SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF SLAVERY.
The mildness of slavery in Pennsylvania impressed every observer.
Acrelius said that negroes were treated better there than anywhere else
in America. Peter Kalm said that compared with the condition of white
servants their condition possessed equal advantages except that they
were obliged to serve their whole life-time without wages. Hector St.
John Crèvecoeur declared that they enjoyed as much liberty as their
masters, that they were in effect part of their masters' families, and
that, living thus, they considered themselves happier than many of the
lower class of whites.[109] There is good reason for believing these
statements, since a careful study of the sources shows that generally
masters used their negroes kindly and with moderation.[110]
Living in a land of plenty the slaves were well fed and comfortably
clothed. They had as good food as the white servants, says one
traveller, and another says as good as their masters.[111] In 1759 the
yearly cost of the food of a slave was reckoned at about twenty per
cent. of his value.[112] Likewise they were well clad, their clothes
being furnished by the masters. That clothes were a considerable item
of expense is shown by the old household accounts and diaries. Acrelius
computed the yearly cost at five per cent. of a slave's value.[113]
In the newspaper advertisements for runaways occur particularly full
descriptions of their dress.[114] Almost always they have a coat or
jacket, shoes, and stockings.[115] It is true that when they ran
away they generally took the best they had, if not all they had; but
making due allowance it seems certain that they were well clad, as an
advertiser declared.[116]
As to shelter, since the climate and economy of Pennsylvania never
gave rise to a plantation life, rows of negro cabins and quarters for
the hands never became a distinctive feature. Slaves occupied such
lodgings as were assigned to white servants, generally in the house of
the master. This was doubtless not the case where a large number was
held. They can hardly have been so accommodated by Jonathan Dickinson
of Philadelphia, who had thirty-two.[117]
In the matter of service their lot was a fortunate one. There seems to
be no doubt that they were treated much more kindly than the negroes in
the West Indies, and that they were far happier than the slaves in the
lower South. It is said that they were not obliged to labor more than
white people, and, although this may hardly have been so, and although,
indeed, there is occasional evidence that they were worked hard, yet
for the most part it is clear that they were not overworked.[118] The
advertisements of negroes for sale show, as might be expected, that
most of the slaves were either house-servants or farm-hands.[119]
Nevertheless the others were engaged in a surprisingly large number
of different occupations. Among them were bakers, blacksmiths,
brick-layers, brush-makers, carpenters, coopers, curriers, distillers,
hammermen, refiners, sail-makers, sailors, shoe-makers, tailors, and
tanners.[120] The negroes employed at the iron-furnaces received
special mention.[121] The women cooked, sewed, did house-work, and at
times were employed as nurses.[122] When the service of negroes was
needed they were often hired from their masters, but as a rule they
were bought.[123] They were frequently trusted and treated almost like
members of the family.[124]
When the day's work was over the negroes of Pennsylvania seem to have
had time of their own which they were not too tired to enjoy. Some no
doubt found recreation in their masters' homes, gossipping, singing,
and playing on rude instruments.[125] Many sought each other's company
and congregated together after nightfall. In Philadelphia, at any rate,
during the whole colonial period, crowds of negroes infesting the
streets after dark behaved with such rough and boisterous merriment
that they were a nuisance to the whole community.[126] At times negroes
were given days of their own. They were allowed to go from one place to
another, and were often permitted to visit members of their families
in other households.[127] Moreover, holidays were not grudged them.
It is said that in Philadelphia at the time of fairs, the blacks to
the number of a thousand of both sexes used to go to "Potter's Field,"
and there amuse themselves, dancing, singing, and rejoicing, in native
barbaric fashion.[128]
If, now, from material comfort we turn to the matter of the moral and
intellectual well-being of the slaves, we find that considering the
time, surprising efforts were made to help them. In Pennsylvania there
seems never to have been opposition to improving them. Not much was
done, it is true, and perhaps most of the negroes were not reached
by the efforts made. It must be remembered, however, what violent
hostility mere efforts aroused in some other places.[129]
There is the statement of a careful observer that masters desired
by all means to hinder their negroes from being instructed in the
doctrines of Christianity, and to let them live on in pagan darkness.
This he ascribes to a fear that negroes would grow too proud on seeing
themselves upon a religious level with their masters.[130] Some weight
must be attached to this account, but it is probable that the writer
was roughly applying to Pennsylvania what he had learned in other
places, for against his assertion much specific evidence can be arrayed.
The attention of the Friends was directed to this subject very early.
The counsel of George Fox was explicit. Owners were to give their
slaves religious instruction and teach them the Gospel.[131] In 1693
the Keithian Quakers when advising that masters should hold their
negroes only for a term of years, enjoined that during such time they
should give these negroes a Christian education.[132] In 1700 Penn
appears to have been able to get a Monthly Meeting established for
them, but of the meeting no record has come down.[133] As to what was
the actual practice of Friends in this matter their early records give
meagre information. It seems certain that negroes were not allowed to
participate in their meetings, though sometimes they were taken to the
meeting-houses.[134] It is probable that in great part the religious
work of the Friends among slaves was confined to godly advice and
reading.[135] As to the amount and quality of such advice, the well
known character of the Friends leaves no doubt.
The Moravians, who were most zealous in converting negroes, did not
reach a great number in Pennsylvania, because few were held by them;
nevertheless they labored successfully, and received negroes amongst
them on terms of religious equality.[136] This also the Lutherans did
to some extent, negroes being baptized among them.[137] It is in the
case of the Episcopalians, however, that the most definite knowledge
remains. The records of Christ Church show that the negroes who
were baptized made no inconsiderable proportion of the total number
baptized in the congregation. For a period of more than seventy years
such baptisms are recorded, and are sometimes numerous.[138] At this
church, also, there was a minister who had special charge of the
religious instruction of negroes.[139] It is possible that something
may have been accomplished by missionaries and itinerant exhorters.
This was certainly so when Whitefield visited Pennsylvania in 1740.
Both he and his friend Seward noted with peculiar satisfaction the
results which they had attained.[140] Work of some value was also done
by wandering negro exhorters, who, appearing at irregular intervals,
assembled little groups and preached in fields and orchards.[141]
Something was also accomplished for negroes in the maintenance of
family life. In 1700 Penn, anxious to improve their moral condition,
sent to the Assembly a bill for the regulation of their marriages,
but much to his grief this was defeated.[142] In the absence of such
legislation they came under the law which forbade servants to marry
during their servitude without the master's consent.[143] Doubtless
in this matter there was much of the laxity which is inseparable from
slavery, but it is said that many owners allowed their slaves to marry
in accordance with inclination, except that a master would try to have
his slaves marry among themselves.[144] The marriage ceremony was
often performed just as in the case of white people, the records of
Christ Church containing many instances.[145] The children of these
unions were taught submission to their parents, who were indulged, it
is said, in educating, cherishing, and chastising them.[146] Stable
family life among the slaves was made possible by the conditions of
slavery in Pennsylvania, there being no active interchange of negroes.
When they were bought or sold families were kept together as much as
possible.[147]
In one matter connected with religious observances race prejudice was
shown: negroes were not as a rule buried in the cemeteries of white
people.[148] In some of the Friends' records and elsewhere there is
definite prohibition.[149] They were often buried in their masters'
orchards, or on the edge of woodlands. The Philadelphia negroes were
buried in a particular place outside the city.[150]
Under the kindly treatment accorded them the negroes of colonial
Pennsylvania for the most part behaved fairly well. It is true that
there is evidence that crime among them assumed grave proportions
at times, while the records of the special courts and items in the
newspapers show that there occurred murder, poisoning, arson, burglary,
and rape.[151] In addition there was frequent complaint about
tumultuous assembling and boisterous conduct, and there was undoubtedly
much pilfering.[152] Moreover the patience of many indulgent masters
was tried by the shiftless behavior and insolent bearing of their
slaves.[153] Yet the graver crimes stand out in isolation rather than
in mass; and it is too much to expect an entire absence of the lesser
ones. The white people do not seem to have regarded their negroes as
dangerous.[154] Almost never were there efforts for severe repression,
and a slave insurrection seems hardly to have been thought of.[155]
There are no statistics whatever on which to base an estimate, but
judging from the relative frequency of notices it seems probable that
crime among the negroes of Pennsylvania during the slavery period--no
doubt because they were under better control--was less than at any
period thereafter.
But there was a misdemeanor of another kind: negro slaves frequently
ran away. Fugitives are mentioned from the first,[156] and there is
hardly a copy of any of the old papers but has an advertisement for
some negro at large.[157] These notices sometimes advise that the slave
has stolen from his master; often that he has a pass, and is pretending
to be a free negro; and occasionally that a free negro is suspected of
harboring him.[158]
The law against harboring was severe and was strictly enforced. Anyone
might take up a suspicious negro; while whoever returned a runaway to
his master was by law entitled to receive five shillings and expenses.
It was always the duty of the local authorities to apprehend suspects.
When this occurred the procedure was to lodge the negro in jail, and
advertise for the master, who might come, and after proving title and
paying costs, take him away. Otherwise the negro was sold for a short
time to satisfy jail fees, advertised again, and finally either set at
liberty or disposed of as pleased the local court.[159]
This fleeing from service on the part of negro slaves, while varying
somewhat in frequency, was fairly constant during the whole slavery
period, increasing as the number of slaves grew larger. During
the British occupation of Philadelphia, however, it assumed such
enormous proportions that the number of negroes held there was
permanently lowered.[160] Notwithstanding, then, the kindly treatment
they received, slaves in Pennsylvania ran away. Nevertheless it is
significant that during the same period white servants ran away more
than twice as often.[161]
Many traits of daily life and marks of personal appearance which no
historian has described, are preserved in the advertisements of the
daily papers. Almost every negro seems to have had the smallpox.
To have done with this and the measles was justly considered an
enhancement in value. Some of the negroes kidnapped from Africa
still bore traces of their savage ancestry. Not a few spoke several
languages. Generally they were fond of gay dress. Some carried fiddles
when they ran away. One had made considerable money by playing. Many
little hints as to character appear. Thus Mona is full of flattery.
Cuff Dix is fond of liquor. James chews abundance of tobacco. Stephen
has a "sower countenance"; Harry, "meek countenance"; Rachel,
"remarkable austere countenance"; Dick is "much bandy legged"; Violet,
"pretty, lusty, and fat." A likely negro wench is sold because of her
breeding fast. One negro says that he has been a preacher among the
Indians. Two others fought a duel with pistols. A hundred years has
involved no great change in character.[162]
Finally, on the basis of information drawn from rare and miscellaneous
sources it becomes apparent that in slavery times there was more
kindliness and intimacy between the races than existed afterwards. In
those days many slaves were treated as if part of the master's family:
when sick they were nursed and cared for; when too old to work they
were provided for; and some were remembered in the master's will.[163]
Negroes did run away, and numbers of them desired to be free, but when
manumission came not a few of them preferred to stay with their former
owners. It was the opinion of an advocate of emancipation that they
were better off as slaves than they could possibly be as freemen.[164]
Such was slavery in Pennsylvania. If on the one hand there was the
chance of families being sold apart; if there was seen the cargo, the
slave-drove, the auction sale; it must be remembered that such things
are inseparable from the institution of slavery, and that on the
other hand they were rare, and not to be weighed against the positive
comfort and well-being of which there is such abundant proof. If ever
it be possible not to condemn modern slavery, it might seem that
slavery as it existed in Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century was a
good, probably for the masters, certainly for the slaves.[165] The
fact is that it existed in such mitigated form that it was impossible
for it to be perpetuated. Whenever men can treat their slaves as men
in Pennsylvania treated them, they are living in a moral atmosphere
inconsistent with the holding of slaves. Nothing can then preserve
slavery but paramount economic needs. In Pennsylvania, since such needs
were not paramount, slavery was doomed.
FOOTNOTES:
[109] Acrelius, _Description of New Sweden_, 169 (1759); Kalm,
_Travels_, I, 394 (1748); Hector St. John Crèvecoeur,
_Letters from an American Farmer_, 222 (just before the
Revolution).
[110] When one of Christopher Marshall's white servants "struck
and kickt" his negro woman, he "could scarcely refrain from
kicking him out of the House &c &c &c." MS. Remembrancer, E,
July 22, 1779.
[111] Kalm, I, 394; St. John Crèvecoeur, 221. Benjamin Lay
contradicts this, but allowance must always he made for the
extremeness of his assertions. _Cf._ his _All Slave-Keepers
Apostates_ (1737), 93.
[112] Acrelius, 169.
[113] St. John Crèvecoeur, 221; Kalm, I, 394; Acrelius, 169.
Personal papers contain numerous notices. "To 1 pr Shoes for
the negro ... 6" (sh.). MS. William Penn's Account Book,
1690-1693, p. 2 (1690). A "Bill rendered by Christian Grafford
to James Steel" is as follows: "Making old Holland Jeakit and
breeches fit for your Negero 0.3.0 Making 2 new Jeakits and
2 pair breeches of stripped Linen for both your Negeromans
0.14.0 And also for Little Negero boy 0.4.0 Making 2 pair
Leather Breeches, 1 for James Sanders and another for your
Negroeman Zeason 0.13.0." _Pa. Mag._, XXXIII, 121 (1740).
The bill rendered for the shoes of Thomas Penn's negroes
in 1764-1765 amounted to £7 7 sh. 3d., the price per pair
averaging about 7 sh. 6d. Penn-Physick MSS., IV, 223. Also
_ibid._, IV, 265, 267. _Cf._ Penn Papers, accounts (unbound),
Aug. 19, 1741; Christopher Marshall's Remembrancer, E, June 1,
1779.
[114] Thus Cato had on "two jackets, the uppermost a dark blue
half thick, lined with red flannel, the other a light blue
homespun flannel, without lining, ozenbrigs shirt, old leather
breeches, yarn stockings, old shoes, and an old beaver hat"
... _Pa. Gazette_, May 5, 1748. A negro from Chester County
wore "a lightish coloured cloath coat, with metal buttons,
and lined with striped linsey, a lightish linsey jacket with
sleeves, and red waistcoat, tow shirt, old lightish cloth
breeches, and linen drawers, blue stockings, and old shoes."
_Ibid._, Jan. 3, 1782. Judith wore "a green jacket, a blue
petticoat, old shoes, and grey stockings, and generally wears
silver bobbs in her ears." _Ibid._, Feb. 16, 1747-1748.
[115] _Amer. Weekly Mercury_, Jan. 31, 1721; Jan. 31, 1731; _Pa.
Gazette_, Oct. 22, 1747; May 5, 1748; Apr. 16, 1761; Jan. 3,
1782; _Pa. Journal_, Feb. 5, 1750-1751; _Pa. Mag._, XVIII, 385.
[116] _Pa. Gazette_, May 3, 1775. Supported by advertisements
_passim_.
[117] MS. Dickinson Papers, unclassified. A farm with a stone house
for negroes is mentioned in _Pa. Gaz._, June 26, 1746. "Part
of these slaves lived in their master's family, the others had
separate cabins on the farm where they reared families" ...
"Jacob Minshall Homestead" in _Reminiscence, Gleanings and
Thoughts_, No. I, 12.
[118] Kalm, _Travels_, I, 394. For treatment of negroes in the
West Indies, _cf._ Sandiford, _The Mystery of Iniquity_, 99
(1730); Benezet, _A Short Account of that Part of Africa
Inhabited by the Negroes_ (1762), 55, 56, note; Benezet,
_A Caution and Warning to Great Britain and Her Colonies
in a Short Representation of the Calamitous State of the
Enslaved Negroes_ (1766), 5-9; Benezet, _Some Historical
Account of Guinea_ (1771), chap. VIII. For treatment in
the South, _cf._ Whitefield, _Three Letters_ (1740), 13,
71; Chastellux, _Voyage en Amérique_ (1786), 130. For
treatment in Pennsylvania _cf._ Kalm, _Travels_, I, 394; St.
John Crèvecoeur, _Letters_, 221. Acrelius says that the
negroes at the iron-furnaces were allowed to stop work for
"four months in summer, when the heat is most oppressive."
_Description_, 168.
[119] _Mercury, Gazette_, and _Pa. Packet_, _passim_. Most of the
taverns seem to have had negro servants. _Cf._ MS. Assessment
Book, Chester Co., 1769, p. 146; of Bucks Co., 1779, p. 84.
[120] _Mercury_, Mar. 3. 1723-1724; Dec. 15, 1724; July 4, 1728;
Aug. 24, 1732; _Gazette_, Feb. 7, 1740; Dec. 3, 1741; May 20,
1742; Nov. 1, 1744; July 9, Dec. 3, 1761; _Packet_, July 5,
1733.
[121] "The laborers are generally composed partly of negroes
(slaves) partly of servants from Germany or Ireland" ...
Acrelius, _Description_, 168. _Cf._ Gabriel Thomas, _An
Historical and Geographical Account of the Province and
Country of Pensilvania_ (1698), etc., 28.
[122] _Mercury_, Jan. 16, 1727-1728; July 25, 1728; Nov. 7,
1728. _Gazette_, July 17, 1740; Mar. 31, 1743. "A compleat
washerwoman" is advertised in the _Gazette_, Oct. 1, 1761;
also "an extraordinary washer of clothes," _Gazette_, Apr. 12,
1775; Penn-Physick, MSS IV, 203 (1740).
[123] _Gazette_, May 19, 1743; July 11, 1745; Nov. 5, 1761; May 15,
1776; Dec. 15, 1779. _Cf._ notices in William Penn's Cash
Book (MS.), 3, 6, 9, 15, 18; John Wilson's Cash Book (MS.),
Feb. 23, 1776; MS. Phila. Account Book, 38 (1694); MS. Logan
Papers, II, 259 (1707); Richard Hayes's Ledger (MS.), 88
(1716).
[124] _Cf._ the numerous allusions to his negro woman made by
Christopher Marshall in his Remembrancer. An entry in John
Wilson's Cash Book (MS.), Apr. 27, 1770, says: "paid his"
(Joseph Pemberton's) "Negro woman Market mony ... 7/6." The
following advertisement is illustrative, although perhaps it
reveals the advertiser's art as much as the excellence and
reliability of the negress. "A likely young Negroe Wench, who
can cook and wash well, and do all Sorts of House-work; and
can from Experience, be recommended both for her Honesty and
Sobriety, having often been trusted with the Keys of untold
Money, and Liquors of various Sorts, none of which she will
taste. She is no Idler, Company-keeper or Gadder about. She
has also a fine, hearty young Child, not quite a Year old,
which is the only Reason for selling her, because her Mistress
is very sickly, and can't bear the Trouble of it." _Pa.
Gazette_, Apr. 2, 1761.
[125] "Thou Knowest Negro Peters Ingenuity In making for himself
and playing on a fiddle w^{th} out any assistance as the
thing in them is Innocent and diverting and may keep them
from worse Employmt I have to Encourage in my Service promist
him one from Engld therefore buy and bring a good Strong well
made Violin w^{th} 2 or 3 Sets of spare Gut for the Suitable
Strings get somebody of skill to Chuse and by it".... MS.
Isaac Norris, Letter Book, 1719, p. 185.
[126] See above, pp. 32-34.
[127] "Our Negro woman got leave to visit her children in Bucks
County." Christopher Marshall's Remembrancer, D, Jan. 7, 1776.
"This afternoon came home our Negro woman Dinah." _Ibid._, D,
Jan. 15, 1776.
[128] Watson, _Annals_, I, 406. _Cf._ letter of William Hamilton of
Lancaster: "Yesterday (being Negroes Holiday) I took a ride
into Maryland." _Pa. Mag._, XXIX, 257.
[129] For the treatment of William Edmundson when he tried to
convert negroes in the West Indies, _cf._ his _Journal_, 85;
Gough, _A History of the People Called Quakers_, III, 61.
_Cf._ MS. Board of Trade Journals, III, 191 (1680).
[130] Kalm, _Travels_, I, 397. "It's obvious, that the future
Welfare of those poor Slaves ... is generally too much
disregarded by those who keep them." _An Epistle of Caution
and Advice, Concerning the Buying and Keeping of Slaves_
(1754), 5. This, however, is neglect rather than opposition.
[131] Fox's _Epistles_, in _Friend's Library_, I, 79 (1679).
[132] "An Exhortation and Caution to Friends Concerning buying or
keeping of Negroes," in _Pa. Mag._, XIII, 267.
[133] Proud, _History of Pennsylvania_, 423; Gordon, _History of
Pennsylvania_, 114.
[134] "Several" (negroes) "are brought to Meetings." MS. Minutes
Radnor Monthly Meetings, 1763-1772, p. 79 (1764). "Most of
those possessed of them ... often bring them to our Meetings."
_Ibid._, 175 (1767).
[135] _Cf._ MS. Yearly Meeting Advices, 1682-1777, "Negroes or
Slaves."
[136] Cranz, _The Ancient and Modern History of the Brethren ...
Unitas Fratrum_, 600, 601; Ogden, _An Excursion into Bethlehem
and Nazareth in Pennsylvania_, 89, 90; I _Pa. Arch._, III, 75;
_Pa. Mag._, XXIX, 363.
[137] _Cf._ Bean, _History of Montgomery County_, 302.
[138] MS. Records of Christ Church, Phila., I, 19, 43, 44, 46, 49,
132, 168, 271, 273, 274, 276, 277, 280, 281, 282, 283, 288,
293, 306, 312, 314, 333, 337, 341, 342, 344, 352, 353, 359,
371, 379, 383, 388, 392, 397, 399, 416, 440, 441. Baptisms
were very frequent in the years 1752 and 1753. Very many
of the slaves admitted were adults, whereas in the case of
free negroes at the same period most of the baptisms were of
children.
[139] William Macclanechan, writing to the Archbishop of Canterbury
in 1760, says: "On my Journey to New-England, I arrived at the
oppulent City of Philadelphia, where I paid my Compliments
to the Rev'd Dr. Jenney, Minister of Christ's Church in
that City, and to the Rev'd Mr. Sturgeon, _Catechist to the
Negroes_." H. W. Smith, _Life and Correspondence of the Rev.
William Smith_, I, 238.
[140] "Many negroes came, ... some enquiring, have I a soul?"
Gillies and Seymour, _Memoirs of the Life and Character of ...
Rev. George Whitefield_ (3d ed.), 55. "I believe near Fifty
Negroes came to give me Thanks, under God, for what has been
done to their Souls.... Some of them have been effectually
wrought upon, and in an uncommon Manner." _A Continuation of
the Reverend Mr. Whitefield's Journal_, 65, 66. "Visited a
Negroe and prayed with her, and found her Heart touched by
Divine Grace. Praised be the Lord, methinks one Negroe brought
to Jesus Christ is peculiarly sweet to my Soul." W. Seward,
_Journal of a Voyage from Savannah to Philadelphia_, etc.,
Apr. 18, 1740.
[141] "This afternoon a Negro man from Cecil County maryland
preached in orchard opposite to ours. there was Sundry people,
they said he spoke well for near an hour." MS. Ch. Marshall's
Remembrancer, E, July 13, 1779.
[142] "Then (the pror and Gov.) proposed to them the necessitie of
a law ... about the marriages of negroes." _Col. Rec._, I,
598, 606, 610; _Votes and Proceedings_, I, 120, 121; Bettle,
"Notices of Negro Slavery as connected with Pennsylvania,"
in _Mem. Hist. Soc. Pa._, VI, 368; Clarkson, _Life of Penn_,
II, 80-82. Clarkson attributes the defeat to the lessening
of Quaker influence, the lower tone of the later immigrants,
and temporary hostility to the executive. More probably the
bill failed because stable marriage relations have always
been found incompatible with the ready movement and transfer
of slave property; and because at this early period the
slaveholders recognized this fact, and were not yet disposed
to allow their slaves to marry.
[143] _Stat. at L._, II, 22. _Cf._ Commonwealth _v._ Clements
(1814), 6 Binney 210.
[144] St. John Crèvecoeur, _Letters_, 221; Kalm, _Travels_, I,
391. Kalm adds that it was considered an advantage to have
negro women, since otherwise the offspring belonged to another
master.
[145] MS. Rec. Christ Church, 4239, 4317, 4361, 4370, 4371, 4373,
4376, 4379, 4381, 4404, 4405; MS. Rec. First Reformed Church,
4158, 4315; MS. Rec. St. Michael's and Zion, 109. Among the
Friends there are very few records of such marriages. _Cf._
however, MS. Journal of Joshua Brown, 5 2d mo., 1774: ... "I
rode to Philadelphia ... and Lodged that Night at William
Browns and 5th day of the mo^{th} I Spent in town and Was at a
Negro Wedding in the Eving Where Several pe^r Mett and had a
Setting with them and they took Each other and the Love of God
Seemd to be Extended to them".... A negro marriage according
to Friends' ceremony is recorded in MS. Deed Book O, 234, West
Chester. _Cf._ Mittelberger, _Journey_, 106, "The blacks are
likewise married in the English fashion." There must have been
much laxity, however, for only a part of which the negroes
were to blame. "They are suffered, with impunity, to cohabit
together, without being married, and to part, when solemnly
engaged to one another as man and wife".... Benezet, _Some
Historical Account of Guinea_, 134.
[146] St. John Crèvecoeur, _Letters_, 222.
[147] "Acco^t of Negroes Dr. ... for my Negroe Cuffee and his
Wife Rose and their Daughter Jenny bo^t of W^m Banloft ...
76/3/10." MS. James Logan's Account Book, 90 (1714). "Wanted,
Four or Five Negro Men ... if they have families, wives, or
children, all will be purchased together." _Pa. Packet_,
Aug. 22, 1778. _Cf._ also _Mercury_, June 4, 1724; June 21,
1739; _Independent Gazeteer_, July 14, 1792. _Cf._ however,
Benezet, _Some Historical Account of Guinea_, 136; Crawford,
_Observations upon Negro Slavery_ (1784), 23, 24; _Pa.
Packet_, Jan. 1, 1780.
[148] This was not always the case. The MS. Rec. of Sandy Bank
Cemetery, Delaware Co., contains the names of two negroes.
[149] MS. Minutes Middletown Monthly Meeting, 2d Book A, 171, 558,
559; _Pa. Mag._, VIII, 419; Isaac Comly, "Sketches of the
History of Byberry," in _Mem. Hist. Soc. Pa._, II, 194. There
were exceptions, however. _Cf._ MS. Bk. of Rec. Merion Meeting
Grave Yard.
[150] Bean, _Hist. Montgomery Co._, 302; Martin, _Hist. of Chester_,
80; Kalm, _Travels_, I, 44; _Pa. Gazette_, Nov. 15, 1775.
[151] _Stat. at L._, IV, 59; _Col. Rec._, II, 18; 1 _Pa. Arch._
XI, 667; _Mercury_, Apr. 12, 1739; _Phila. Staatsbote_, Jan.
16, 1764, _Pa. Gazette_, Nov. 12, 1761. For an instance of a
slave killing his master, _cf._ MS. Supreme Court Papers, XXI,
3546. This was very rare. _Pa. Mag._, XIII, 449. According to
Judge Bradford's statement arson was "the crime of slaves and
children." _Journal of Senate of Pa., 1792-1793_, p. 52; _Col.
Rec._, IV, 243, 244, 259; XII, 377; MS. Miscellaneous Papers,
Feb. 25, 1780. _Cf._ especially MS. Records of Special Courts
for the Trial of Negroes; _Col. Rec._, IX, 648; MS. Streper
Papers, 55.
[152] In 1737 the Council spoke of the "insolent Behaviour of the
Negroes in and about the city, which has of late been so
much taken notice of".... _Col. Rec._, IV, 244; _Votes and
Proceedings_, IV, 171. As to pilfering Franklin remarked
that almost every slave was by nature a thief. _Works_ (ed.
Sparks), II, 315.
[153] The following has not lost all significance. "I was much
Disturbed after I came our girl Poll driving her same stroke
of Impudence as when she was in Philad^a and her mistress
so hood-winked by her as not to see it which gave me much
uneasiness and which I am determined not to put up with"....
Ch. Marshall, Remembrancer, D, Aug. 4, 1777. _Cf._ also
_Remarks on the Quaker Unmasked_ (1764).
[154] As shown by the very careless enforcement of the special
regulations.
[155] Except immediately following the negro "insurrection" in New
York in 1712. _Cf. Stat. at L._, II, 433; 1 _Pa. Arch._, IV,
792; 2 _Pa. Arch._, XV, 368.
[156] "A negro man and a White Woman servant being taken up ...
and brought before John Simcocke Justice in Commission for
runaways Who upon examination finding they had noe lawful
Passe Comitted them to Prison" ... MS. Court Rec. Penna. and
Chester Co., 1681-88, p. 75; MS. New Castle Ct. Rec., Liber
A, 158 (1677); MS. Minutes Ct. Quarter Sess. Bucks Co.,
1684-1730, p. 138 (1690); MS. Minutes Chester Co. Courts,
1681-1697, p. 222 (1694-1695). For the continual going away of
Christopher Marshall's "Girl Poll," see his Remembrancer, vol.
D.
[157] The following is not only typical, but is very interesting
on its own account, since Abraham Lincoln was a descendent
of the family mentioned. "RUN away on the 13th of
_September_ last from _Abraham Lincoln_ of _Springfield_
in the County of Chester, a Negro Man named Jack, about 30
Years of Age, low Stature, speaks little or no _English_,
has a Scar by the Corner of one Eye, in the Form of a V, his
Teeth notched, and the Top of one on his Fore Teeth broke;
He had on when he went away an old Hat, a grey Jacket partly
like a Sailor's Jacket. Whoever secures the said Negro, and
brings him to his Master, or to _Mordecai_ Lincoln ... shall
have _Twenty Shillings_ Reward and reasonable Charges." _Pa.
Gazette_, Oct. 15, 1730.
[158] _Mercury_, Apr. 18, 1723; July 11, 1723; _Gazette_, May 3,
1744; Feb. 22, 1775; July 28, 1779; Jan. 17, 1782; _Packet_,
Oct. 13, 1778; Aug. 3, 1779. One negro indentured himself to a
currier. _Gazette_, Aug. 30, 1775. Such negroes the community
was warned not to employ. _Packet_, Feb. 27, 1779.
[159] The penalty was thirty shillings for every day. _Stat. at
L._, IV, 64 (1725-1726). There was need for regulation from
the first. _Cf. Col. Rec._, I, 117. An advertisement from
Reading in _Gazette_, July 31, 1776, explains the procedure
when suspects were held in jail. Such advertisements recur
frequently. _Cf. Mercury_, Aug. 13, 1730 (third notice);
_Gazette_, Dec. 27, 1774; _Packet_, Mar. 23, 1779.
[160] For negroes carried off or who ran away at this time _cf._ MS.
Miscellaneous Papers, Sept. 1, 1778; Nov. 19, 1778; Aug. 20,
1779; and others. Numbers of strange negroes were reported to
be wandering around in Northumberland County. _Ibid._, Aug.
29, 1780. In 1732 the Six Nations had been asked not to harbor
runaway negroes, since they were "the Support and Livelihood
of their Masters, and gett them their Bread." 4 _Pa. Arch._,
II, 657, 658.
[161] So I judge from statistics which I have compiled from the
advertisements in the newspapers.
[162] _Mercury_, Apr. 18, 1723; _Packet_, July 16, 1778; _Gazette_,
June 12, 1740; Feb. 4, 1775; Jan. 3, 1776; July 2, 1781;
_Gazette_, Nov. 17, 1748; Feb. 21, 1775. "'Old Dabbo' an
African Negro ... call'd here for some victuals.... He had
three gashes on each cheek made by his mother when he was a
child.... His conversation is scarcely intelligible"; MS.
Diary of Joel Swayne, 1823-1833, Mar. 27, 1828. _Mercury_,
Aug. 6, 1730; _Packet_, Aug. 26, 1779; _Gazette_, July 31,
1739-1740; _Mercury_, June 24, 1725; _Packet_, June 22, 1789;
_Packet_, Dec. 31, 1778; _Gazette_, Sept. 10, 1741; July 21,
1779; Sept. 11, 1746; Oct. 16, 1776; July 30, 1747; May 14,
1747; Oct. 22, 1747; Aug. 30, 1775; Mar. 22, 1747-1748; July
24, 1776; Apr. 23, 1761; July 5, 1775; _Packet_, Jan. 26, 1779.
[163] "My Dear Companion ... has really her hands full, Cow to milk,
breakfast to get, her Negro woman to bath, give medicine, Cap
up with flannels, as She is allways Sure to be poorly when
the weather is cold, Snowy and Slabby. its then She gives her
Mistriss a deal of fatigue trouble in attending on her." Ch.
Marshall, Remembrancer, E, Mar. 25, 1779. "To Israel Taylor
p order of the Com^s for Cureing negro Jack legg ... 4/10
To Roger Parke for Cureing negro sam ... /9/9." MS. William
Penn's Account Book, 1690-1693, p. 8. A bill for £10 10 sh.
4d. was rendered to Thomas Penn for nursing and burying his
negro Sam. Some of the items are very humorous. MS. Penn
Papers, Accounts (unbound), Feb. 19, 1741. The bill for Thomas
Penn's negroes, Hagar, Diana, and Susy, for the years 1773
and 1774, amounted to £5 5 sh. Penn-Physick MSS., IV, 253.
An item in a bill rendered to Mrs. Margaretta Frame is: "To
bleeding her Negro man Sussex ... /2/6." MS. Penn Papers,
Accounts (unbound), June 5, 1742. St. John Crèvecoeur,
_Letters_, 221. Masters were compelled by law to support their
old slaves who would otherwise have become charges on the
community. _Cf. Stat. at L._, X, 70; _Laws of Pa., 1803_, p.
103; _1835-1836_, pp. 546, 547. In very many cases, however,
old negroes were maintained comfortably until death in the
families where they had served. _Cf._ MS. Phila. Wills, X,
94 (1794). There are numerous instances of negroes receiving
property by their master's wills. _Cf._ West Chester Will
Files, no. 3759 (1785). For the darker side _cf._ Lay, _All
Slave-Keepers Apostates_, 93.
[164] "Many of those whom the good Quakers have emancipated have
received the great benefit with tears in their eyes, and
have never quitted, though free, their former masters and
benefactors." St. John Crèvecoeur, _Letters_, 222; _Pa.
Mag._, XVIII, 372, 373; Buck, MS. _History of Bucks Co._,
marginal note of author in his scrapbook. For the superiority
of slavery _cf._ J. Harriot, _Struggles through Life_, etc.,
II, 409. Also Watson, _Annals_, II, 265.
[165] It has been suggested that it was milder than the system under
which redemptioners were held, and that hence "Quaker scruples
against slavery were either misplaced or insincere." C. A.
Herrick, "Indentured Labor in Pennsylvania," (MS. thesis,
University of Pa.), 89. An examination of the Quaker records
would have shown that the last part of this statement is not
true. See below, chaps. IV, V.