1798-12-30 Freedom Seeking: Jack
- Identifier
- NJS-EVE-01050
- Source
-
Runaway ad for Jack, by Frederick Cruser
-
Runaway ad for Jack, by Frederick Cruser, "100 Dollars Reward," Daily Advertiser, January 16, 1799, p. 3.
- Event Description
-
On Sunday, December 30, 1798, a Black man named Jack, aged about 23, ran away from enslaver Frederick Cruser of Rocky Hill mills, near Princeton, New Jersey. Cruser submitted a runaway ad for Jack to a New York newspaper. The ad noted that Jack had made a previous escape attempt, during which he went toward Boston by way of Dighton and Taunton (two towns in Massachusetts on the road to Boston). Cruser believed that Jack would once again attempt to reach Boston and then possibly go to Vermont.
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Transcript of the source document:
"100 Dollars Reward
Runaway on Sunday the 30th Dec. last, from the subscriber living at Rocky Hill mills, near Princeton, state of New Jersey, a small negro man named Jack, about 5 feet 2 or 3 inches high, 23 years of age, pretty black shows his teeth very much when he laughs, has a very bad cough particularly night, was brought up a miller, and occasionally tended a saw mill. Had on when he went away, a new black fur hat, a light coloured long coat and striped trowsers, ran away once before and was found at one Devenports 10 miles this side of Boston, on the road from Tanton to Boston, had been at Diton, expect had gone the same road to Boston, or likely gone on to Vermont state. I suppose he had a forged pass with him, whoever taked up said slave and returns him to his master shall receive the 100 dollars, or 80 dollars to lodge him in New York goal, or 40 dollars to lodge him in any other goal, and give notice to his master so that he may get him again, shall receive the above rewards of
FRED. CRUSER
jan 16
1w" - Event Type
- Freedom Seeking
- Date
- December 30, 1798
- Location of Event
- Rocky Hill
- Preceding Event
- 1798 Capture: Jack
- Primary Participants
-
Jack (b. 1775)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02504
Role: Runaway
Age: 23
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Frederick Cruser (b. 1766)
Verbatim description from source:
"a small negro man named Jack, about 5 feet 2 or 3 inches high, 23 years of age, pretty black shows his teeth very much when he laughs, has a very bad cough particularly night, was brought up a miller, and occasionally tended a saw mill" - Additional Participants
-
Frederick Cruser (b. 1766)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02503
Role: Enslaver, Advertiser - Related Resource
- Andre Fernando Biehl, "Strategies for Escape: A Study of Fugitive Slave Ads (1770-1819)," Princeton & Slavery Project.
- Record Contributor
- Kayra Guven
- Princeton & Slavery Project