Silas (b. 1752) {Sy}

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This person of African descent has 12 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
Identifier
NJS-PER-02502
Given Name
Silas
Alternate Name
Sy
Say
Birth Date
1752
Sex
Male
Occupation
Crafts and Trades
Biographical Description
Silas (called Sy for short) was a young Black man who lived in Philadelphia before the American Revolution and whose life is documented in at least seven separate runaway ads published in the Philadelphia Journal newspaper. Silas was born circa 1752 to 1754. Newspaper ads described him as "this country born," meaning that he was born in Pennsylvania (or possibly across the river in New Jersey), not in Africa or the Caribbean. He was enslaved by Isaac Coats, a brickmaker who lived on Vine Street in Philadelphia. Silas was brought up to work as a chimney sweep. In the runaway ads, Isaac Coats wrote that Silas stood 5 feet high, described his skin complexion as "yellowish" or "yellow or copper-coloured," and noted that Silas was fond of chewing tobacco and drinking rum.

From a young age, Silas relentlessly tried to free himself. Between 1764 and 1772, he ran away from his enslaver at least six times. His first documented escape took place in 1764 when he was about 10 to 12 years old. In the early 1770s, Silas sought refuge in New Jersey and worked as a chimney sweep in Burlington and Trenton while temporarily evading capture for weeks or months at a time.

By 1771, his enslaver, Isaac Coats, forced him to wear an iron collar around his neck—a shackle that could be used to restrain Silas. The shackle also visibly marked Silas as a slave and a fugitive. This did not stop Silas from attempting to escape, and he ran away at least twice with the iron collar around his neck, which he tried to hide by wearing a jacket with a tall collar.

Silas's exact date of birth is unknown. Not all of the aforementioned newspaper ads mentioned his age, and those that did mention his age contained inconsistencies. His approximate age listed in the ads is as follows:
July 1764 — age listed as 12 years;
April 1770 — age listed as 17 years;
January 1771 — age listed as 16 years;
January 1772 — age listed as 17 years.

The newspaper ads variously referred to the young man as Sy or Silas. One ad referred to him as Say, which may be a typographical error meant to be Sy. One ad from 1771 did not list any name, but we are able to connect it to Silas because the description provided in the document matches all of the other ads about Silas.
Keywords
African descent person
Places
Burlington
New Brunswick
New York
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Princeton
Trenton
Enslaved by
Isaac Coats
Record Contributor
Kayra Guven
Princeton & Slavery Project
Jesse Bayker
Linked Events

Primary Participant in:
Resource class
Agent