Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Enslavement

Cumberland County Anonymous Slave Advertisements

Introduction

There could be many reasons for wanting to sell an enslaved person anonymously. In places such as Philadelphia, slave ownership was viewed with increasing disapproval as Quakers were actively advocating for complete abolition, and anonymous ads for enslaved persons kept the enslaver's name out of publication. But in the more rural counties, slave ownership did not yet bear the same stigma. The ads below, published in Carlisle newspapers, may have been placed anonymously for other reasons. By having interested purchasers inquire of a third party, the seller avoided having to deal with insincere offers and supplying tedious details. It limited the number of persons knowing the seller's business and avoided potential rumors of personal or financial misfortune. Frequent travel for business kept some sellers away from their residence or business and therefore unable to field inquiries. Regardless of the reasons, anonymous slave sale advertisements could be found throughout nearly all decades of slave ownership in Pennsylvania and in nearly every county.

From early tradition, most advertisements offering enslaved persons for sale followed a basic template: a brief descriptive lead-in ("A likely Negro man"), approximate age ("about 24 years of age"), selling points and or special skills ("understands her needle," "a baker by trade"), whether used to taking care of a family ("town" work) or farming ("country" work), health notes ("has had the small pox and measles"), and reason for the sale ("sold for want of employ"). Nearly all ads had all or most of these components, usually in that order, showing their popularity and frequency.

Descriptive adjectives such as "strong," "stout," "sound," "healthy" and "young" are easily understood by the modern reader. The term "likely" indicated a pleasing appearance and physically attractive person, either a handsome male or a pretty female. It could also have been used to indicate an enslaved person who appeared highly able to perform expected tasks. "Lusty" meant vigorous, energetic and healthy. "Lad" and "boy" indicated a youthful male, up to about early 20s in age, while "fellow" could be used for any male above puberty. "Man" was generally reserved for any male older than his teens. The equivalent terms for adult females was "woman," with "girl" used for young females. "Wench" was typically used for females in their early teens and up, basically those of childbearing age, but could also be applied to older women.

After 1780, many listings show the time remaining to serve, indicating the person is a term-slave, born after the Gradual Abolition law. Most term-slaves had a 28-year term of enslavement, which was most of their productive lives.

the publishers of the newspapers noted below, George Kline and George Reynolds for Kline's Gazette and Carlisle Gazette, and William Alexander, Jr. and George Phillips for the Carlisle Herald, profited from these ads, as well as from the publication of ads for escaped slaves. Per the advertisements below, which instructed potential buyers to "inquire of the printer," the publishers acted at the minimum as intermediaries in these transactions, and as such bore a high level of responsibility in sustaining the trafficking of enslaved people in Cumberland County.

The Advertisements

• Date of item: 29 August 1785
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: TO BE SOLD, A Strong healthy Negro Wench, about twenty-one years of age, who is sober and honest. Enquire if the printers. Aug. 29, 1785.
  Notes: This female is a slave for life, born circa 1764.
  Source: The Carlisle Gazette and the Western Repository of Knowledge, 31 August 1785.
• Date of item: 02 November 1785
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: To be Sold,
  A Healthy young NEGRO WENCH, with a child at her breast, who can be well recommended for her honesty and sobriety. Enquire of the printers.
  Notes: This female is most likely a slave for life, but the infant would be a term slave for 28 years, per the Gradual Abolition Act of 1780.
  Source: The Carlisle Gazette, 02 November 1785
• Date of item: 29 November 1785
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "TO BE SOLD, A likely, healthy, negro wench, is used to do kitchen work, she has four children, the eldest a girl about 8 years of age; the second a boy about five years old; they are Registered, have had the small-pox and measles; the third a boy 3 years old; the youngest a girl about 18 months old; they are healthy and thriving, will be sold together for cash public securities at their current value, or bar-iron. Enquire of the Printers. Nov. 29th, 1785."
  Notes: The mother and two oldest children are all slaves for life, but the two youngest would be term slaves for 28 years, per the Gradual Abolition Act of 1780. Note that the enslaver mentions registration only for the mother and two oldest children, all of whom were born 1780 or earlier. Registration of the children of enslaved women, born after March 1, 1780, would not begin until 1788.
  Source: The Carlisle Gazette and Western Repository of Knowledge, 14 December 1785.
• Date of item: 06 September 1786
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "TO BE SOLD. A STOUT, active, healthy NEGRO MAN, duly registered, capable of every country work, is about 26 years old, and has had the small-pox and measles. Enquire of the printers."
  Notes: The man is this advertisement was born circa 1760 and is a slave for life. The advertisement notes he is "duly registered" and therefore not being held illegally. Also, he has had smallpox and the measles and therefore is not likely to be re-infected, an important selling point during a time when these two diseases devastated many families..
  Source: The Carlisle Gazette and the Western Repository of Knowledge, 06 September 1786.
• Date of item: 20 August 1788
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: A Mulatto Wench and Child to be Sold.
  She is an excellently calculated for a farmer, being a good cook and house-maid. -- Nothing but a connexion with an illdisposed Negro Fellow prompts the sale. Enquire of the Printers.
  Notes: The mother in this advertisement, being sold with her child, is noted as a good cook and maid. However her association with a man distrusted by her enslaver has resulted in her sale, and now a highly uncertain future for her and her young child.
  Source: The Carlisle Gazette and Western Repository of Knowledge, 20 August 1788.
  
   
• Date of item: 08 October 1788
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: To be Sold.
  A LIKELY Mulatto BOY, about 19 years of age, duly registered -- He understands taking care of horses, is an active waiter, and a tolerable good cook. -- Enquire of the Printers.
  Notes: With an estimated birth year of 1769, this person is most likely a slave for life. The duties described indicate his role was probably a house servant to a wealthy family, working as a groom, a waiter and a cook.
  Source: The Carlisle Gazette and Western Repository of Knowledge, 08 October 1788.
• Date of item: 30 August 1791
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "For Sale, A likely young Mulatto Boy, A slave for life, and registered according to law. Enquire of the Printer. August 30, 1791."
  Notes: Age of this young person at the time of sale would be eleven or slightly older. The description "young boy" typically indicated younger than 15, and being a slave for life meant he was born in 1780 or earlier. The note "registered according to law" appears in many advertisements from Cumberland County for enslaved persons after 1780. There was a strong resistance by many enslavers in this county to the registration process, with more than a few including notes of protest along with their registration paperwork. The advertiser's guarantee that the child had been registered hints at the existence of illegally un-registered enslaved persons in the county.
  Source: The Carlisle Gazette and Western Repository of Knowledge, 23 November 1791.
• Date of item: 14 March 1792.
  Location: Carlisle area
  Details/Text: "FOR SALE, A Negro Wench, WHO has been raised on a farm, and would be valuable to any person in that way: She is about thirty-one years of age, and is offered for sale from no other motive, than that the owner has not suitable employ for her. For further information, enquire of the Printer."
  Notes: The woman advertised for sale in this ad would have been born about 1761 and was a slave for life. Having been enslaved during her life on a farm, it is presumed she is good with caring for livestock, milking cows, helping with harvests and other agricultural skills. At 31 years old, she is well into her peak productive years. The notation that she is only being sold for a lack of work is to assuage any doubts a potential buyer may have that she had caused her current enslaver problems.
  Source: The Carlisle Gazette and Western Repository of Knowledge, 14 March 1792.
• Date of item: 28 May 1794.
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "To be Sold, Two Negro Men and two Negro Women. Enquire of the Printer."
  Notes: This brief anonymous ad is unusual in that it offers four adult enslaved persons for sale and few details. Published fourteen years after the 1780 Gradual Abolition law, the described "men" and "women" are most likely slaves for life.
  Source: Kline's Carlisle Weekly Gazette, 28 May 1794.
• Date of item: 22 June 1796.
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "TO BE SOLD. The unexpired time (six years) of a stout, healthy, BLACK SERVANT MAN, about twenty years of age, he is accustomed to driving and taking care of horses; he inclines to go to a farmer, his present master wishes to indulge him, and as a younger servant either male or female will answer his purposes, he has no objection to change for such if more suitable to a purchaser -- enquire of the Printer."
  Notes: Born circa 1776, this man has six years remaining in his term of enslavement instead of being a slave for life as suggested by his date of birth. The current enslaver notes that he is indulging the man by allowing his enslavement to be transferred to a farmer, and also says he is willing to trade this man for a young enslaved boy or girl.
  Source: Kline's Carlisle Weekly Gazette, 22 June 1796.
  
   

• Date of item: 23 April 1798.
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "A NEGRO TO BE SOLD. THE time of a Negroe Girl to be sold, that has almost twelve years to serve, is sold for no fault, but for want of employ; enquire of the Printer. Carlisle, April 23d, 1798."
  Notes: This advertisement is for a young girl, probably sixteen years old. She would have been born circa 1782, just two years after passage of Pennsylvania's Gradual Abolition Act of 1780. Her mother would have been a slave for life, and as the child of a slave for life, this child could be legally enslaved up until her 28th birthday, or as noted in the ad, for twelve more years. The ad itself reveals the harsh reality of the lives of enslaved persons in Pennsylvania on the eve of the 19th century. Born during the American Revolution and at a time when Pennsylvania was trumpeting its dedication to equality and enlightenment for all by passing legislation to eliminate slavery, this girl, because her mother was a slave, would remain enslaved herself until 1810, a decade into the 19th century. She is here marketed as a commodity, with no name and no sense of personhood, the only description being her sex and a hint at her youth. Like any enslaved person, her life and future was at the whim of her enslaver. Here, she is facing sale to an unkown person and place, simply because her current enslaver does not have sufficient work for her.
  Source: Kline's Carlisle Weekly Gazette, 30 May 1798.
  
   

• Date of item: 04 January 1802.
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "FOR SALE, A number of good healthy Negroes, viz:
  A NEGRO MAN, a slave for life, about 31 or 32 years of age, he understands Farming and driving Waggon; a Negro Wench, a slave likewise, about 48 or 49 years old, she is well acquainted with kitchen work and spinning; a Mulatto Wench and Child, she is about 21 or 22 years old; a Negro Boy, between 13 and 14 years old; another Negro Boy, 8 or 9 years old, a Negro Girl about 6 years old; all duly Registered and to serve until 28, expept the two first. The owner proposes disposing of them on account that he intends to quit farming, and will not have any employ for them -- for further information enquire of the Printer. January 4th, 1802."
  Notes: A total of seven people are advertised for sale here: The man and woman are both slaves for life, and the other five range in age from an infant in arms up to age 21, all slaves to the age of 28. Other than the "wench and child," no relationships are specified, so it is difficult to know whether the older woman is the mother of any of the younger persons. It is likely they have been together on this farm for a number of years, if not for most of their lives, so the enslaver's decision to "quit farming" and "dispose" of them portends a massive change in their lives and the probable breaking up of the group, as very few potential purchasers in Pennsylvania (state law prohibited their sale outside of the state) would have the need or money to buy seven enslaved people by this time.
  Source: Kline's Carlisle Weekly Gazette, 17 February 1802.
• Date of item: 10 May 1805.
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "FOR SALE.
  A healthy, stout, young
  NEGRO WENCH,
  She has about Nine years to serve.
  Apply to the Printer."
  Notes: With "about Nine years to serve," this girl would be about 19, born circa 1786.
  Source: Kline's Weekly Carlisle Gazette, 10 May 1805.
• Date of item: 04 August 1813.
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "TO BE DISPOSED OF
  The time of a manumitted NEGRO GIRL.
  17 years old, has ten years and some months to serve, is strong and healthy, honest and sober, is sold for want of employment. For particulars enquire at this office. Carlisle, August 4th, 1813."
  Notes: The term "manumitted" in this ad is deceptive. The girl is not free and has the status of being enslaved until her 28th birthday per Pennsylvania law and not from the benevolence of her enslaver. She would have been born circa 1796 and will be freed from enslavement some time in 1824.
  Source: Kline's Weekly Carlisle Gazette, 20 August 1813.
• Date of item: 07 October 1813.
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "TO BE SOLD. OR EXCHANGED FOR A BOY, A STOUT, HEALTHY, NEGRO MAN,
  Capable of all kind of out work, he has between five and six years to serve -- he is sold as not suiting for a house servant. Enquire at the office. October 7th, 1813."
  Notes: The enslaver of this man will likely have a difficult time finding a person willing to exchange an enslaved boy, who would have considerably more time left to in his term of enslavement, for a man with five or six years remaining, and who appears to be difficult to control in a household.
  Source: Kline's Weekly Carlisle Gazette, 19 November 1813.
• Date of item: 15 June 1815.
  Location: Carlisle
  Details/Text: "FOR SALE, A Negro Boy, who has two years to serve. For terms enquire at this office."
  Notes: The total term of enslavement is not indicated in this ad, only that the "boy" has "two years to serve." Being described as a "boy" makes it unlikely he is a 28-year term slave, as the description of "man" would most likely have been used instead. It is more likely he was sold into enslavement until age 21 or possibly 25, both common terms of enslavement given by local courts to young Black children whose parents were unable to provide for them.
  Source: Carlisle Weekly Herald, 15 June 1815, page 3.

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