1799-07-26 Freedom Seeking: Will
- Identifier
- NJS-EVE-01221
- Source
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Runaway ad for Will, by David Banks
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Runaway ad for Will, by David Banks, "TWENTY DOLLARS REWARD," Centinel of Freedom, February 9, 1802, p. 3.
- Event Description
-
On July 26, 1799, a Black man named Will ran away from his enslaver David Banks, who lived in Newark, New Jersey. Will went to New England and managed to evade capture for years. His enslaver eventually received intelligence that Will was seen in Providence, Rhode Island, and in Lyme, Connecticut. Aware that he was being pursued, Will moved on from those places to avoid being captured. Will was still at large as of February 1802, and his enslaver submitted a runaway ad to newspapers in New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont in his attempt to find Will. The ad, published in February 1802, stated that Will was 49 years old, although it is not entirely clear whether Will was 49 at the time of the ad's publication in 1802 or at the time of his escape in 1799.
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Transcript of the source document:
"TWENTY DOLLARS REWARD.
RANAWAY from the subscriber, on the night of the 26th July, 1799, a negro man named WILL, aged 49 years, about 5 feet 8 inches high; he is stout made and has a bald head; when he walks he throws out his feet and toes in a singular manner, walking very wide. He is a bold, daring fellow; talks and laughs much, and very loud; he speaks Low Dutch and middling good English, although he frequently gives his words the Dutch accent; he is not so very black as many of the African race; he is an arch fellow, and is very active on a farm, or on the water.
Any person who will take up said negro, and deliver him to his master, or secure him in any goal so that his master may get him again, shall receive the above reward and all reasonable charges paid.
All masters of vessels and other persons are forbid taking away said slave, or harboring him at their peril, under the penalty of one hundred pounds.
DAVID BANKS.
Newark, New-Jersey, February 8, 1802.
N.B. The above negro has been seen at Providence (R.I.) and at Lime in Connecticut, but on being pursued, left that and is now supposed to be in some other parts of the Eastern states.
The printers of the Rhode-Island Republican, the Bee, in Connecticut, and the Vermont Gazette, will much oblige the printers of this paper by giving the above advertisement an insertion for two or three weeks." - Event Type
- Freedom Seeking
- Date
- July 26, 1799 – February 1802
- Date Certainty
- Approximate
- Primary Participants
-
Will (b. 1753)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02864
Role: Runaway
Age: 49
Status: Enslaved
Enslaver(s) of this participant:
- David Banks (1740-1811)
Verbatim description from source:
"negro man named WILL, aged 49 years, about 5 feet 8 inches high; he is stout made and has a bald head; when he walks he throws out his feet and toes in a singular manner, walking very wide. He is a bold, daring fellow; talks and laughs much, and very loud; he speaks Low Dutch and middling good English, although he frequently gives his words the Dutch accent; he is not so very black as many of the African race; he is an arch fellow, and is very active on a farm, or on the water" - Additional Participants
-
David Banks (1740-1811)
Person identifier: NJS-PER-02828
Role: Enslaver, Advertiser - Record Contributor
- Jesse Bayker