—* * *
THE ABOVE MENTIONED SERVANT TOOK WITH HIM A MOLATTOE SLAVE named James, a well set fellow, 23 years old ************ I have been informed by their confederates since they went off, that they intend to go to Pennsylvania and from thence to New England, unless they can on their way get passage in some vessel to Great Britain where the Molattoe slave pretends to have an UNCLE WHO ESCAPED FROM HIS MASTER IN THIS COLONY NEAR 23 YEARS AGO, AND IS SAID TO KEEP A COFFEE HOUSE IN LONDON.
The Pennsylvania Gazette, Sept. 14, 1749.
REVIEWS OF BOOKS
The Negro. By W. E. B. DuBois. New York: Henry Holt and Co. 1915. Pp. 254. 50 cents.
In this small volume Dr. DuBois presents facts to show that, contrary to general belief, the Negro has developed and contributed to civilization the same as all other groups of the human race. The usual arguments that the backward state of Negro culture is due to the biological inferiority of the race he shows to be without foundation, since these arguments have been largely abandoned by creditable scholars. Much of the material in the book has been known for several years to readers of works of scholars on race questions. As is commonly the case, truths which tend to destroy deep-rooted prejudices reach general readers with considerable slowness. While it is not possible to treat but briefly a large subject in such small compass, the facts set forth by the author will put many persons on their guard against individuals who continue to spread misinformation about the Negro race.
The book is divided into twelve chapters, contains a helpful index, has a topically arranged list of books suggested for further reading, and an index. All of the chapters make interesting reading; but those treating of the achievements in state building and general culture of the ancient African Negro are especially stimulating. The author points out that in Egypt, both as mixed Semitic-Negroids and pure blacks from Ethiopia, Negro blood shared in producing the civilization of Egypt. Another center of Negro civilization was the Soudan. There strong Negro empires like Songhay and Melle developed under Mohammedan influence and existed for many centuries. In West Africa there was a flourishing group of Negro city states, the most famous of these being the Yoruban group. Recent discoveries of Frobenius in these parts of the continent show that the people reached a high stage of development in the terra cotta, bronze, glass, weaving, and iron industry. In the regions about the Great Lakes, inhabited largely by the Bantu, are found many worked over gold and silver mines, old irrigation systems, remains of hundreds of groups of stone buildings and fortifications. The author explains that the decline of this ancient culture was due to internal wars, Mohammedan conquest, and especially the ravages of the slave trade. The fact of the existence of such culture in the past stands as evidence of the capacity of the race to achieve.
It is worth noting what the author thinks about "the future relation of the Negro race to the rest of the world." He states that the "clear modern philosophy ... assigns to the white race alone the hegemony of the world and assumes that other races, and particularly the Negro race, will either be content to serve the interests of the whites or die out before their all-conquering march." Of the several plans of solutions of the Negro problems since the emancipation from chattel slavery he tells us that practically all have been directed by the motive of economic exploitation for the benefit of white Europe. Because all dark races, and the white workmen too, are included in this capitalistic program of economic exploitation, he believes there is coming "a unity of the working classes everywhere," which will apparently know no race line. But the colored peoples are more largely the victims of this economic exploitation. In answer to it the author concludes: "There is slowly arising not only a strong brotherhood of Negro blood throughout the world, but the common cause of the darker races against the intolerable assumptions and insults of Europeans has already found expression." He expresses the hope that "this colored world may come into its heritage, ... the earth," may not "again be drenched in the blood of fighting, snarling human beasts," but that "Reason and Good will prevail."
J. A. BIGHAM.
The American Civilization and the Negro. By C. V. Roman, A.M., M.D. F. A. Davis Company, Philadelphia, 1916. 434 pages.
This volume is a controversial treatise supported here and there by facts of Negro life and history. The purpose of the work is to increase racial self respect and to diminish racial antagonism. The author has endeavored to combine argument and evidence to refute the assertions of such writers as Schufeldt and agitators like Tillman and Vardaman. But although on the controversial order the author has tried to write "without bitterness and bias." The effort here is directed toward showing that humanity is one in vices and virtues as well as in blood; that the laws of evolution and progress apply equally to all; that there are no diseases peculiar to the American Negro nor any debasing vices peculiar to the African; that there are no cardinal virtues peculiar to the European; and that all races having numerous failings, one should not give snap judgment of the other, especially when that judgment involves the welfare of a people.
The work contains an extensive zoological examination of man as an inhabitant of the world, the differences in the separate individuals composing races, the forces with which they must contend, the morals of mankind, and the general principles of human development. The question of Negro slavery in America is discussed as a preliminary in coming to the crucial point of the study, the presence of the colored man in the South. The author frankly states what the colored man is struggling for. Making a review of the history of the Negroes of the United States, he justifies their claim to political rights on the ground that they are reacting successfully to their environment.
The book abounds with illustrations of prominent colored Americans, successful Negroes, individual types, typical family groups, arts and crafts among the Africans, public schools and colleges.
J. O. BURKE.
The Police Control of the Slave in South Carolina. By H. M. Henry, M.A., Professor of History and Economics, Emory and Henry College, Emory, Virginia, 1914. 216 pages.
This work is a doctoral dissertation of Vanderbilt University. The author entered upon this study to show to what extent the southern people "sought to perpetuate, not slavery, but the same method of controlling the emancipated Negro which was in force under the slavery regime, the difficulties which were met with from without and the measure of success attained." He was not long in discovering that the laws on the statute books did not adequately answer the question. It was necessary, therefore, to determine to what extent these laws were in force and what extra-legal method may have been resorted to in a system so flexible as slavery.
One of the first influences discovered was the Barbadian slave code and then the evolution of slave control from that of the white indentured servant. Soon then the status of the slave as interpreted by the court was that of no legal standing in these tribunals. The overseer is then presented as a Negro driver, referred to in contemporary sources. The author devotes much space to the patrol system, the various kinds of punishment, the court for the trial of slaves, the relations between the Negroes and the whites, the question of trading with slaves, slaves hiring their time, the slave trade, the stealing, harboring and kidnapping of free Negroes, the runaway slaves, the Seamen Acts, the gatherings of Negroes, slave insurrections, the abolition of incendiary literature, the prohibition of the education of the blacks, manumission, and the legal status of the free Negro.
The author shows by his researches that although amended somewhat, the slave code agreed upon in 1740 continued as a part of the organic law. At times some effort was made to ameliorate the condition of the blacks. The kidnapping of free Negroes, at first permitted, was later declared a crime, the murder of a Negro by a white man, which until 1821 was punishable only by a fine, was then made a capital offence, the court for the trial of Negroes became more inclined to be just, the privileges of trading and hiring their time, although prohibited by law, became common, and some efforts were made to give the blacks religious instruction. At the same time the Negro suffered from reactionary measures restricting their emancipation, prohibiting free Negroes from entering the State, and proscribing their education. The author can see why the rich planters for financial reasons supported this system, but wonders why non-slaveholders who formed the majority of the white population, "should have assisted in upholding and maintaining the slavery status of the Negro with its attendant inconveniences, such a patrol service, when they must have been aware in some measure, at least, that as an economic regime it was a hindrance to their progress."
In this study the author found nothing "to indicate that there was any movement or any serious discussion of the advisability of abolishing slavery or devising any plan that would eventually lead to it." In that State there never were many anti-slavery inhabitants. The Quakers who came into the State soon left and the Germans, who at first abstained from slavery, finally yielded. There probably was an academic deprecation of the evils of the institution but hardly any tendency toward agitation; and if there had been such, the promoters would not have secured support among the leading people. A few men like Judge O'Neall favored the emancipation of worthy slaves, but the agitation from without gave this sentiment no chance to grow. Yet the author is anxious not to leave the impression that, had it not been for outside interference, slavery in South Carolina would have been modified. This would not have happened, he contended, because unlike the States of North Carolina and Virginia, South Carolina did not find slaves less valuable. The condition of the slave in the upper country was better than that in the low lands, but no section of the State showed signs of abolition.
This work is a well-documented dissertation. It has an appendix containing valuable documents, and a critical bibliography of the works consulted. It could have been improved by digesting documents which appear almost in full throughout the work. Another defect is that it has no index.
C. B. WALTER.
Gouldtown. By William Steward, A.M., and REV. Theophilus G. Steward, D.D. J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1913. 237 pages. $2.50.
There are hundreds of thousands of mulattoes in the United States. Anyone interested in this group of the American people will find many illuminating and suggestive facts in Gouldtown. It is the history of the descendants of Lord Fenwick, who was a major in Oliver Cromwell's army, and of Gould a Negro man. Fenwick's will of 1683 contains the following: "I do except against Elizabeth Adams of having any ye leaste part of my estate, unless the Lord open her eyes to see her abdominable transgression against him, me and her good father, by giving her true repentance, and forsaking yt Black yt hath been ye ruin of her, and becoming penitent for her sins; upon yt condition only I do will and require my executors to settle five hundred acres of land upon her." Elizabeth did not forsake this Negro by the name of Gould and the remarkable mulatto group of Gouldtown is the result of this marriage. Gouldtown is a small settlement in southwest New Jersey.
In 1910 there were 225 living descendants from this union scattered throughout the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific; many in Canada, others in London, Liverpool, Paris, Berlin and Antwerp. For over 200 years these descendants have married and inter-married with Indian, Negro and White with no serious detriment except the introduction of tuberculosis into one branch of the family by an infusion of white blood. It is interesting to note that crime, drunkenness, pauperism or sterility has not resulted from these two hundred years of miscegenation. Thrift and intelligence, longevity and fertility have been evident. In every war except the Mexican, the community has been represented; one member of the group became a bishop in the A.M.E. Church; one, chaplain in the United States army, and many, now white, are prominent in other walks of life. Several golden weddings have been celebrated. Several have reached the age of a hundred years while many seem not to have begun to grow old until three score years have been reached.
If one enters into the spirit of Gouldtown, and reads hastily the dry, Isaac-begat-Jacob passages, the study moves like the story of a river that loses itself in the sands. "Samuel 3rd. when a young man went to Pittsburgh then counted to be in the far west and all trace of him was lost." "Daniel Gould ... in early manhood went to Massachusetts, losing his identity as colored." Such expressions are typical of the whole study. A constant fading away, a losing identity occurs. The book is clearly the story of the mulatto in the United States.
Aside from an occasional lapse in diction, it is a careful study with 35 illustrations and many documents such as copies of deeds, wills, family-bible and death records.
WALTER DYSON.
NOTES
"The Creed of the Old South," by Basil Gildersleeve, has come from the Johns Hopkins Press. This is a presentation of the Lost Cause to enlarge the general appreciation of southern ideals.
From the same press comes also "The Constitutional Doctrines of Justice Harlan," by Floyd B. Clark. The author gives an interesting survey of the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States, tracing the constitutional doctrine of the distinguished jurist.
The Neale Publishing Company has brought out "The Aftermath of the Civil War in Arkansas," by Powell Clayton. The author was governor of the State from 1868 to 1871. Not desiring to take radical ground, he endeavors to be moderate in sketching the work of different factions.
From the press of Funk Wagnalls we have "Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; Musician, His Life and Letters," by W. C. Berwick Sayres.
Dean B. G. Brawley, of Morehouse College, contributed to the January number of "The South Atlantic Quarterly" an article entitled "Pre-Raphaelitism and Its Literary Relations."
C. F. Heartman, New York, has published the poems of Jupiter Hammon, a slave born in Long Island, New York, about 1720. Nothing is known of Hammon's early life. It is probable that he was a preacher. His first poem was published December 25, 1760. They do not show any striking literary merit but give evidence of the mental development of the slave of the eighteenth century.
Dr. B. F. Riley, the noted Birmingham preacher and social worker, is planning to bring out a biography of Booker T. Washington. Dr. Riley is a white man and is the author of "The White Man's Burden," an historical and sociological work written in behalf of the rights of all humanity irrespective of class or condition.
Dr. C. G. Woodson has been asked to write for the revised edition of the "Encyclopaedia Americana" the article on "Negro Education."
The Cambridge University Press has published "The Northern Bantu," by J. Roscoe. This is a short history of some central African tribes of the Uganda Protectorate.
J. A. Winter contributed to the July number of "The South African Journal of Science" a paper entitled "The Mental and Moral Capabilities of the Natives, Especially of Sekukuniland."
In "Folk Lore," September 30, 1915, appeared "Some Algerian Superstitions noted among the Shawai Berbers of the Aures Mountains and their Nomad Neighbors."
Murray has published in London "A History of the Gold Coast and Ashanti" in two volumes, by W. W. Claridge. The introduction is written by the Governor of the Gold Coast, Sir Hugh Clifford. It covers the period from the earliest times to the commencement of the present century. The volume commences with an account of the Akan tribes and their existence in two main branches—Fanti and Ashanti. Beginning with the early voyages, the author gives an extensive sketch of European discovery and settlement.
"A History of South Africa from the Earliest Days to the Union," by W. C. Scully, has appeared under the imprint of Longmans, Green and Company.
Fisher Unwin has published "South West Africa," by W. Eveleigh. The volume gives a brief account of the history, resources and possibilities of that country.
HOW THE PUBLIC RECEIVED THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY
My dear Dr. Woodson:
I thank you cordially for sending me a copy of the first issue of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY. It is a real pleasure to see a journal of this kind, dignified in form and content, and conforming in every way to the highest standards of modern historical research. You and your colleagues are to be congratulated on beginning your enterprise with such promise, and you certainly have my very best wishes for the future success of an undertaking so significant for the history of Negro culture in America and the world.
I feel it a duty to assist concretely in work of this kind, and accordingly I enclose my check for sixteen dollars, of which fifteen dollars are in payment of a life membership fee in the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, and one dollar for a year's subscription to the JOURNAL.
Very sincerely yours,
J. E. Spingarn
Dear Dr. Woodson:
Thank you for sending me the first number of your QUARTERLY JOURNAL. Mr. Bowen had already loaned me his copy and I had been meaning to write to you, stating how much I liked the looks of the magazine, the page, the print, and how good the matter of this first number seemed to me to be. I am going to ask the library here to subscribe to it and I shall look over each number as it comes out. Enclosed is my cheque for five dollars which you can add to your research fund.
Very truly yours,
Edward Channing, Mclean Professor of Ancient and Modern History, Harvard University
My dear Dr. Woodson:
No words of mine can express the delight with which I am reading the first copy of your JOURNAL, nor the supreme satisfaction I feel that such an organization as the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History is in actual and active existence. Inclosed find check for sixteen dollars for one year's subscription to the JOURNAL and a life membership in the Association.
Very truly yours,
Leila Amos Pendleton Washington, D.C.
Dear Sir:
I have read with considerable interest Number 1 of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY. The enterprise seems to me to be an excellent one and deserving of enthusiastic support.
Yours sincerely,
A. A. Goldenweiser, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University
Dear Sir:
Last week I chanced to see a copy of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY, January number, and while I didn't have opportunity to read it fully, I was very favorably impressed with it; so much so that I am sending my check for one year's subscription, including the January number. Allow me to hope much success may attend this undertaking and that subsequent numbers be as elegant and attractive as this one.
Yours very truly,
T. Spotuas Burwell
Dear Sir:
I want to congratulate you on the appearance and contents of this first number. It has received most favorable comment from every one to whom I have shown it. I certainly wish it every success.
Yours truly,
Caroline B. Chapin Englewood, N.J.
Dear Mr. Woodson:
I have examined with more than usual interest the copy of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY which has just reached me through your courtesy. It certainly looks hopeful and I trust that the venture may prove its usefulness very quickly. I am sending you my check for a subscription as I shall be glad to receive subsequent issues.
Wishing you great success in your editorial position and hoping that the idea of the organization may be attained, I remain,
Yours very truly,
F.w. Shepardson, Professor of American History, The University of Chicago
My dear Dr. Woodson:
I looked over the first number of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY with much interest. It bears every evidence of a scientific disposition on the part of the editor and his board.
Yours sincerely,
Ferdinand Schevill, Professor of European History, The University of Chicago
My dear Dr. Woodson:
Your magazine is excellent. I am noting it in the current Crisis.
Very sincerely Yours,
W. E. B. DuBois, Editor of the Crisis
My dear Dr. Woodson:
Enclosed find my check for $1 for one year's subscription to THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY. I am enjoying the reading of the first issue and shall look forward with interest to the coming of each successive one.
With best wishes for the work, I am,
Very truly yours,
T. C. Williams, Manassas, Va.
My dear Dr. Woodson:
I have read THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY with pleasure, interest, profit and withal, amazement. The typographical appearance, the size and the strong scholastic historical articles reveal research capacity of the writers, breadth of learning and fine literary taste. Having been the editor of the Voice of the Negro and knowing somewhat of the literary capacity of the best writers of the race, I cannot but express satisfaction and amazement with this new venture under your leadership. I sincerely hope and even devoutly pray that this latest born from the brain of the Negro race may grow in influence and power, as it deserves, to vindicate for the thinkers of the race their claim to citizenship in the republic of thought and letters. Count upon me as a fellow worker.
Yours sincerely,
J. W. E. Bowen Vice-President of Gammon Theological Seminary
My Dear Dr. Woodson:
I have examined with interest the first number of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY, which you so kindly sent me. It is a credit to its editors and contributors and I hope it may continue to preserve high standards and to prosper.
Sincerely yours,
Frederick J. Turner, Professor of American History in Harvard University
My dear Dr. Woodson:
I am obliged to you for your copy of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY and am interested in knowing that you have undertaken this interesting work. I shall endeavor to see that it is ordered for our library. I should suppose that if you could manage to float it and keep it going for a few years, at least, that it would have considerable historical value.
Very sincerely yours,
A. C. Mclaughlin, Head of the Department of American History, The University of Chicago
My dear Dr. Woodson:
Thank you for sending me the JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY, which I have examined with interest and which I am calling to the attention of the Harvard Library. You have struck a good field of work, and I am sure you can achieve genuine results in it.
Sincerely yours,
Charles H. Haskins, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School
My dear Dr. Woodson:
Please accept my thanks for an initial copy of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY which you were kind enough to send me. I am delighted with it. Its mechanical makeup leaves nothing to be desired and its contents possess a permanent value. It should challenge the support of all forward-looking men of the race and command the respect of the thinking men of the entire country regardless of creed or color. I wish you the fullest measure of success in this unique undertaking.
Your friend,
J.w. Scott, Principal of the Douglass High School, Huntington, W. Va.
My dear Mr. Woodson:
I wish to acknowledge the receipt of the first number of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY. I have read it with much interest and congratulate you, as the editor, upon your achievement. The more I think of the matter, the more do I believe there is a place for such a publication. The history of the Negro in Africa, in the West Indies, in Spanish America, and in the United States offers a large field in which little appears to have been done.
Very truly yours,
A. H. Buffinton, Instructor in History, Williams College
My dear Sir:
A copy of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY was received yesterday and I wish to thank you and the gentlemen associated with you for this magnificent effort. There is "class" to this magazine, more "class" than I have seen in any of our race journals. May I say, notwithstanding the fact that I edited a race magazine once myself, the whole magazine is clean and high and deserves a place in our homes and college libraries alongside with the great periodicals of the land.
Yours very truly,
J. Max Barber
Dear Sirs:
Please find enclosed my subscription of one dollar in cash to THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY, and permit me to congratulate you on your first publication.
Very truly yours,
Oswald Garrison Villard
Dear Sir:
The first number of your magazine reached me a few days ago. It is a fine publication, doing credit to its editor and to the association. I think it has a fine field.
Sincerely yours,
T. G. Steward, Captain, U. S. Army, Retired
Dear Dr. Woodson:
I have the first number of THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY. Permit me to congratulate you and to earnestly hope that it may live long and prosper. It is excellent in purpose, matter and method. If the present high standard is maintained, you and your friends will not only make a most valuable contribution to a dire need of the Negro, but you will add in a substantial measure to current historical data.
Truly yours,
D. S. S. Goodloe, Principal, Maryland Normal and Industrial School
"Why then, should the new year be signalized by the appearance of a magazine bearing the title THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY? How can there be such a thing as history for a race which is just beginning to live? For the JOURNAL does not juggle with words; by 'history' it means history and not current events. The answer is to be found within its pages...."
"But the outstanding feature of the new magazine is just the fact of its appearance. Launched at Chicago by a new organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, it does not intend 'to drift into the discussion of the Negro Problem,' but rather to 'popularize the movement of unearthing the Negro and his contributions to civilization ... believing that facts properly set forth will speak for themselves.'"
"This is a new and stirring note in the advance of the black man. Comparatively few of any race have a broad or accurate knowledge of its part. It would be absurd to expect that the Negro will carry about in his head many details of a history from which he is separated by a tremendous break. It is not absurd to expect that he will gradually learn that he, too, has a heritage of something beside shame and wrong. By that knowledge he may be uplifted as he goes about his task of building from the bottom."
The New York Evening Post.
When men of any race begin to show pride in their own antecedents we have one of the surest signs of prosperity and rising civilization. That is one reason why the new JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY ought to attract more than passing attention. Hitherto the history of the Negro race has been written chiefly by white men; now the educated Negroes of this country have decided to search out and tell the historic achievements of their race in their own way and from their own point of view. And, judging from the first issue of their new publication, they are going to do it in a way that will measure up to the standards set by the best historical publications of the day.
The opinions which the American Negro has hitherto held concerning his own race have been largely moulded for him by others. Himself he has given us little inkling of what his race has felt, and thought and done. Any such situation, if long enough continued, would make him a negligible factor in the intellectual life of mankind. But the educated leaders of the race, of whom our colleges and universities have been turning out hundreds in recent years, do not propose that this shall come to pass. They are going to show the Negro that his race is more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle; that Ethiopia had a history quite as illustrious as that of Nineveh or Tyre, and that the Negro may well take pride in the rock from which he was hewn. The few decades of slavery form but a small dark spot in the annals of long and great achievements. That embodies a fine attitude and one which should be thoroughly encouraged. It aims to teach the Negro that he can do his own race the best service by cultivating those hereditary racial traits which are worth preserving, and not by a fatuous imitation of his white neighbors.
At any rate, here is a historical journal of excellent scientific quality, planned and managed by Negro scholars for readers of their own race, and preaching the doctrine of racial self-consciousness. That in itself is a significant step forward.
The Boston Herald.
A new periodical, to be published quarterly, is the journal of "The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History," a society organized in Chicago in September, 1915. The commendable aim of the Association is to collect and publish historical and sociological material bearing on the Negro race. Its purpose, it is claimed, is not to drift into discussion of the Negro problem, but to publish facts which will show to posterity what the Negro has so far thought, felt, and done.
The president of the association, George C. Hall, of Chicago; its secretary-treasurer, Jesse E. Moorland, of Washington, D.C.; the editor of the JOURNAL, Carter G. Woodson, also of Washington; and the other names associated with them on the executive council and on the board of associate editors, guarantee an earnestness of purpose and a literary ability which will doubtless be able to maintain the high standard set in the first issue of the JOURNAL. The table of contents of the January number includes several historical articles of value, some sociological studies, and other contributions, all presented in dignified style and in a setting of excellent paper and type. The general style of the JOURNAL is the same as that of the American Historical Review.
The Southern Workman.
An undertaking which deserves a cordial welcome began in the publication, in January, of the first number of the Journal of Negro History, edited by Mr. Carter G. Woodson, and published at 2223 Twelfth Street, N.W., Washington, by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, formed at Chicago in September, 1915. The price is but $1 per annum. The objects of the Association and of the journal are admirable—not the discussion of the "negro problem," which is sure, through other means, of discussion ample in quantity at least, but to exhibit the facts of negro history, to save and publish the records of the black race, to make known by competent articles and by documents what the negro has thought and felt and done. The first number makes an excellent beginning, with an article by the editor on the Negroes of Cincinnati prior to the Civil War; one by W. B. Hartgrove on the career of Maria Louise Moore and Fannie M. Richards, mother and daughter, pioneers in negro education in Virginia and Detroit; one by Monroe N. Work, on ancient African civilization; and one by A. O. Stafford, on negro proverbs. The reprinting of a group of articles on slavery in the American Museum of 1788 by "Othello," a negro, and of selections from the Baptist Annual Register, 1790-1802, respecting negro Baptist churches, gives useful aid toward better knowledge of the American negro at the end of the eighteenth century.
The American Historical Review.
* * * * *
THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY
VOL. I—JUNE, 1916—No. 3
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY
CONTENTS
JOHN H. RUSSELL, Ph.D.: Colored Freemen as Slave Owners in Virginia
JOHN H. PAYNTER, A.M.: The Fugitives of the Pearl
BENJAMIN BRAWLEY: Lorenzo Dow
LOUIS R. MEHLINGER: The Attitude of the Free Negro Toward African Colonization
DOCUMENTS: TRANSPLANTING FREE NEGROES TO OHIO FROM 1815 TO 1858: Blacks and Mulattoes, New Style Colonization, Freedom in a Free State, The Randolph Slaves, The Republic of Liberia. A TYPICAL COLONIZATION CONVENTION: Convention of Free Colored People, Emigration of the Colored Race, Circular, Address to the Free Colored People of the State of Maryland, Proceedings of the Convention of Free Colored People of the State of Maryland
REVIEWS OF BOOKS: ABEL'S The Slaveholding Indians. Volume I: As Slaveholder and Secessionist; GEORGE'S The Political History of Slavery in the United States; CLARK'S The Constitutional Doctrines of Justice Harlan; THOMPSON'S Reconstruction in Georgia, Economic, Social, Political, 1865—1872
NOTES
THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF NEGRO LIFE AND HISTORY, INCORPORATED
41 North Queen Street, Lancaster, PA. 2223 Twelfth Street, Washington, D. C.
25 Cents A Copy $1.00 A Year
Copyright, 1916
COLORED FREEMEN AS SLAVE OWNERS IN VIRGINIA[1]
Among the quaint old seventeenth century statutes of Virginia may be found the following significant enactment:
No negro or Indian though baptized and enjoyned their own freedome shall be capable of any purchase of Christians but yet not debarred from buying any of their owne nation.[2]
"Christians" in this act means persons of the white race. Indented servitude was the condition and status of no small part of the white population of Virginia when this law was enacted. While it is not a part of our purpose in this article to show that white servants were ever bound in servitude to colored masters, the inference from this prohibition upon the property rights of the free Negroes is that colored freemen had at least attempted to acquire white or "Christian" servants. In a revision of the law seventy-eight years later it was deemed necessary to retain the prohibition and to annex the provision that if any free Negro or mulatto "shall nevertheless presume to purchase a Christian white servant, such servant shall immediately become free."[3]
If we see in these laws nothing more than precautionary measures against a possible reversal of the usual order of white master and black servant to that of black master and white servant, they are nevertheless significant as commentaries on the extent of the remaining unimpaired property rights of black freemen. Only in the light of these prohibitions do we see the full significance of the last clause of the act which reads: "but yet not debarred from buying any of their owne nation."
With no evidence beyond this explicit admission in the written law of the right of free Negroes to own servants and slaves of their own race it could scarcely be doubted that there were in the colony colored men known to the framers of this law who held to service persons of their own race and color. But when the court records are opened and the strange story of the free Negro Anthony Johnson and his slave John Casor is read and understood we are forced to a realization of the impartial attitude of the law toward black masters not only in its outward expression but also in its actual application. The story of the relation of these two black settlers in the young colony is worth relating in the quaint language of the times word for word as it appears in the manuscript records.
The deposition of Capt. Samll. Goldsmyth taken in open court 8th of March [16]54 sayeth that being att ye house of Anth. Johnson Negro about ye beginning of November last to receive a Hogsd of tobac, a negro called Jno. Casor came to this depo[nen]t & told him yt hee came into Virginia for seaven or eight years of Indenture; yt hee had demanded his freedome of Antho. Johnson his mayster & further sd yt hee had kept him his serv[ant] seaven years longer than hee should or ought; and desired that this Depont would see yt hee might have noe wronge; whereupon your depont demanded of Anth. Johnson his Indenture. the sd Johnson answered hee never saw any. The negro Jno. Casor replyed when hee came in he had an Indenture. Anth. Johnson sd hee had ye Negro for his life, but Mr. Robert & George Parker sd they knewe that ye sd Negro had an Indenture in one Mr. S[andys?] hand on ye other side of ye Baye. Further sd Mr. Robert Parker & his Brother George sd (if the sd. Anth. Johnson did not let ye negro go free) the said negro Jno Casor would recover most of his Cows from him ye sd Johnson. Then Anth. Johnson (as this dep't. did suppose) was in a great feare.... Anth. Johnsons sonne in Law, his wife & his own two sonnes persuaded the old negro Anth. Johnson to sett the sd. Jno. Casor free ... more sth not.
Samll Goldsmyth.
Eight March Anno 1654.[4]
John Casor was not, however, permitted to enjoy long his freedom. Johnson decided to petition the county court to determine whether John Casor was a slave for life or a servant "for seven years of indenture." The court record of the suit is as follows:
Whereas complaint was this daye made to ye court by ye humble peticion of Anth. Johnson Negro ag[ains]t Mr. Robert Parker that hee detayneth one John Casor a Negro the plaintiffs Serv[an]t under pretense yt the sd Jno. Casor is a freeman the court seriously considering & maturely weighing ye premises doe fynd that ye sd Mr. Robert Parker most unrightly keepeth ye sd Negro John Casor from his r[igh]t mayster Anth. Johnson as it appeareth by ye Deposition of Capt. Samll Gold smith & many probable circumstances. be it therefore ye Judgement of ye court & ordered that ye sd Jno. Casor negro, shall forthwith bee turned into ye service of his sd master Anthony Johnson and that the sd Mr. Robert Parker make payment of all charges in the suite and execution.[5]
In thus sustaining the claim of Anth. Johnson to the perpetual service of John Casor the court gave judicial sanction to the right of Negroes to own slaves of their own race. Indeed no earlier record, to our knowledge, has been found of judicial support given to slavery in Virginia except as a punishment for crime. Additional gleanings from the records show that this black slavemaster was a respected citizen of wealth and one of the very earliest Negro arrivals upon this continent, if, indeed, he was not one of the first twenty brought in on the Dutch man-of-war in 1619. Every doubt of the correctness of this assertion should be banished by a perusal of the somewhat detailed evidence upon which the conclusion is based.
The discovery of the fact that Anthony Johnson was a slaveowner led to a further examination of court records and land patents for additional information concerning him. In the court records of Northampton County in 1653 it was found recorded that "Anth. Johnson negro hath this daye made his compl[ain]t to ye court that John Johnson, Senr. most unrightly detayneth a pattent of his for 450 acres of land (which pattent sd. Jno. Johnson negro claymeth & boldly affirmeth to bee his land."[6]
A search in the early land patents of the State revealed a grant by the authorities of the State of two hundred and fifty acres of land in Northampton County to Anthony Johnson a Negro. The grant was made as "head rights" upon the importation by the Negro of five persons into the colony.[7] Still pursuing the record of this black freeman, who was able to maintain a slave, the following was discovered in the records of the county court of Northampton:
Upon ye humble pet[ition] of Anth. Johnson negro & Mary his wife & their Information to ye Court that they have been Inhabitants in Virginia above thirty years, consideration being taken of their hard labor and honored service performed by the petitioners in this Country for ye obtayneing of their Livelyhood and ye great Llosse they have sustained by an unfortunate fire with their present charge to provide for. Be it therefore fitt and ordered that from the day of the debate hearof during their natural lives the sd Mary Johnson & two daughters of Anthony Johnson Negro be disingaged and freed from payment of Taxes and leavyes in Northampton County for public use.[8]
Subtracting thirty years from 1652, the date of this order of the court, it appeared that this Negro and his wife were in Virginia in 1622. Examination of a census taken in Virginia after the Indian massacre of 1622 and called "The Lists of Living and Dead in Virginia" revealed the fact that there were only four Negroes in the colony beside the surviving nineteen out of the twenty that came in in 1619. The name of one of these four was Mary and the name of one of the first twenty was Anthony.[9] It may with good reason be surmised, if it cannot be proved, that Mary became the wife of Anthony and that in the course of the next thirty years they acquired the surname Johnson as well as a large tract of land and a slave by the name of John Casor.
THE EXISTENCE OF BLACK MASTERS AFTER COLONIAL TIMES
Some readers may be inclined to regard the case of the slave John Casor as altogether exceptional and peculiar to an early period in the growth of slavery before custom had fully crystallized into law. It is true that similar examples are hard to find in the seventeenth century when the free Negroes were few in number. But if from the paucity of examples it is argued that such a case was a freak of the seventeenth century and that nothing similar could have occurred after slavery became a settled and much regulated institution, the answer is that slave-owning by free Negroes was so common in the period of the Commonwealth as to pass unnoticed and without criticism by those who consciously recorded events of the times. For abundant proof of the relation of black master and black slave we must refer again to court records and legislative petitions from which events and incidents were not omitted because of their common occurrence. Deeds of sale and transfer of slaves to free Negroes, wills of free Negroes providing for a future disposition of slaves, and records of suits for freedom against free Negroes, all relate too well the story of how black masters owned slaves of their own race, to require additional proof.
The following record of the court of Henrico County under date of 1795 is an example of what is to be found in the records of any of the older counties of Virginia:
Know all men by these presents that I, James Radford of the County of Henrico for and in consideration of the sum of thirty-three pounds current money of Virginia to me in hand paid by George Radford a black freeman of the city of Richmond hath bargained and sold unto George Radford one negro woman aggy, to have and to hold the said negro slave aggy unto the said George Radford his heirs and assigns forever.
James Radford (seal)[10]
Judith Angus, a well-to-do free woman of color of Petersburg, was the owner of two household slaves. Before her death in 1832 she made a will which provided that the two slave girls should continue in the service of the family until they earned money enough to enable them to leave the State and thus secure their freedom according to law.[11]
From the records of the Hustings Court of Richmond may be gotten the account of a suit for freedom begun by Sarah, a slave, against Mary Quickly, a free black woman of the city. It is worthy of note that no claim was made by the plaintiff that Mary Quickly, being a black woman, had no right to own a slave. The grounds for the suit had no relation whatever to the race or color of the defendant, Mary Quickly.[12]
The only evidence at hand of the kind of relations that existed between black masters and their chattel slaves is supplied by the word of old men who remember events of the last two decades before the war. All that have been heard to speak of the matter are unanimously of the opinion that black masters had difficulty in subordinating and controlling their slaves. William Mundin, a mulatto barber of Richmond, seventy-five years of age, when interviewed, but still of trustworthy memory and character, is authority for the statement that Reuben West, a comparatively wealthy free colored barber of Richmond, went into the slave market and purchased a slave cook, but because of the spirit of insub ordination manifested by the slave woman toward him and his family he disposed of her by sale. James H. Hill, another free colored man to whose statements a good degree of credence is due, corroborates in many points this story about Reuben West as a slaveowner. His statement is that Reuben West was a free colored barber of some wealth and the owner at one time of two slaves, one of whom was a barber working in his master's shop on Main Street. So much of these statements has been confirmed by reference to tax books and court records that the entire story may be accepted as true.
A TRULY BENEVOLENT SLAVERY
The type of black master represented by Reuben West or Anthony Johnson must be distinguished from the colored slaveowner who kept his slaves in bondage, not for their service, but wholly in consideration of the slaves. A very considerable majority of black masters, unlike the examples above cited, were easily the most benevolent known to history. It was owing to a drastic state policy toward freedmen that this unusually benevolent type of slavery arose.
During the last quarter of the eighteenth century slaveowners in Virginia possessed unrestricted powers to bestow freedom upon their slaves. Under such circumstances free blacks became instrumental in procuring freedom for many of their less fortunate kinsmen. They frequently advanced for a slave friend the price at which his white master held him for sale and, having liberated him, trusted him to refund the price of his freedom. A free member of a colored family would purchase whenever able his slave relatives. The following deed of sale is a striking example of such a purchase:
Know all men of these presents that I David A. Jones of Amelia County of the one part have for and in consideration of the sum of five hundred dollars granted unto Frank Gromes a black man of the other part a negro woman named Patience and two children by name Phil and Betsy to have and to hold the above named negroes to the only proper use, behalf and benefit of him and his heirs forever.
David Jones (seal)[13]
Phil Cooper, of Gloucester County, in 1828 was the chattel slave of his free wife. Janette Wood of Richmond was manumitted in 1795 by her mother, "natural love" being the only consideration named in the legal instrument. John Sabb, of Richmond, purchased in 1801 his aged father-in-law Julius and for the nominal consideration of five shillings executed a deed of manumission.[14]
Purchases of this kind before 1806 were usually followed immediately by manumission of the slave. Scattered through the deeds and wills of Virginia County records in the quarter century ending with 1806 are to be found numerous documents of which the following is an example:
To all whom these presents may come know ye, that I Peter Hawkins a free black man of the city of Richmond having purchased my wife Rose, a slave about twenty-two years of age and by her have had a child called Mary now about 18 mo. old, for the love I bear toward my wife and child have thought proper to emancipate them and for the further consideration of five shillings to me in hand paid ... I emancipate and set free the said Rose and Mary and relinquish all my right ... as slaves to the said Rose and Mary.
Peter Hawkins (seal)[15]
Indeed the kindness of free Negroes toward their friends and relatives seeking freedom afforded such an accessible avenue to liberty that those vigilant white citizens who desired to preserve the institution of slavery deemed it necessary to put obstructions in the way. A law which required any slave manumitted after May 1, 1806 to leave the State within the space of twelve months was passed in 1806 and remained in force until the war rendered it obsolete. Forfeiture of freedom was the penalty for refusal to accept banishment. From this act dates the beginning of this benevolent type of slavery. Free Negroes continued to purchase their relatives but held them as slaves, refusing to decree their banishment by executing a deed or will of manumission.
A pathetic example of this kind was the case of Negro Daniel Webster of Prince William County. At the age of sixty when an illness forced him to the conclusion that life was short, he sent a petition to the legislature saying that he had thus far avoided the evil consequences of the law of 1806 by retaining his family in nominal slavery but that then he faced the alternative of manumitting his family to see it disrupted and banished or of holding his slave family together till his death, when its members like other property belonging to his estate would be sold as slaves to masters of a different type. He begged that exception be made to the law of 1806 in the case of his wife and children so that he might feel at liberty to manumit them.[16]
A similar petition to the Legislature in 1839 by Ermana, a slave woman, stated that her husband and owner had been a free man of color, that he had died intestate and that she, her children and her property had escheated to the literary fund. Scores of similar petitions to the Legislature for special acts of relief tell the story of how black men and women who owned members of their families neglected too long to remove from them the status of property.
A case more amusing than pathetic was that of Betsy Fuller, a free Negro huckstress of Norfolk, and her slave husband. The colored man's legal status was that of property belonging to his wife. Upon the approach of the Civil War he was blatant in his advocacy of Southern views, thus evincing his indifference to emancipation.[17]
Feeble efforts were made by the legislature for a score of years before the war to limit the power of free Negroes to acquire slaves for profit. By an act of 1832 free Negroes were declared incapable of purchasing or otherwise acquiring permanent ownership, except by descent, of any slaves other than husband, wife, and children. Contracts for the sale of a slave to a black man were to be regarded as void.[18] But even this attempt at limitation was passed by a bare majority of one.[19] Within three years of the beginning of the War the law was revised to read: "No free negro shall be capable of acquiring, except by descent, any slave." [20] In the opinion of a judge who passed upon this law, its object was "to keep slaves as far as possible under the control of white men only, and to prevent free negroes from holding persons of their own race in personal subjection to themselves. Perhaps also it is intended to evince the distinctive superiority of the white race." [21]
Whatever may have been their object these acts are of more significance because of the story they tell than they ever were in accomplishing the emancipation of slaves from masters of the black race. The period of the existence of the black master was conterminous with the period of the existence of slavery. By the same immortal proclamation which broke the shackles of slaves serving white masters were rent asunder, also, the bonds which held slaves to masters of their own race and color.
JOHN H. RUSSELL, PH.D., (Professor of Political Science, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Acknowledgments are due to the Johns Hopkins Press for permitting the use in this article of data included in the author's monograph entitled "The Free Negro in Virginia, 1619-1865."
[2] Hening's Statutes at Large of Virginia, Vol. II, p. 280 (1670). Italics my own.
[3] Hening, Vol. V, p. 550.
[4] Original MS. Records of the County Court of Northampton. Orders, Deeds and Wills, 1651-1654, p. 20.
[5] Original MS. Records of the County Court of Northampton. Orders, Deeds and Wills, 1651-1654, p. 10.
[6] Original MS. Records of Northampton Co., 1651-1654, p. 200.
[7] MS. Land Patents of Virginia, 1643-1651, 326.
[8] MS. Court Records of Northampton Co., 1651-1654, p. 161.
[9] J. C. Hotten, "Lists of Emigrants to America," pp. 218-258.
[10] MS. Deeds of Henrico County, No. 5, p. 585.
[11] MS Legislative Petitions, Dinwiddie County, 1833, A 5123, Virginia State Library.
[12] Orders of the Hustings Court of Richmond, Vol. 5, p. 41.
[13] MS. Deeds of Henrico County, No. 4, p. 692.
[14] MS. Deeds of Henrico County, No. 6, p. 274.
[15] MS. Deeds of Henrico County, No. 6, p. 78.
[16] MS. Legislative Petitions, Prince William Co., 1812, Virginia State Library.
[17] Lower Norfolk County Antiquary, Vol. IV, p. 177.
[18] Acts of Assembly, 1831-1832, p. 20.
[19] Senate Journal, 1832, p. 176.
[20] Acts of Assembly, 1857-1858.
[21] Grattan's Reports, Vol. 14, p. 260.
THE FUGITIVES OF THE PEARL
The traditional history of the Negro in America, during nearly three hundred years, is one in which the elements of pathos, humor and tragedy are thoroughly mixed and in which the experiences encountered are of a kind to grip the hearts and consciences of men of every race and every creed. Just as colonial Americans resented their enforced enlistment for maritime service under the flag of King George, so it may be assumed that with equal vigor did the little band of Africans object to a forced expatriation from their native wilds, even though, as it happened, they were destined to be, in part, the builders of a great and prosperous nation and the progenitors of a strong and forward-looking race.
There are few incidents that distinguish the bondage of the descendants of that first boat load of involuntary African explorers, that evince, in so large a degree, the elements alluded to, as do those which cluster about the story of the "Edmondson Children." There were altogether fourteen sons and daughters of Paul and Amelia who passed as devoutly pious and respectable old folks. Paul was a freeman who hired his time in the city. Amelia was a slave. Their little cabin, a few miles out of the city of Washington proper, was so neat and orderly that it was regarded as a model for masters and slaves alike for many miles around. They were thus permitted to live together by the owners of Amelia, who realized how much more valuable the children would be as a marketable group after some years of such care and attention as the mother would be sure to bestow. Milly, as she was familiarly called, reared the children, tilled the garden, and, being especially handy with the needle, turned off many a job of sewing for the family of her mistress. She was entirely ignorant so far as books go, but Paul read the Bible to her when visiting his loved ones on Sunday and what he explained she remembered and treasured up for comfort in her moments of despair.
The older boys and girls were hired out in prominent families in the city and by their intelligence, orderly conduct and other evidences of good breeding came to be known far and wide as "The Edmondson Children," the phrase being taken as descriptive of all that was excellent and desirable in a slave. The one incurable grief of these humble parents was that in bringing children into the world they were helping to perpetuate the institution of slavery. The fear that any day might bring to them the cruel pangs of separation and the terrible knowledge that their loved ones had been condemned to the horrors of the auction block was with them always a constant shadow, darkening each waking moment. More and ever more, they were torn with anxiety for the future of the children and so they threw themselves with increasing faith and dependence upon the Master of all, and no visit of the children was so hurried or full of other matters but that a few moments were reserved for prayer. At their departure, one after another was clasped to the mother's breast and always this earnest admonition followed them, "Be good children and the blessed Lord will take care of you." Louisa and Joseph, the two youngest, were still at home when there occurred events in which several of their older brothers and sisters took so prominent a part and which are here to be related.
The incidents of this narrative which are reflected in its title are contemporary with and in a measure resultant from the revolution out of which came the establishment of the first French Republic and the expulsion of Louis-Philippe in 1848. The citizens of the United States were felicitating their brothers across the water upon the achievement of so desirable a result. In Washington especially, the event was joyously acclaimed. Public meetings were held at which representatives of the people in both houses of Congress spoke encouragingly of the recent advance toward universal liberty. The city was regally adorned with flags and bunting and illumination and music everywhere. The White House was elaborately decorated in honor of the event and its general observance, scheduled for April 13. A procession of national dignitaries, local organizations and the civic authorities, accompanied by several bands of music and throngs of citizens, made its way to the open square (now Lafayette Park) opposite the White House. Speeches were in order. Among the addresses which aroused the large crowd to enthusiasm were those of Senator Patterson of Tennessee and Senator Foote of Mississippi.[1] The former likened the Tree of Liberty to the great cotton-wood tree of his section, whose seed is blown far and wide, while the latter spoke eloquently of the universal emancipation of man and the approaching recognition in all countries of the great principles of equality and brotherhood.
Here and there huddled unobtrusively in groups on the fringe of the crowd were numbers of slaves. The enthusiasm of the throng, frequently manifested in shouts of approval, was discreetly reflected in the suppressed excitement of the slaves, who whispered among themselves concerning the curious and incredible expressions they had heard. Could it possibly be that these splendid truths, this forecast of universal liberty, might include them too? A few of the more intelligent, among whom was Samuel Edmondson, drew together to discuss the event and were not long concluding that the authority they had listened to could not be questioned and that they should at once contribute their share towards so desirable a consummation.
Coincident with this celebration there had arrived at Washington the schooner Pearl with Daniel Drayton[2] as super-cargo, Captain Sayres, owner, and a young man, Chester English, as sailor and cook. Drayton witnessed the great demonstration near the White House and, as might have been expected, the sentiment that seemed to have won all Washington found a natural and active response, for when the news of the purpose of his visit was communicated by the woman for whose deliverance he had agreed to make the trip, he was appealed to on behalf of others and consented to take all who should be aboard by ten o'clock that night.
The Edmondson boys actively promoted the scheme and, rightly in so just a cause, abused the privileges which their integrity and unusual intelligence had won for them. The news was passed to an aggregate of 77 persons, all of whom faithfully appeared and were safely stowed away between decks before midnight. Samuel sought his sisters Emily and Mary at their places of employment and acquainted them with his purpose. They at first hesitated on account of the necessity of leaving without seeing their mother, but were soon persuaded that it was an opportunity they should not be willing to neglect.
The Pearl cast free from her moorings shortly after midnight Saturday and silently, with no sign of life aboard, save running lights fore and aft, crept out to mid-stream and made a course towards the lower Potomac. The condition that obtained on Sunday morning after the discovery of the absence of so many slaves from their usual duties may be accurately described as approaching a panic. Had the evidences of a dreadful plague become as suddenly manifest, the community could not have experienced a greater sense of horror or for the moment been more thoroughly paralyzed. A hundred or more families were affected through the action of these seventy and seven slaves and the stern proofs of their flight were many times multiplied.
The action of the masters in this emergency is eloquent testimony that the fine orations of two days before concerning the spread of liberty and universal brotherhood had been nothing more than so many meaningless conversations. When confronted on Sunday morning with the fact that theirs and their neighbors' slaves, in so great numbers, had disappeared during the night, the realization of the difference between popular enthusiasm for a sentiment and a real sacrifice for a principle was borne in upon them and they found that while they enjoyed the former they were not at all ready to espouse the latter.
As a result the day was but little advanced when an excited cavalcade of the masters, after scouring every portion of the city, broke for the open country to the North, designing to cover each of the roads leading from the city. They had not reached the District limits, however, when they whirled about and galloped furiously in the opposite direction and never checked rein, until panting and foaming, their horses were brought up at the wharves. A vessel was chartered and steamed away almost immediately on its mission to capture the party of runaway slaves. |
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