1794-12 Freedom Seeking: Michael
- Identifier
- NJS-EVE-01064
- Source
-
Runaway ad for Michael (alias Jem), by William McClellan Jr
-
Runaway ad for Michael (alias Jem), by William McClellan Jr, "Fifty Dollars Reward," Porcupine's Gazette, June 5, 1797.
- Event Description
-
Around December 1794, a Black man named Michael ran away from his enslaver William McClellan of York, PA, and stayed away for two years before he was apprehended. Michael adopted the name Jem and stayed for a while in Reading, PA, where he obtained a pass to go to Trenton, NJ. In Trenton, Justice Anderson signed a pass permitting Michael to go to New York. Michael subsequently returned to Trenton and worked there for a man named "Mr. Vanbertie a foreign minister."
Michael had grown up in the area of Princeton, NJ, in the household of Albert Schenck, and this probably influenced his decision to return to this area of New Jersey. - Event Type
- Freedom Seeking
- Date
- December 1794
- Date Certainty
- Inferred
- Location of Event
- York, Pennsylvania
- Following Event
- 1796-12 Capture: Michael
- Primary Participants
-
Michael {alias Jem}
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02440
Role: Runaway
Age category: Adult
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- William McClellan Jr. (1763-1831)
Verbatim description from source:
"negro man named Michael, he is about five feet 8 or 10 inches high, stout made, broad shouldered, thick jawed, bandy legged, and stoops considerably when walking; has lost two or three of his fore teeth, is somewhat dull of hearing and seldom speaks unless spoken to; at that time he was called by the name of Jem" - Additional Participants
-
William McClellan Jr. (1763-1831)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02439
Role: EnslaverJustice Anderson
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02442
Role: Overseer of the Poor
Comment: signed pass for Michael to go from Trenton to New YorkMr. Vanbertie
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02443
Role: Employer
Comment: employed Michael in Trenton - Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker