1771-04 Capture: Silas
- Identifier
- NJS-EVE-01068
- Source
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Runaway ad for Silas (listed as Sy), follow-up in March 1771, by Isaac Coats
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Runaway ad for Silas (name not listed), escaped in June 1771 with an iron collar around his neck, by Isaac Coats
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Runaway ad for Silas (listed as Sy), follow-up in March 1771, by Isaac Coats, "SIX DOLLARS REWARD," Pennsylvania Journal, March 7, 1771, p. 3.
Runaway ad for Silas (name not listed), escaped in June 1771 with an iron collar around his neck, by Isaac Coats, "TWO DOLLARS REWARD," Pennsylvania Journal, June 27, 1771, p. 3. - Event Description
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Following his escape from enslaver Isaac Coats, a young Black man named Silas was once again apprehended and returned to Philadelphia. Silas ran away from Philadelphia on January 29, 1771, and he remained at large for at least two months in New Jersey. He was captured sometime between the end of March and the end of June 1771.
The exact location of Silas's capture is uncertain. He was most likely apprehended in New Jersey (where he was seen for several weeks working as a chimney sweep in the vicinity of Burlington and Trenton) or in New York (where he was reportedly planning to go by way of New Brunswick after he obtained false freedom papers).
This was one of the many events in the cycle of escapes and captures that Silas experienced as he relentlessly sought to free himself from bondage. This was at least the fourth time that Silas ran away and was captured. After Silas was apprehended in the spring or summer of 1771, he was forced to wear an iron collar, which he would continue wearing all the time after his return to Philadelphia.
See related events for additional information about Silas and his escape attempts. - Event Type
- Capture
- Date
- April 1771 – June 1771
- Date Certainty
- Inferred
- Preceding Event
- 1771-02-09 Freedom Seeking: Silas
- Following Event
- 1771-06-24 Freedom Seeking: Silas
- Primary Participants
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Silas (b. 1752) {Sy}
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02502
Role: Captured Person
Age: 16
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- Isaac Coats - Additional Participants
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Isaac Coats
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02501
Role: Enslaver - Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker