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June 1774: Enslaved White Convict and Black Man Escape Together
June 22, 1774.
TEN POUNDS REWARD.
RAN AWAY last night from the subscribers, living near Soldier's Delight, Baltimore county, Maryland, two men, one an English convict servant, named JAMES GODDARD, a lusty, well made, full faced man, of a fair complexion, about 28 years of age, 5 feet 9 or 10 inches high; had on and took with him, a felt hat bound round the edge with black serret, several wigs, two of which were black, one striped and flowered Barcelona silk handkerchief, a blue cloth coat with metal buttons, one jacket, the fore parts red plush, one country cloth ditto, one white linen shirt, one tow ditto, blue cloth breeches, a pair of two trowsers, a pair of blue worsted stockings, a pair of grey ditto, and a pair of country made shoes shod with nails: He took with him an assignment of one WILLIAM CARPENTER'S, who was free the 14th of June, 1773, signed by myself and Andrew Buchanan, and it is supposed he will change his name to William Carpenter.
--The other is a Negro fellow, about 23 years of age, and about 5 feet 10 inches high, slim made, has a bend in his knees, three scars on each cheek and each breast, and several scars on his back by whipping, talks coarse broken English; he took with him a new fur hat, a blue camblet coat and jacket half worn, a spotted swanskin jacket, a pair of linen trowsers, a new holland shirt, a homespun ditto, two oznabrugs ditto, and country made shoes; it is supposed they will change cloaths: The whiteman forged a pass for the negro, in which he was called Charles Harday, and signed by Samuel Owing and Philip Plowman. Whoever takes them up and secures them in any of his Majesty's gaols, shall have the above reward, and reasonable charges if brought home, paid by
WILLIAM CROMWELL.
JOHN EBERT.
N.B. All masters of vessels are forewarned not to take them off at their peril.
Notes
Enslaved and bound labor made up a significant portion of the work force in Colonial America. The degree of bondage ranged from a lifetime, for enslaved persons, to terms limited in years, many quite long, for convicts, orphans, debtors, "imported" servants and the poor and destitute. Skin color had become the determinant for length of bondage, with enslaved Blacks nearly always doomed to a life of servitude and whites generally serving limited terms of years, albeit some very long. Regardless of status or skin color, bound laborers often experienced common hardships: long grueling hours of work, poor food and clothing, verbal and physical abuse, and a diminished or vanquished expectation of freedom.
When working and living conditions became intolerable, many bound and enslaved laborers "self-emancipated" by escaping into the countryside, sought to hire out as crewmembers on a ship, or took to hiding out in the city. Among such "fugitives from labor" were many who coordinated their escapes and fled together. The shared suffering enabled bonds of trust and mutual aid even among servants and enslaved people living with different enslavers. Sometimes these coordinated escapes involved persons of mixed heritage and race, such the escape of the white English convict James Goddard and the un-named enslaved Black man detailed in the advertisement above.William Cromwell, who seems to be the person who held the indenture of the convict Goddard, related that Goddard forged a pass for the enslaved man, having stolen for himself the "assignment" or written testimony to the free status of fellow worker William Carpenter. The willingness to also aid another bound worker by forging a pass illustrates the importance that Goddard placed upon the enslaved man's companionship. Instances of escapes by mixed race groups of people are not rare, and may indicate that the personal shared experience of bondage was more powerful than, and transcended, the classification of racial caste imposed by the ruling class.
Additional Notes
"Soldier's Delight" is located in western Baltimore County near present day Owings Mills, Maryland. In the early 1700s, King George II made land grants from Soldier's Delight Hundred to white settlers in the colony.
Sources
The Pennsylvania Packet, 01 August 1774.
Covering the history of African Americans in central Pennsylvania from the colonial era through the Civil War.
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