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Enslavement in Pennsylvania
Butler County Miscellaneous Data
Enslavement Data
Muddy Creek Township, Caesar, first settler
"The first settler of this township, always excepting the Indians, was a negro named Caesar, presumably a runaway slave, although nothing concerning his antecedents are known. He appears to have come into the township in 1794, and was found occupying a little cabin, in 1796, by Robert Stewart, the first white settler. Caesar informed Mr. Stewart that he had occupied the cabin two years, had obtained a living by hunting and fishing, and that he claimed the land [p. 601] as a settler, at the same time showing that he was thoroughly posted as to his rights in the premises. As Mr. Stewart had located upon the land, supposing it to be unsettled, he found it necessary to purchase Caesar's rights, which he did for a small amount. The latter then left the place, but where he went or what became of him is not known. On the land thus acquired by Stewart the village of Stewartsville, now known as Portersville, was located."
Other Enslavement Notes
"In 1803 Captain Parker was assessed as the owner of one slave. In 1821 the widow Galbraith was assessed as the owner of a slave named John, valued at $100. In the same year a slave named Lewis Martin, aged thirteen years, was valued for taxable purposes in Muddy Creek township. He was bound for six years. In this year, also, there were two male slaves in Connoquenessing township--one named Fulton, aged six years, and one named Thomas, aged five years; also a slave girl named Sylvia, aged fourteen years."
Source
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania. R. C. Brown Co. 1895, pages 68, 600-601.
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