LANCASTER COUNTY'SRELATION TO SLAVERY,

PARTICULAR PHASES OFSLAVERYIN LANCASTER COUNTY.

The following interesting contribu-tion to the history of slavery in thiscounty was read before the LancasterCounty Historical Society by MissMartha B. Clark:

Contracts for and Commercial Trans-actions in Local Slaves.

Some interesting light on the sla-very days in Lancaster county isshown in an examination of a numberof bills of sale and contracts for andcommercial transactions in localslaves. Samples of local bills of salefor slaves show us that they were notdistinguished as to terms, etc., fromthe sale of other chattels. The fol-lowing is a true copy of one of the ear-liest to be found in our county:

This Indenture, made the •eleventhday of November, Anno domini, onethousand seven hundred and sixty-nine, Between Kirk Ellis of CecilCounty of the one part and Robert An-derson of Lancaster County, of theother part, Witnesseth: That the saidEllis for himself, his heirs, Exors. andadms. have bargained sold and setover unto the said Robert Anderson,his heirs, exors. and assigns forever, anegro girl called Eve, about sevenyears old, to be the real property ofthe said Anderson and his heirs andassigns forever, for the considerationof Forty-five pounds to me in handpaid, which I acknowledge to have re-ceived.

I, the said Ellis, do bind and obligemyself, my heirs Exors. and adminis-trators, to warrant and defend fromall manner of person or persons what-soever claiming or to claim the saidnegro, the same to warrant and for-ever defend, to the said Anderson, hisheirs and assigns.

As witness my hands and seal tilisday and year first above written.

KIRK ELLIS (Seal).

Signed, sealed and delivered in thepresence of:

ARCH. HENDERSON,WM. McCAUSLAND.

This slave later came to BriceClark, for October 10, 1780, when theseven-year-old child became eighteen,in compliance with the law of 1780 forgradual abolition of slavery. BriceClark made this return to the QuarterSessions of Lancaster county:

"October 10, 1780."Brice Clark, farmer, in Leacock

Township and Lancaster County, botha negro woman named Eve aged eight-een years, also a negro boy namedJack aged eight years, both slaves forlife.

"BRICE CLARK."

When Eve was twenty-seven yearsold she had a son, Nat, born to her,whom Brice Clark made return of toCourt as required by law as follows:

"Pursuant to an act of General As-sembly, I, Brice Clark, of the Town-ship of Donegal and County of Lan-caster (Farmer), do enter a negrochild born on the 16th day of Decem-ber in the year One thousand sevenhundred and eighty-nine,called Nat,hismother's name Eve, and that he is myproperty and is now in my possession.

"BRICE CLARK."March 14th, 17."

The Law of 1780.

Briefiy stated, the law of March 1,1780, passed by Pennsylvania, pro-vided (1) that all negroes and mulat-toes born in Pennsylvania after thepassage of the act, who otherwisewould be slaves (as the children ofslaves) should not be a slave; (2) butsuch a child shall be a servant until itreaches the age of twenty-eight untosuch person to whom otherwise itwould have been a slave; (3) that areturn must be made to Quarter Ses-sions Court of all slaves held (that is,those born before Act of March 1,1780, and also of all negro or mulattochildren born and by the act madeservants till twenty-eight) after theact; and (4) in default of such returnthe slave and the servant not so re-turned should be free.

Thus we see that the reason BriceClark entered the boy born to Eve wasthat by such registry the boy remain-ed his servant (not his slave) untiltwenty-eight years old. He was thenentitled on discharge to certainmoneys and clothing.

An Early Slave Contract.

Another early slave contract in Lan-caster county,somewhat different fromthe one above set out, is the following,dated 1777:

"Know all men by these presentsthat I,Jarvis Bloomfield of Woodbridge,do bargain, sell and make over all myright, title and interest in a Negroboy named Daniel about eleven yearsold, which was my father's propertyleft with me, disposed of at fortypounds, York money, do by thesepresents, bargain, sell and make over,all my right, title and interest in theabove mentioned boy to James

Hamilton, in consideration of the above

sum of Forty pounds York money,which boy I do hereby warrant and de-fend as my property against my fath-er and all others.

"And do hereby acknowledge fullsatisfaction for the above boy.

"As witness my hand this 4th dayof April, in the year of our Lord, onethousand seven hundred and seventy-seven.

"JARVIS BLOOMFIELD.

"Witness Present:"SAMUEL STONE."

Boy Sold For Wheat and Rye.

Under date of 1779 there is anotherLancaster county slave contract in theterms of wheat and rye, as follows:

"To all whom it may concern. Knowye that I, Joseph Kittera, of theBrough of Lancaster and State ofPennsylvania, gent, for and in consid-eration of the quantity of fifty bushelsof wheat and fifty bushels of rye tome, delivered by Brice Clark, at theTownship of Lampeter in the countyand State aforesaid, have granted,bargained, sold and delivered, and bythese presents do grant, bargain, selland deliver unto the said Brice Clark,one negro boy called Jack. To haveand to hold the said negro boy to thesaid Brice Clark,his heirs and assigns,to the only proper use and behoof, ofhim, the said Brice Clark, his heirsand assigns forever. And the saidJoseph Kittera, his heirs executorsand administrators, the said negro boycalled Jack unto the said Brice Clark,his heirs and assigns, against him,them, any or either of them andagainst all and every person or per-sons whomsover claiming or to claimthe said boy, by from or under him,them or any of them, shall and willwarrant and forever defend these pres.ents.

In witness whereof I have hereuntoset my hand and seal, the 7th day ofDecember, 1779.

JOSEPH KITTERA (Seal).

Witness Present:JOHN W. KITTERA,SAMUEL TURBITT.

The same day Brice Clark agreedby a writing on the backof the above deed to transfer all hisproperty in the boy December 14, 1779,to William Smith, Jr., for 2,000 poundsof Pennsylvania money. The inter-esting part about the deed last set outis that it considers the slave boy realestate rather than personal property.The deed uses the word "grant, bar-gain and sell," which are the wordsused in a deed to sell real propertyand not to sell personal goods, viz:"sell, assign, transfer and set over."And inasmuch as John Kittera, ourfirst Congressman and a lawyer ofability, likely drew it, there must havebeen some good reason for it.

We remember that in 1780 Mr. Clarkreturned the boy Jack as one of hisslaves, as I have shown above. Thusit seems that the 2,000 pound sale didnot go through.

In our county also a series of trans-actions concerning the services of aslave called Amos Michaels took place.The first was when Baron,de Beelen Bertholff on November 17,1795, for 9 pounds and 10 shillings,transferred him to James Hamilton;second, when Hamilton on July 21,1799, transferred him to John Bick-ing and the third when Bicking re-as-signed him to James Hamilton, Sep-tember 4, 1800. (Hist. of Gazzam andde Beelen p. 67.)

A Novel Transaction.

Another novel transaction traffick-ing in human beings in Lancaster

county is the following, likely that ofa slave made free by law again inden-turing himself to an owner. It is asfollows:

"Know all men by these presents,thot I, Aaron Jackson, a black man,for various good considerations mov-ing me hereunto, do promise and en-gage to serve James Hamilton of thetownship of Salisbury and County ofLancaster, as hired servant, the fullterm of five months from date hereofand the said James Hamilton, shalland will find and provide for the saidAaron sufficient drink, apparel, wash-ing and lodging during said term, andat the expiration thereof give him twocomplete suits of apparel, one of themto be new.

In witness whereof I have hereuntoset my hand and seal April 28, in theyear of our Lord, 1807.

hisAARON X JACKSON (Seal).

mark

Witness Present:WILLIAM BOYD,JOHN BOYD.

Another interesting slave contract,showing how slaves were brought intoLancaster county from the South, isthat of Samuel Bell, of New Castle,Delaware, dated June 8, 1814, to JohnClark, of Lancaster, selling and con-veying to John Clark his slave boyLawson, aged fourteen years, for thesum of $300.

An article appearing in the MariettaRegister about the year 1875 tells usthat the Lawson, known as LawsonTaylor, died about that time, agedseventy-five years, and that he waswell known and respected on the"Clark Farm," where he remainedfifty-six years, that is, until he went towork for Dr. Cushman, about five

years before his death. The articlesaid he left a much better record thanmany more fortunate than he. TheClark family, with whom he lived,stated that Lawson always voted theDemocratic ticket, for the reason thathis master did.

An insight of what formalities werenecessary to allow slaves to be broughtfrom the South is shown in the nextitem, under date of 1814, in whichLevi Boulden, of Delaware, petitionsthe Supreme Court and the Court ofCommon Pleas, setting forth that hehad manumitted his three slaves,Eliza, Thomas and James Staats, to befree, when they arrive at the age oftwenty-eight, and prays that he maybe permitted to remove the said slavesinto Lancaster county. This was April11, 1814.

The same day the Justices of thesaid Courts and of the General Quar-ter Sessions licensed the petitioner toexport, sell and carry out of Delawarefor sale into Lancaster county, Pa.,the three slaves, with the conditionthat they be free when twenty-eightyears old.

After this was done, on April 20,1814, Boulden sold the boy, ThomasStaats, for seventeen years, and theboy, James Staatz, for nineteen years,to John Clark, of Donegal Township,Lancaster county, at the end of whichtime they would be twenty-eight yearsold and be free, for the sum of $360.

Genesis of Act of 1780, Abolishing Sla-very.

On the 5th of February, 1779, theSupreme Executive Council in a mes-sage to the Assembly suggested thata plan be adopted for the gradual abo-lition of slavery—honored will thatState be in the annals of mankind.After much discussion a motion todismiss the subject was carried by avote of 29 yeas to 21 nays.

A new Assembly was elected andGeorge Bryan, formerly Vice Presi-dent of the Executive Council, was amember and moved that the subject ofemancipation be referred to a commit-tee. The motion was carried, andMr. Bryan prepared the draft of a lawfor gradual emancipation, and on the29th of February, 1780, it was adoptedby a vote of 34 to 21. "Our bill," wroteMr. Bryan, "astonishes and pleasesthe Quakers. They looked for no suchbenevolent issue of our government,exercised by the Presbyterians." Thebill declared that no child born here-after in Pennsylvania of slave parentsshould be a slave, but a servant untilthe age of twenty-eight years,at whichtime all claim of service on the partof the master should cease. All slavesthen in the State were required to beregistered before the first of Novem-ber, under penalty of their becomingimmediately free, as none was to bedeemed a slave unless registered. Ne-gro slaves were to be tried in thesame manner as other persons, and incase of sentence of death, to be valu-ed, and the price be paid out of theState Treasury.

The following tribute to GeorgeBryan may be found on his tombstone,which was originally in the buryingground of the Second PresbyterianChurch, on Arch street, near Fifth,Philadelphia:

"To the memory of George Bryan,who died 27th of January, 1791, agedsixty years. Mr. Bryan was amongthe earliest and most active and uni-form friends of the rights of man beforethe Revolutionary War. As a memberof the Assembly of Pennsylvania andof the Congress of New York in 1765,and as a citizen, he was conspicuousin opposition to the Stamp Act andother acts of British tyranny. He wasequally an opponent of domestic sla-

very. The emancipation of the peopleof color engaged the feelings of hisheart and the energies of his mind,and an act of abolition which laid thefoundation of their liberation issuedfrom his pen. He filled several im-portant offices during the Revolution-ary contest, and for the last elevenyears of his life he was one of theJudges of the Supreme Court. In hisprivate deportment he was exemplary—a Christian in principle and prac-tice."

Abolition Sentiment in America.

About the time of the Revolutionsocieties of prominent men wereformed for the purpose of amelioratingthe condition of the slaves. Pennsyl-vania was the first State to organizesuch a society in 1787 with Franklinas President and Dr. Benjamin Rushas secretary, and a message was sentto Congress bearing the names ofthese illustrious men, asking to devisemeans for removing the incumbencyof slavery from the United States.This Pennsylvania society continuedin existence until 1862, when Presi-dent Lincoln sent forth his proclama-tion for the abolition of slavery, anddeclared that all persons held as slaves"are and henceforth shall be free."The slave population, according to thecensus of 1790, in Pennsylvania, was3,417.

Slavery was deemed as inconsistentwith the principles of free govern-ment and many declared slave-holdinga sin against God and a crime againsthumanity.

Slave Children Born in LancasterCounty After March 1, 1780.

hi the paper on slaves read at thelast meeting the list of slaves in ourcounty from the time of the first cen-sus in 1790 was set out; but no record

of the number prior to that time hasbeen given.

There was a docket containing thelist in 1780, and prior, in Lancastercounty, and also a docket containing arecord of children born of slaves inour county after March 1, 1780. JohnHubley, clerk, made the record of thereturns of the children born after 1780of slave parents, with full informationas to age, sex, time of birth, etc. Boththese dockets, or records, however,seem to be lost; but their contentswere copied by some one a dozen yearsago or more into blank books, andthere was also a typewritten list madeof such births, etc. These blank booksand lists are in the possession of Mr.Hensel, who has kindly loaned themto the writer for the purposes of thispaper. Who 'copied them we can notascertain.

The return shows that up to 1790there were reported to the said clerk118 children born to slave parentssince 1780, of whom 58 were male and60 female.

From 1790 to 1800 there were 138children reported of whom 65 weremale and 73 female.

From 1800 to 1810 there were 81children reported, of whom 43 weremale and 38 female.

From 1810 to 1820 there were 72children reported, of whom 37 weremale and 35 female.

From 1820 to 1831 there were 18children reported, of whom nine weremale and nine female.

This is the end of the record, andit shows 427 reported since 1780, ofwhom 212 were male and 215 female.

Slaves in Lancaster County March1, 1780, When the Gradual Eman-

cipation Act Was Passed.

The docket containing these facts iscalled the "Register of Negro and Mu-

latto Slaves and Servants" for Lan-caster county, 1780.

In it we find there were in thecounty at that time 807 slaves for life,of whom 394 were males and 412 werefemales. The slaves in age ran fromtwo and one-half years to sixty yearsand the average was from twenty totwenty-five years. They were ownedby the Scotch-Irish and the Germansin the following proportions, viz:Scotch-Irish, two-thirds; English, Ger-mans, Huguenots, Welsh, etc., one-third.

According to this record, the thick-est slave centers of the county seemedto be in and about Donegal and Salis-bury townships and Lancaster bor-ough.

The densest centers of slavery areshown by the reports of children bornof slaves after 1780 and their divisionamong the various townships. Allchildren born of slave parents after1780 became servants till twenty-eightyears old. But it is evident thatwhen the time came that all existingslaves died, then no longer wouldchildren born of colored people inPennsylvania be servants at all; butthey would be born free, too.

The record shows the following asthe extent of slavery in the differenttownships in 1780:

In Bart township only four childrenof slaves were reported born from1780 to the extinction of slavery—three males and one female. There-fore, Bart was not much given to sla-very.

In Caernarvon there were twenty-six of such births reported from 1789to 1825, being ten males and sixteenfemales. In only a few cases werethere more than one each year in theentire township. The Olds, Hudsons,Evans, Jacobs, Levertys and otherWelsh owned them.

In Conestoga it seems none was re-ported.

In Donegal there were 56 such birthsreported from 1780 to 1820, of whom23 were males and 33 were females.This was a pretty thick slave center.The Bayleys, Cooks, Clarks, Ander-sons, Middletons, Kilbaughs, Works,Nicholsons, Keys, Moores, Lowreys,Whitehills, Farquahars, Watsons,Evans, Van Leers, Hamiltons, Vancesand Boggs owned them.

In Drumore there were 39 suchbirths reported from 1780 to 1823, ofwhom 24 were males and 15 females.They were owned by the Maxwells,Gambles, Bighams, Evans, Amblers,Steeles, Reeds, Krugs, Neels, McAn-teres, Monroes, Moores, Boyds, Bow-ers, Withers and Steeles. They seem-ed fully numerous there.

In Elizabeth township but 14 birthsof slaves were recorded, four malesand ten females. Twelve were heldby Robert Coleman and two owned bythe theirs of Curtis Grubb.

In Earl township there were onlyeight such births reported from 1780to 1810, of whom six were males andtwo females. The Smiths, Kitteras,Wallaces, Martins and Jacobs ownedthe parents of these slave children.Thus slavery in Earl was confined toa narrow center in that great town-ship. The Germans there did not ownslaves.

In Hempfield township there werethirteen such births of children atslaves reported from 1780 to 1815, ofwhom five were males and eight werefemales. The parents of these chil-dren were owned by the Spears, Tid-balls, Scotts, Sprouts and Stricklers.Slaves were thus not numerous in thistownship.

In Lancaster borough there weresixty-eight such births reported to theQuarter Sessions Clerk from 1780 on-

ward, of whom twenty-eight weremales and forty females. They wereowned by the Shippens, Ettings, Jacks,Regers, Edwards, Lockharts, Misses,Millers, Zantzingers, Hubleys, Sloughs,Bausmans, Rosses, Cunninghams,Kirk-patricks, Kuhns, Bowsmans, Clenden-ins,Bartons, Groffs, Dufflelds, Reigarts,Smiths, Colemans, Galbraiths,Gundakers, Dicksons,Hambrights and Wil-sons. Slavery fiourished in the bor-ough pretty generally.

In Little Britain there were thirty-three such births reported from 1780to 1809, of whom fifteen were male andeight female. Their parents wereowned by the Scotts, McCulloughs,Blacks, Breadings, Gibsons, Frazers,Caldwells, Porters, Longs, William-sons, Campbells, Scotts, Stubbs, Pat-tersons and Neepers. This was a fairnumber of slaves for that township.

In Leacock township there weretwenty-two such births reported from1780 to 1820, of whom eight weremales and fourteen females. Theirparents were owned by the Caldwells,Watsons, Lightners, Porters, Woods,Ferrees, Coopers, Hamiltons. Thiswas not a large number for so popu-lous a township.

From 1802 to 1809 in Manor town-ship James Armstrong held one maleslave and Charles S. Sewell one maleand one female.

In Mount Joy township, from 1791to 1811, but four slaves were reported—two males and two females, ownedby the Moreheads, Boal, Jacobs andRev. Colin McFarquahar.

In Rapho there were twelve suchbirths reported from 1780 to the end,of whom five were males and seven fe-males. They were owned by the Pat-tersons, Currans, Pedans, Scotts, Jen-kins and Hays. Thus we see herethat there were few slaves in this Ger-man township.

In Strasburg township there werethirteen such births reported from1780 to 1823, of whom eight weremales and five females. Their parentswere owned by the Rines, Hathorns,Prices, Ferrees, Van Lears, Lefevers,Witmers, Lightners, Whitehills, Bearsand Withers. Here we see that theGermans and Huguenots did not scru-ple to hold slaves.

In Martic township but one slave-owner was recorded and that was Geo.McLaughlin, in 1789. He had twogirls.

In Salisbury township there werefifty-five such births reported from1780 to 1819, of whom thirty-four weremales and twenty-one females. Theirparents were owned by the McCulleys,Clemsons, McCamants, Andersons,Smiths, Slaymakers, Hendersons,Skiles, Henrys, Buckleys, Boyds, Ky-sers, McClelans, Tweeds, Thompsons,Johnsons, Whitehills, Ellmakers, By-ers, Lytles and Bakers. This was apopulous siave center. But the slaveswere not owned by the Germans liv-ing there.

In Sadsbury township nine slaveswere born from 1789 to 1805—threemales and six females, owned by theTaylors, Tweeds, Johnsons, Sterrit andJames Culbertson. The Quakers inthis township seemed true to theirconvictions and did not own slaves.

From Warwick there were sevensuch births reported from 1780 to 1823,of whom one was male and six female.The parents of these children wereowned by the Grubbs, Jacobs and Coie-mans. The slave population was con-fined to a small center in Warwick.

This gives a good survey of the dis-tribution of slaves among the differ-ent townships of the county at thedate of slavery abolition in 1780.Where the most children of slaveswere reported there the parents wereheld in slavery most numerously.

Voluntary Manumission in LancasterCounty After the Act of 1780.

Although the Act of 1780 to abolishslavery in Pennsylvania gradually didnot free slaves held and owned by thepeople of the State at the time of thepassage of the act except such whowere not returned _and registered bythe owners, yet the custom earlysprang up of voluntary manumission.There was a docket in the QuarterSessions office of our county contain-ing a list of the manumissions andfrom it we find that from 1794 on-ward there were at least seventeenslaves so freed by their owners in ourcounty. Persons so manumitting theirslaves are William Montgomery, Jo-siah Lockhard, Joseph Simons, JamesEvans, John Woodhill, Robert Max-well (of Drumore), John Bausman,Nathaniel Ellmaker, Dr. Maxwell Mc-Dowell, John Graeff , of Lancaster bor-ough, Hanna Baily (of Donegal), Chas.S. Sewell (of Manor), Richard Miller,Natnan L. Baldwin, Louisa Smith andJames Bigham (of Drumore). Theyassigned various causes which movedthem to do so.

These are set out in the record,andnow give some of the leading factsconnected with the same, since it willthrow a light on certain phases of sla-very here at home not generallythought of.

His "boy Jerry" was given his free-dom by William Montgomery, of Lan-caster, the lawyer and father of JohnR. Montgomery, on May 3, 1794, show-ing appreciation of faithful services.

Josiah Lockhart, the shop-keeper inLancaster,manumitted his slave,AbbieDominikin, also for faithful services,on November 2. 1796.

Joseph Simon, the rich Jew mer-chant, on the 7th of July, 1797, liber-ated Catharine, the wife of a negro

named Pleasant, from slavery,and alsoreleased from servitude the childrenof Catharine, viz: William and Cath-erine.

James Evans, of West NottinghamHundred, in the county of Cecil, Mary-land, manumitted as follows: "I do ofmy own free will and accord liberate,discharge and set free a negro mannamed Toby, which was willed to meby my father, John Evans, deceased,of Drumore township, Lancaster coun-ty," on the 10th of March, 1798.

John Woodhull, of Monmouth coun-ty, N. J., on the 19th day of March,1799, tells us: "This is to certify thatI have set free from slavery a negroman named James, now in the countyof Lancaster, Pa., so that he maymake bargains and contracts for him-self as other free negroes do or havethe privilege of doing." Was Wood-hull the Presbyterian minister at Lan-caster?

Robert Maxwell, of Drumore town-ship, says: "I do manumit and set freemy boy Jack for faithful service andfor divers good causes and considera-tions this 29th day of March, 1799."

John Graeff, of the borough of Lan-caster, Pa., moved by motives of be-nevolence and humanity, says that hemanumits his negro boy. AndrewPeters, on the condition that Andrewdo forthwith bind himself by indentureto serve the said Graeff for the fullterm of two years. Done the 4th ofSeptember, 1801.

John Hausman, of Lancaster, from"motives of benevolence and human-ity manumits and sets free from sla-very his mulatto girl, Jane, aged twen-ty-five years, on consideration that shewill forthwith bind herself by inden-ture to serve Christian Sower, Esq., ofTulpehocken, in Berks county, for theterm of two years, from the 2d ofApril. 1803."

Nathaniel Ellmaker, of Lancaster,on the 30th of January, 1804, from mo-tives of humanity and benevolence,set free from slavery his "negro manJack, aged twenty-seven years, elevenmonths and twenty days."

The last will and testament of Han-na Bailey, late of Donegal township,empowers Dr. Samuel Maxwell Mc-Dowell, executor of the same, frommotives of benevolence and humanityto set free from slavery a negrowoman named Sarah, who was latelythe property of Hanna Bailey, onJune 3, 1708.

Charles Sewell's manumission is asfollows: "Know all men by these pres-ents, That I, Charles Sewell, of ManorTownship, Lancaster county, havelately purchased a negro man for lifefrom George Finley, of Queen AnnCounty, Maryland, aged about thirtyyears—now know ye that, in consider-ation that the aforesaid negro namedCharles shall indenture and bind him-self a servant for the term of sevenyears, during which term he is faith-fully to serve the aforesaid CharlesSewell, his heirs and assigns, fromthe date hereof, I Charles Sewell domanumit and set at liberty the saidnegro from the 12th of November,1808."

On the 12th day of July, 1814, Rich-ard Miller, of Kent county, Mary-land, for divers good causes, in con-sideration of $1, paid to him in hand,released from slavery and manumit-ted his slave woman Venus. being ofthe age of twenty-three years, andable to work and make a sufficientlivelihood.

Nathaniel Boulden manumitted hisslave as follows: "Believing as I dothat no human being has a right inreason or in good conscience to holdhis fellow man in bondage, I herebycertify that some years ago I freed

and gave full and entire liberty to myslave George, who called himselfGeorge Washington, now about thirtyyears of age, born in New Castle coun-ty, Delaware.

"Witness my hand and seal this30th day of July, 1821.

"NATHANIEL L. BOULDEN,"Attorney at Law, Lancaster, Pa."

Louisa Smith asserts her freedomas follows: "To All Whom it May Con-cern, Louisa Smith, about nineteenyears of age, claims to be a freewoman, agreeably to the laws of Penn-sylvania. She was a slave to Wil-liam Ritsell, of Hagerstown, Md., andthe said master moved to Pennsylva-nia about two years ago with his fam-ily and brought the said Louisa withhim, and after remaining with the saidmaster about four months she left himin Pennsylvania, first being well as-sured that she was free according tothe laws of Pennsylvania.

her"LOUISA X SMITH,

mark"Witness:"ROBERT SPEAR."

James Bigham manumitted as foi-lows: "Know ye that James Bigham,ofDrumore Township, hath for certaingood causes emancipated and set freehis negro man Jack on the 10th of Au-gust, 1799. Jack hath of his own freewill covenanted to agree that he is toserve the said master six years, dur-ing which time the master is to findhim in meat, drink, wearing apparel,boarding, lodging as formerly and alsoto allow him to do the business of asexton for the congregation of Chest-nut Level; and the said Jack is to re-ceive the perquisites for said servicefor his own use and receive twomonths' schooling for three years;

and at the end of said time to receivethe sum of 50 pounds and lay out apiece of land for his use and also anew suit of apparel, a new Bible, axe,mattock and hoe."

George McCullough freed his slaveas follows: "The subscriber does ofhis own accord and free will acquitand release his negro Joe, from beingany longer with him as a slave, uponconsideration that he shall be a faith-ful servant at his master's call, as ahireling for the space of four yearsfrom the date hereof—he is only tocall upon him not above nine monthseach year. April 1, 1797.

his"Signed—NEGRO X JOE,

mark"GEORGE McCULLOUGH."

This is a chapter that shows a verycommendable spirit in our early Lan-caster county citizens; and it is espe-cially refreshing to recall it in our day,at a time when so many laboring menand women feel that their employers,especially corporations, own them al-most body and soul.

file:///Volumes/LCHS%3BLCHSFS01/OCR%20Journal%20Project/PDF%20Biblio%20Info/Pwebrecon.cgi.txt

Author: Clark, Martha Bladen.

Title: Lancaster County's relation to slavery / by Miss Martha B. Clark.

Primary Material: Book

Subject(s): Slavery--Pennsylvania--Lancaster County. Slavery--Law and legislation--Pennsylvania--Lancaster County. Lancaster County (Pa.)--Population.

Publisher: Lancaster, Pa. : Lancaster County Historical Society, 1911

Description: 43-61 p. ; 23 cm.

Series: Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society ; v. 15, no. 2

Call Number: 974.9 L245 v.15Location: LCHSJL -- Journal Article (reading room)

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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Institution NameInstitution AddressInstitution Phone NumberInstitution E-mail Address

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