Historical Advertisement for an Enslaved Person

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania advertisement for a 22-year-old man

The Oracle of Dauphin , 13 February, 1808.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Text

Text of the advertisement in the image above:

FOR SALE, The Time of a NEGRO MAN, a slave to 28 years. He has five years and seven months to serve, and is a healthy, active young fellow; a complete farmer, is fond of working with horses, and wishes to go into the country.
LIKEWISE, a 2d hand Coachee & Sleigh, with good harness to each, fit for immediate use. For terms apply to the subscriber in Harrisburgh.
JOSHUA ELDER. January 16, 1808.

Notes

The Elder family was one of the most prominent families in Dauphin County and Harrisburg. Joshua was the son of the Rev. John Elder, the famous preacher of Paxtang Presbyterian Church. Five members of the family registered enslaved people in Dauphin County, which at the time was a part of Lancaster County, after passage of the 1780 Gradual Abolition Act. Over the course of several years, Joshua Elder registered twelve enslaved people and may have enslaved more.

A farmer by profession, Joshua Elder also had a considerable knowledge of the law and served in several public offices during his life. He was highly involved with the revolution, administering the oath of allegiance to Lancaster County patriots as an appointed Justice of the Peace. He later served as Burgess of the Borough of Harrisburg in 1810.

The man offered for sale in this advertisement would have been twenty-two years old, based upon the remaining length of his term, and would have been born in August 1785. Because the man was born after March 1, 1780, he was legally a "term slave," or a person born to a mother enslaved for life, and held to a term of enslavement of 28 years. Elder appears to have used him on his Paxtang farm, as he notes that the man is "a complete farmer," and "is fond of working with horses." The man apparently enjoyed that type of work, as he expressed a preference to "go into the country."

The ad does not give the name of the man who is offered for sale. Joshua Elder registered two males born after 1780: Peter, born in March 1791, and Richard, born in February 1819, well after the date of this ad. Elder, therefore, acquired this enslaved man from some other enslaver who registered him.

  Click here for Joshua Elder's slaveholding data.
  Click here to read about Thomas Elder, nephew to Joshua Elder.

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