1809-04-03 Freedom Seeking: Purple Touser
- Identifier
- NJS-EVE-01196
- Source
-
Jailbreak notice for Purple Touser, by Jacob Hughes
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Jailbreak notice for Purple Touser, by Jacob Hughes, "100 Dollars Reward," Trenton Federalist, April 17, 1809, p. 1.
- Event Description
-
Around April 3, 1809 (or shortly before this date), a man named Purple Touser broke out of the Cape May County jail where he was being held as an alleged thief. The sheriff of Cape May County, Jacob Hughes, published a runaway ad offering a reward of 100 dollars for Purple Touser's capture. Purple Touser was a man of mixed African and European descent. Whether he was enslaved or free before he was incarcerated is not entirely clear, but the sheriff's ad did not mention the name of any enslaver.
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Transcript of the source document:
"100 Dollars Reward.
BROKE gaol and made his escape a MULATTO MAN, by the name of Purple Touser, a noted thief, about five feet, seven or eight inches high, a stout made, well set fellow; has a scar from his nose down through his upper lip, occasioned by the stoke of an ax, which makes him show his upper teeth very much when he talks or laughs, wears his hair tied. Whoever will take up said runaway and lodge him in any gaol, and let the subscriber know, shall receive the above reward from me.
JACOB HUGHES, sheriff
Cape-May, N. Jersey
April 3d, 1809. 28-3w" - Event Type
- Freedom Seeking
- Date
- April 3, 1809
- Date Certainty
- Approximate
- Location of Event
- Cape May County gaol (jail), Cape May Court House
- Cape May Court House, Middle Township (formerly Middletown)
- Primary Participants
-
Purple Touser
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02818
Role: Runaway
Age category: Adult
Status: Unknown
Verbatim description from source:
"MULATTO MAN, by the name of Purple Touser, a noted thief, about five feet, seven or eight inches high, a stout made, well set fellow; has a scar from his nose down through his upper lip, occasioned by the stoke of an ax, which makes him show his upper teeth very much when he talks or laughs, wears his hair tied" - Additional Participants
-
Jacob Hughes (1777-1830)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02735
Role: Jailer
Comment: sheriff in charge of the Cape May jail - Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker