Port of Philadelphia Duties on Negroes and Mullatoes Imported

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	Port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
	Duties Paid for Enslaved Persons, 1763-1784 Data from documents in the Pennsylvania State Archives Items Source: "Port Of Philadelphia Records: Bonds And Papers Relating To Duties On Negro And Mulatto Slaves (Roll 6633)", Port of Philadelphia Records: Bonds and Papers Relating to Duties on Negro and Mulatto Slaves, 1720-1788, 1720. https://digitalarchives.powerlibrary.org/psa/islandora/object/psa%3A517437. The document pictured above is representative of the paperwork obligating persons bringing enslaved persons into Pennsylvania to a £20 duty on each enslaved person as established by law. A number of such documents survive and are preserved at the Pennsylvania State Archives. The collecttion is available online at the link noted under the image. Below are lists of the persons, mostly citizens of Philadelphia, who imported slaves and appear on surviving documents. Only a few of the documents record either a name or sex of the actual enslaved person. Most merely record the duty due on one enslaved person imported along with the date and the names, residence and occupations of those obligated to pay the duty. Pages noted in each entry below correspond to the scanned images in the online collection. The entries below are in order of the date of importation. Date: 8 November 1763 Importers: Samuel Mifflin of the City of Philada Mercht and Joseph Brown of Sd City Mariner Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: For Negro Duty Collection page: 33-34 Notes: No full document as pictured above. This is a handwritten receipt referring to the original date of importation. Date: 28 November 1763 Importers: John Henderson late of the Island of Jamaica Gent and John Elphinston of the City of Philada merchant Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: One Negro Slave imported into this Province Collection page: 10 Notes: Date: 8 November 1763 Importers: Samuel Mifflin of the City of Philada Mercht and Joseph Brown of Sd City Mariner Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: For Negro Duty Collection page: 33-34 Notes: No full document as pictured above. This is a handwritten receipt referring to the original date of importation. Date: 15 July 1767 Importers: John Maxwell Nesbitt of the City of Philadelphia Mercht and Robt Glen Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: One Negro Slave the property of (Sarah?) Johnson Collection page: 11 Notes: In a 1765 advertisement for a found horse, Robert Glen listed his location as Oxford Township. Sources: Pennsylvania Gazette, 10 January 1765. Date: 17 December 1767 Importers: William Hardcastler of the City of Philada Mariner & William Forbes of do Cooper Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: For Negro Duty Collection page: 35-36 Notes: No full document as pictured above. This is a handwritten receipt referring to the original date of importation. Date: 17 March 1768 Importers: William Foxe of the City of Philada Mercht and John Doe of sd City Gent. Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: For Negro entry Collection page: 29-30 Notes: No full document as pictured above. This is a handwritten receipt referring to the original date of importation. Date: 10 July 1769 Importers: John Scull of Reading Berks Co. & James Biddle of the City Philada Gen. Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: For Negro entry Collection page: 31-32 Notes: No full document as pictured above. This is a handwritten receipt referring to the original date of importation. Date: 29 August 1769 Importers: Abraham DeLeon & William Morrell Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: For Negro duties Collection page: 43 Notes: No full document as pictured above. This is a handwritten receipt referring to the original date of importation: June 13th 1786 -- Received of the Executors of the Estate of Captain William Morrell, Nineteen pounds four Shillings & eight pence being dues fro Principal & Interest on a Bond Executed to Thomas Coombe Collector Aug, 29th 1769 given by Abraham DeLeon & William Morrell, being for Negro duties. £19.4.8 for David Rittenhouse Treas Chas. Evans Date: 10 November 1769 Importers: Alexr Lunan of the City of Philada Mercht and John Mullowney of sd City Mariner Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: Negro Boy Cesar Collection page: 13 Notes: Date: 29 April 1770 Importers: George Harper late of the Island of Barbados Gent. and Henry Drinker of the City of Philada Mercht Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: One Negro Slave named John Collection page: 7 Notes: Date: 9 August 1770 Importers: Richard Breakell late of St Vincents Mariner & George Bray of the City of Philada Biscuit Baker Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: a Negro Slave impd into this Province Collection page: 15 Notes: (on reverse: Richard Breakwell, Bray resides on Water Street) Date: 29 October 1770 Importers: John Duffield of the City of Philadelphia Merch't and Stacey Hepburn of sd City Gent Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: Negroe Slave named Celia the propy of James Buddon Collection page: 5 Notes: This is the document in the image above. Date: 26 December 1772 Importers: David Ireland of the District of Southwark BlackSmith & David Sproat of the City of Philadelphia Mercht Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: (no enslaved person identified) Collection page: 17 Notes: Date: 23 March 1773 Importers: Joseph Huddle of the District of Southwark in the County of Philadelphia Cooper & Henry Coor of the Same Place Yeoman Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: (no enslaved person identified) Collection page: 8 Notes: Date: 12 June 1774 Importers: William Wishart & Jesse Maris of the City of Philadelphia Merchts Duty to be Paid: Forty Pounds (indicating two enslaved persons were imported) Enslaved Person: Noted in margin: "This slave is reported to me to be the Property of Richd Edwards." Collection page: 19 Notes: Date: 17 December 1784 Importers: William and Isaac Bartram Duty to be Paid: Twenty Pounds Enslaved Person: One Negroe or Mullattoe slave Collection page: 24 Notes: Original date of importation not noted. Handwritten receipt: Received December 17th 1784 of William and Isaac Bartram Sixteen pounds Nineteen Shilings & eight Pence, for the principal of their Bond due 28 April 1783 on L10 and Interest, thereupon to teh Seventeenth of December, 1784 at 6 PCent, -- Being Monies oweing from duties on Negroe & Mullatoe Slaves imported £16.9.8 For David Rittenhouse Esq S. Treas. Charles Evans Page 22 of the collection includes an auditor's report of duties collected between 1778 and 1780, none of which are recorded above: State of the Accounts of Walter Shee Esq late Collector of Duties upon Negroe & Mullatoe Slaves Imported, & late Collector of Tonnages upon Shipping, due The Estate of Walter Shee decd to Duties upon Negroe & Mullattoe Slaves Imported: Cont Me State Recd on Account thereof from Sept 1778 to 1780 at Sundry times including £80 Paid by Saml Cunningham DCd. Chester County Default Commiss 5 PerCent} 591.2.6 (other figures for tonnages & etc not related to slave importations) Nov 20, 1781
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Port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Duties Paid for Enslaved Persons, 1763-1784

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