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Patrick Hayes offers for sale a 19 year old man.

Oracle of Dauphin, 23 January 1799; page 4.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Patrick Hayes Sells a Slave

Patrick Hayes owned at least six slaves who could be the nineteen year old man offered for sale in this ad. We are told quite a bit about him...that he has "an obliging disposition," meaning that he is not inclined to resist his owner's will, and that he has survived small pox, measles and whooping cough--all diseases that took high tolls on children and young adults.

He is sold only for "the want of employment," which probably means that Hayes cannot afford to keep all of his slaves anymore. This man was born in 1780, the year of the Gradual Emancipation Act of 1780, and if held to the full term of his indenture, will be freed in 1808. As a well known slaveholder, Patrick Hayes does not hesitate to have his name on this advertisement.

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This page was updated on February 2, 2005.