Slaveholders Listed on this Page
- Bossler, John (Enslaved persons listed: Jane)
- Bossler, Thomas (Enslaved persons listed: John, Rachel)
- Buehler, ? (Enslaved persons listed: Peg)
- Clark, Thomas (Enslaved persons listed: Joe)
- Clark, Benjamin (Enslaved persons listed: Anthony Welsh)
- Coleman, Robert (Enslaved persons listed: Cato, Dick, Tony, Abraham, Isaac, Beck, Harriet)
- Grubb, Curtis (Enslaved persons listed: Unnamed infant, Abe, Austin, Beck, Bob, Ned, Caesar, Cato, Dick, Little Dick, Dina, Dina, Jr., Exeter, Flora, Harry, Harry, Sr., Jack, Jim, Joe, Mingo, Moses, Nell, Phillis, Pompe, Sampson, Sam)
- Grubb, Jacob (Enslaved persons listed: Jacob)
- Grubb, Peter (Enslaved persons listed: Abel)
- Kucher, Christopher (Enslaved persons listed: Freegrift)
- Orth, Adam (Enslaved persons listed: Sala, Frank)
- Patton, Robert (Enslaved persons listed: Benn Logan, Jenny, Zilpah)
These listings represent those slaveholders who were living in what is present day Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. At the time of registration of these slaves, as required by the Gradual Emancipation Act of 1780, this area was still officially Lancaster County. Dauphin County would not be formed until five years later, being taken from part of Lancaster County. Still later, in 1813, Lebanon County would be formed from parts of Dauphin and Lancaster counties.
Enslavement Data
- Slaveholder's Name Bossler, John
Town or Township: Heidelberg
Occupation: Merchant
- Enslaved Person's Name: Jane
Age: 07
Sex: Female
Date of Record: 27 September 1780
Notes:
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon"
- Slaveholder's Name Bossler, Thomas
Town or Township: Heidelberg
Occupation: Miller
- Enslaved Person's Name: John
Age: 40
Sex: Male
Date of Record: 29 September 1780
Notes: Status: Slave for life.
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon"
- Enslaved Person's Name: Rachel
Age: 15
Sex: Female
Date of Record: 9/27/1780
Notes: Status: Slave for life.
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon"
- Slaveholder's NameBuehler
Town or Township: Lebanon Township (then Dauphin County)
Occupation:
Notes:
- Enslaved Person's Name: Peg
Sex: Female
Age: 50
Date of Birth: 1757 (calculated)
Date of Record: 1807
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Listed in an 1807 record of enslaved persons in Lebanon Township, Dauphin County, simply as "Buehler's Slave."
Source: Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Slaveholder's Name Clark, Thomas
Town or Township: Lebanon Borough
Occupation:
Notes:
- Enslaved Person's Name: Joe
Age: 28a
Sex: Male
Date of Record: August 10, 1774
Notes: Status undetermined. Mulatto. Ran away in August, 1774 in company with a white servant, John Platfoot. Text of runaway ad: TWELVE POUNDS Reward. RAN away from the subscriber, living in Lebanon Town, Lancaster County, the two following servants, viz. JOE, a mulattoe man, about 5 feet 6 inches high, remarkably white, about 28 years of age, a stout well made fellow, with grey eyes; had on and took with him a green saggathy coat, striped silk jacket, a fine ruffled shirt, a dark coloured coat, a white jacket, three home made flax shirts, a half worn beaver hat, two pair of striped cotton trowsers, a striped cotton jacket, one pair of good shoes, a good rifle gun, a pair of pistols, and has a good sum of money with him.
JOHN PLATFOOT, an Englishman, about 5 feet 5 inches high, brown hair, a thick set fellow, down look, and talks broad English, took with him two pair of tow trowsers, a flax shirt, and a jacket, the other cloaths unknown. They both went away last Sunday night, and it is supposed they will travel through the Jerseys to New England. Whoever takes up and secures the said servants in any goal, so that their master may have them again, shall have TEN POUNDS reward for JOE, and FORTY SHILLINGS for J. PLATFOOT, besides reasonable charges, paid by
THOMAS CLARK.
N.B. It is supposed they will both change their names and cloaths. All masters of vessels and others are hereby desired not to harbour or conceal them, as they will answer the same at their peril.
Source: The Pennsylvania Gazette, August 10, 1774
- Slaveholder's NameClark, Benjamin
Town or Township: "near Jonestown"
Occupation:
Notes:
- Slave Name: Anthony Welsh
Age: 40
Sex: Male
Date of Record: August 12, 1772
Notes: Runaway ad, placed by Clark in the Pennsylvania Gazette on August 12, 1772:
RUN away from the subscriber, living in Hanover township, Lancaster county, near Jonestown, a NEGROE man, named TONY (but sometimes calls himself Anthony) he is about 5 feet 5 inches high, 40 years old, has a scare across his throat, lost some of his teeth, is a butcher by trade; had on and took with him, when he went away, a lightish blue broadcloth coat, a striped jacket, two pair of striped trowsers, one pair of tow ditto, a half-worn beaver hat, a leather cap, and a hunting shirt, also one old velvet jacket, a lincey ditto, a new linen shirt, and an old shirt, a butchersteel, a hone, two pair of buckles, and a pair of shoes; he talks good English and Dutch, and is this country born. Whoever takes up said Negroe, and secures him, so that his master may have him again, shall have FORTY SHILLINGS reward, and reasonable charges, paid by
BENJAMIN CLERK. July 27, 1772.
Anthony was captured in New Jersey, according to this jailor's advertisement:
Gloucester, New Jersey, September 1, 1772.
WERE committed to my custody two men, one on suspicion of being a runaway servant, and calls himself JOHN HANDLIN, about 30 years of age, a short well set fellow, of a dark complexion, and black curled hair; had on, when committed, a pair of new shoes, coarse shirt and trowsers, striped jacket, without sleeves, and old felt hat, and says he was born in Ireland. Likewise a Negroe man, says he belongs to BENJAMIN CLARKE, in Hanover township, Lancaster county, calls himself ANTHONY WELSH, and says he was born in Burlington, in the jerseys. This is therefore to desire their masters or mistresses, if any they have, to come within three weeks from this date, pay charges, and take them away, or they will be sold out for the same, by me RICHARD JOHNSON, Goaler.
Source: The Pennsylvania Gazette, August 12, September 9, 1772
- Slaveholder's NameColeman, Robert
Town or Township: Lebanon
Occupation: Ironmaster of Cornwall Iron Furnace
Notes: Robert Coleman purchased Cornwall Iron Furnace from the Grubb family. A listing of slaves in Lebanon Township, Dauphin County notes the following "Slaves at Cornwall:" Dick, age 50; Toney, age 50; Cato, age 45; Peg, age 50. ( Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807)
Several years prior to that, according to 1786 tax lists, Coleman listed 17 slaves at Cornwall Furnace. Robert Coleman also registered and held many slaves in Lancaster County. See the listings for "Coleman, Robert " on the Lancaster County pages.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Cato
Sex: Male
Age: 50
Date of Birth: 1750 (calculated)
Status: Slave for life
Description:
Date of Record: July 1800
Notes: List notes "Property of Robert Coleman." Cato was registered by Curtis Grubb at Lancaster in 1780, at age 30. Possession of Cato passed from the Grubb family to Coleman along with the iron works. Cato was listed as a slave to Coleman in an 1800 list of slaves in Lebanon Township, Dauphin County. In 1807, Cato was listed under "Slaves at Cornwall."
Source: Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Enslaved Person's Name: Dick
Sex: Male
Age: 40
Date of Birth: 1760 (calculated)
Status: Slave for life
Description:
Date of Record: July 1800
Notes: List notes "Property of Robert Coleman." Dick was registered by Curtis Grubb at Lancaster in 1780 as "Little Dick," at age 20. Possession of Dick passed from the Grubb family to Coleman along with the iron works. Dick was listed as a slave to Coleman in an1800 list of slaves in Lebanon Township, Dauphin County. In 1807, Dick was listed under "Slaves at Cornwall."
Source: Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Enslaved Person's Name: Tony
Sex: Male
Age: 50
Date of Birth: 1750 (calculated)
Status: Slave for life
Description:
Date of Record: July 1800
Notes: Listing for 1800 notes "Property of Robert Coleman." In 1807, Tony was listed under "Slaves at Cornwall."
Source: Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Enslaved Person's Name: Abraham
Sex: Male
Age: 10
Date of Birth: 1790 (calculated)
Status: Slave to age 28
Description:
Date of Record: July 1800
Notes: List notes "Property of Robert Coleman."
Source: Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Enslaved Person's Name: Isaac
Sex: Male
Age: 06
Date of Birth: 1794 (calculated)
Status: Slave to age 28
Description:
Date of Record: July 1800
Notes: List notes "Property of Robert Coleman."
Source: Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Enslaved Person's Name: Beck
Sex: Female
Age: 50
Date of Birth: 1750 (calculated)
Status: Slave for life
Description:
Date of Record: July 1800
Notes: List notes "Property of Robert Coleman." Beck was registered by Curtis Grubb at Lancaster in 1780, at age 27. Her age here is apparently an estimate, as all of the adult slaves in the tax list had their ages rounded to the nearest decade. Possession of Beck passed from the Grubb family to Coleman along with the iron works.
Source: Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Enslaved Person's Name: Harriet
Sex: Female
Age: 02
Date of Birth: 1798 (calculated)
Status: Slave to age 28
Description:
Date of Record: July 1800
Notes: List notes "Property of Robert Coleman."
Source: Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Slaveholder's NameGrubb, Curtis
Town or Township: Lebanon
Occupation: Ironmaster of Cornwall Iron Furnace
Notes: First name also spelled "Curtiss" in some documents.
Son of Peter Grubb (1700-1754), the founder of Cornwall Iron Furnace and Hopewell Forge. When Peter Grubb Sr. died in 1754, his estate was divided among his two sons with two-thirds going to the elder son Curtis and one-third to Peter Jr. A county history puts the number of slaves at Cornwall in 1776 at eleven, but does not note which Grubb brother owned them. (Carmean, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania--A History, page 76)
The will of Curtis Grubb, dated 18 March 1788, allows his wife her choice of a female slave: "I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife, Ann, the sum of two thousand pounds of gold or silver money, being the amount of the sum which I promised she should have for her dower after my decease, to be paid unto her out of the first monies arising from the sale of my estate. I further give and bequeath unto my said wife, one good feather bed, with suitable bed clothes and hangings. I also give unto her tow of my best horses and my carriage; and also one of my best negro wenches, of which my said wife may take her choice." ("Henry G. Carson, administrator of Curtis Grubb," U.S. Serial Set ID: 970 CC.rp.90, p. 9)
- Enslaved Person's Name: ?
Sex: Undetermined
Slave Age: Four months old at Registration.
Date of Birth: June 1780 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in registry as "one mollatta French half-blooded aged 4 months."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Abe
Sex: Male
Age: 5
Date of Birth: 1775 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations, despite his age, as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Austin
Sex: Male
Age: 08
Date of Birth: 1772
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Beck
Sex: Female
Age: 27
Date of Birth: 1753
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro woman."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Bob
Sex: Male
Age: 24
Date of Birth: 1756 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Ned
Sex: Male
Age: "about 22 years of age"
Date of Birth: circa 1757
Date of Record: 06 October 1779 (Escape ad)
Status: Ned escaped from Cornwall Iron Works on August 31, 1779. Grubb advertised for his recovery, as well as for Caesar, who ran away a week later, in the Philadelphia newspapers:
Four Hundred Dollars Reward.
RUN away from Cornwall Furnace, in Lancaster county, on Monday the 31st of August last, a likely Mulatto MAN, named NED, about 22 years of age, 5 feet 8 or 9 inches high; had on, and took with him a grey coloured regimental coat, with red cuffs and collar; a pair of leather breeches, good tow shirts and trowsers, new shoes, and a Horseman's cap. --
Also, on Sunday the 5th instant, a likely Negro MAN, named CAESAR, about 25 years of age, 5 feet 7 or 8 inches high, very talkative, and plays tolerable on the fife. Whoever apprehends said SLAVES and secures them, that their master may get them again, shall have the above reward, or 200 Dollars for either of them, (if brought home all reasonable expences.) CURTIS GRUBB.
Notes: Described in the escape ad as "Mulatto Man." Grubb did not register him in 1780 along with other enslaved persons, so his fate is uncertain.
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."; Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, 06 October 1779.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Caesar
Sex: Male
Age: 25
Date of Birth: circa 1755
Date of Record: October 06, 1780 (Registration); 06 October 1779 (Escape ad)
Status: Registered in October 1780 as a slave for life, noted as having run away at time of registration. Caesar escaped from Cornwall Iron Works on September 5, 1779. Grubb advertised for a previous runaway, Ned, as well as Caesar in the Philadelphia newspapers:
Four Hundred Dollars Reward.
RUN away from Cornwall Furnace, in Lancaster county, on Monday the 31st of August last, a likely Mulatto MAN, named NED, about 22 years of age, 5 feet 8 or 9 inches high; had on, and took with him a grey coloured regimental coat, with red cuffs and collar; a pair of leather breeches, good tow shirts and trowsers, new shoes, and a Horseman's cap. --
Also, on Sunday the 5th instant, a likely Negro MAN, named CAESAR, about 25 years of age, 5 feet 7 or 8 inches high, very talkative, and plays tolerable on the fife. Whoever apprehends said SLAVES and secures them, that their master may get them again, shall have the above reward, or 200 Dollars for either of them, (if brought home all reasonable expences.) CURTIS GRUBB.
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro." In that a year had passed between Caesar's escape and Registration, it seems unlikely that Grubb ever caught him.
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."; Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, 06 October 1779.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Cato
Sex: Male
Age: 30
Date of Birth: 1750 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man." Cato was listed as a slave at Cornwall Iron Furnace for 1800 and 1807, according to a source derived from the Pennsylvania Septennial Census records.
Sources: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780." | Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Enslaved Person's Name: Dick
Sex: Male
Age: 50
Date of Birth: 1730 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man." This is most likely "Governor Dick", the old slave who ran away from Cornwall Furnace on April 17, 1796. Text of advertisement:
Twenty Dollars Reward. RAN away from Cornwall Furnace, Dauphin county, on Sunday the 17th of April last, a Negro Man, called Dick, (alias) Governor Dick: he is an elderly man, bald headed, about five feet ten inches high, stout made, has a down look, is slightly marked on each of his temples with the small scores usual to some of the natives of Africa, has large feet, and a remarkable scar on the great toe of his right foot, occasioned by its being split with an axe. He is by trade a rough carpenter, and values himself greatly on his dexterity in that occupation. Had on when he went away, a new drab-coloured coatee, with metal buttons, jacket and overalls of the same, a new wool hat, and took with him some old clothes. As he lived in the early part of his life in Hartford county, State of Maryland, it is probable he has shaped his course to that quarter. Whoever secures the said Negro so that the owners may get him again, shall receive the above reward, and reasonable charges, if brought home. July 8th, 1796. RUDOLPH KELKER, jun.
This ad also ran in the Lancaster Journal, Lancaster County, on July 08, 1796. (Source 59, courtesy of Ann C. Clausen of Interpretive Solutions, Pleasantville, NY.)
Governor Dick was a collier, or charcoal burner, who spent his time cutting wood and gathering it into a collier's pit for the specialized job of slow-burning it into charcoal, which was used as fuel for the furnace. This was a highly valued skill which required that the collier spend much of his time tending to the slow-burning mounds. Colliers usually lived in rude solitary huts near their charcoal mounds, which were located in the woods at a remote distance from the furnace. The site in West Cornwall Township, Lebanon County, known as Governor Dick Hill is named for this slave, probably because his collier hut was located there. Mount Gretna was originally known as Dick's Hill, but the name was changed in the middle to late 1800's.
Note the mention of small scores marked on each of Dick's temples, "usual to some of the natives of Africa;" these traditional tribal markings are only rarely found on slaves working in this area and time period. Most slaves in rural Pennsylvania at this time were either born in the region or, more rarely, were brought from plantations in the Caribbean Islands.
For more details about "Governor" Dick (the person) see "Governor Dick."
Sources: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780." | Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon"
- Slave Given Name: Dick, aka "Little Dick"
Age: 20
Date of Birth: 1760 (calculated)
Sex: Male
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man." The name "Little Dick" was probably used to differentiate this slave from the elder Dick, born thirty years earlier. It is not known if this person is related to the older man. Dick was listed as a slave at Cornwall Iron Furnace for 1800 and 1807, according to a source derived from the Pennsylvania Septennial Census records. His age was reported as 40 in 1800, and 50 in 1807, the latter record seeming to be an estimated age.
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780." | Tax Lists, Inhabitants and Slaves, 1800, 1807
- Enslaved Person's Name: Dina
Sex: Female
Age: 26
Date of Birth: 1754 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro woman."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Dina, Jr.
Sex: Female
Age: 11
Date of Birth: 1769 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro girl."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Exeter
Sex: Male
Age: 23
Date of Birth: 1757 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Flora
Sex: Female
Age: 08
Date of Birth: 1772 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro girl."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Harry
Sex: Male
Age: 13
Date of Birth: 1767 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Harry, Sr.
Sex: Male
Age: 23
Date of Birth: 1757 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Jack
Sex: Male
Age: 24
Date of Birth: 1756 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: This could be the slave listed below, although the ages do not match.
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Jack
Sex: Male
Age: 24 or 25
Date of Birth: 1747 or 1748 (calculated)
Date of Record: July 16, 1772
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Jack was purchased from Robert Craig of Donegal Township, Lancaster County. He ran away from the iron furnce in May, 1772, was captured but ran away again in August of that same year. He was apparently recaptured, because Curtis Grubb registered him as a slave in Lancaster in October, 1780.
Text of runaway ad for May, 1772:
RUN AWAY from the subscriber, living at Cornwall Furnace, a Negroe man, named JACK, 24 or 25 years of age, slim made, about 5 feet 7 or 8 inches high, talks good English; had on, when he went away, a new felt hat, a light coloured coat, short red waistcoat, without sleeves, a good pair of leather breeches, old stockings, without feet, new shoes, tied with strings; he was lately in the Workhouse, at Lancaster, and sold by Robert Craig, living in Donegall township, who was his master at that time. Whoever takes up said Negroe, and brings him to the above Furnace, or secures him in any of his Majesty's goals, so that his master may have him again, shall have THREE POUNDS reward, and reasonable charges, paid by CURTIS GRUBB.
May 12, 1772. (Source--The Pennsylvania Gazette, July 16, 1772; Source number 60)
Jack ran away again soon after he was captured, despite having an iron collar secured around his neck as punishment. Text of runaway ad for August, 1772:
EIGHT DOLLARS Reward. RUN away from the subscriber, living in Lebanon township, Lancaster county, on the 21st of August last, a Negroe man, named JACK, about 5 feet 8 or 9 inches high, full faced, has a down look, talks very good English; had on when he went away, a new ozenbrigs shirt and a new pair of ozenbrigs trowsers, an old felt hat, a red waistcoat without sleeves, a pair of good shoes, tied with strings, and an iron collar about his neck. Whoever takes up and secures said Negroe, in any of his Majesty's goals, so that his master may get him again, shall have the above reward, and all reasonable charges, paid by CURTIS GRUBB. (Source--The Pennsylvania Gazette, November 04, 1772; 101)
Source: The Pennsylvania Gazette
- Enslaved Person's Name: Jim
Sex: Male
Age: 18
Date of Birth: 1762 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Joe
Sex: Male
Age: 23
Date of Birth: 1757 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Mingo
Age: 27
Sex: Male
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Notes: Status: Slave for life.
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon"
- Enslaved Person's Name: Moses
Sex: Male
Age: 45
Date of Birth: 1735 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Nell
Sex: Female
Age: 30
Date of Birth: 1750 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro woman."
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon"
- Enslaved Person's Name: Phillis
Sex: Female
Age: 25
Date of Birth: 1755 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro woman."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Pompe
Sex: Male
Age: 27
Date of Birth: 1753 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man."
Source: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Sampson
Sex: Male
Age: 27
Date of Birth: 1753 (calculated)
Date of Record: October 06, 1780
Status: Slave for life
Notes: Described in 1780 Slave Registrations as "Negro man." Historian Joseph E. Walker, in his research into slavery in the Pennsylvania iron industry, notes "At Cornwall Furnace the slave Sampson was a keeper, second most highly skilled position in the operation of a furnace." Walker cites his source as "Cornwall Furnace Time Book, 1786-1794 passim; HSP." ("Negro Labor in the Charcoal Iron Industry of Southeastern Pennsylvania," Joseph E. Walker. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 93 [October 1969], 466-486.)
Source: Registration: "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780."
- Enslaved Person's Name: Sam
Sex: Male
Age: "about 35 Years of Age"
Date of Birth: circa 1726
Date of Record: 27 August 1761
Status: Slave for life -- Runaway
Notes: Sam was purchased in Philadelphia in the summer of 1760. He escaped from the Cornwall Iron Works a year later, on 24 August 1761:
FOUR PISTOLES Reward.
RUN away from Cornwall (alias Grubb's Iron-Works) August 24, a Negroe Man, named Sam, about 35 Years of Age, speaks good English, is Pock-marked pretty thick, full-faced, smoaks much, about 5 Feet 7 Inches high; Had on when he went away, an Ozenbrigs Shirt and Trowsers, Felt Hat; and with great Probability is supposed to make for Philadelphia, as he was bought there last Summer. Whoever takes up and secures said Negroe, and brings him to said Works, or send Word, shall have the above Premium, paid by me NATHANIEL GILES.
Nathaniel Giles was possibly a manager at Cornwall. Looking for more information on his role.
Source: The Pennsylvania Gazette, 27 August 1761
- Slaveholder's Name Grubb, Jacob
Town or Township: Lebanon
Occupation: Ironmaster
Owner's Notes:
- Enslaved Person's Name: Jacob
Sex: Male
Age: ?
Date of Birth: ?
Date of Record: See slave memo.
Status: Slave to the age of 28 years
Notes: Registered in Dauphin County as the child of a slave by Samuel Sinclair for Jacob Grubb in Lebanon Township, then part of Dauphin County. This places the date of registration in or after 1785, the year in which Dauphin County was formed from Lancaster County, but before 1813, the year in which Lebanon County was formed.
Source: Children of Previously Registered Slaves
- Enslaved Person's Name: Rachel
Sex: Female
Age: ?
Date of Birth: ?
Date of Record: See slave memo.
Status: Slave to the age of 28 years
Notes: Registered in Dauphin County as the child of a slave by Samuel Sinclair for Jacob Grubb in Lebanon Township, then part of Dauphin County. This places the date of registration in or after 1785, the year in which Dauphin County was formed from Lancaster County, but before 1813, the year in which Lebanon County was formed.
Source: Children of Previously Registered Slaves
- Slaveholder's Name Grubb, Peter Jr.
Town or Township: Lebanon
Occupation: Ironmaster at Hopewell Forge (Cornwall Iron Furnace)
Owner's Notes: Lived 1740-1786. Son of Peter Grubb, founder of Cornwall Furnace. Brother of Curtis Grubb. Served in the Revolutionary War as a Colonel. Peter Grubb, Jr. established Mount Hope Furnace in Lancaster in 1784.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Abel
Sex: Male
Age: 24 or 25
Date of Birth: 1754 or 1755 (calculated--based upon the date of running away); His actual date of birth was probably 1758, based upon his 1780 registration at 22 years of age, by Peter Grubb in Lancaster.
Date of Record: March 31, 1781
Status: Runaway
Notes: Ran away from James Sharps in Sadsbury Township, Chester County, while still the property of Peter Grubb. He may have been hired out to Sharps by Grubb, which was a common practice. Text of runaway advertisement:
One Ton of BAR IRON Reward, (or the value thereof in currency)
RAN away from James Sharps, in Sadsbury township, Chester county, on the 10th day of April, 1779, a remarkable likely Negroe Man, very black, named Abel, about 24 or 25 years of age, 5 feet 10 or 11 inches high, with a mole on one of his cheeks, his clothes unknown; it is supposed he harbours between New Castle and St. George, or about Appquinimink, in Delaware State, as he has some friends that are freemen living in a cedar swamp in that neighborhood. Whoever takes up said Negroe, and secures him in any goal, or brings him to his master living at Hopewell forge, in Lancaster county, shall have the above reward, paid by PETER GRUBB.
N.B. It is probable he will pass for a freeman, he having got a pass from a free Negroe, named NAT, and may pass by that name. March 31, 1781.
This ad clearly shows how groups of free Blacks helped out escaping slaves by providing shelter and passes.
This person was registered by Grubb, of "Hopewell Forge" in Lancaster County, on October 21, 1780, as a 22 year-old Negro man. The notation "runaway" was included in the registration. (Source 102) See the Lancaster County listings, under "Grubb, Peter."
Source: The Pennsylvania Gazette, April 25, 1781
- Slaveholder's Name Kucher, Christopher
Town or Township: Lebanon
Occupation: Miller
Notes: During the Revolutionary War, miller Christopher Kucher took charge of three of the Hessian prisoners that were being held in the Moravian Church. The prisoners performed work for Kucher in exchange for being released from their imprisonment at the church. The Hessians were: Henry Heinermann, Henry Mander and Nicolaus Hinckel.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Freegrist
Age: 20
Sex: Female
Date of Record: 12 October 1780
Notes: Status: Slave for life. I believe the slave's actual name was "Freegrist," as the owner was a miller. The person who transcribed the original record may have mistaken the old style 's' for an 'f.' The JATR database transcribes the name as "Freegift"
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon"; Young, Cory James. "A Just and True Return: Pennsylvania’s Surviving County Slave Registries, 1780-1826." Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation 3, no. 1 (2022). https://doi.org/10.25971/QS08-YE30. Accessed 31 July 2024.
- Slaveholder's Name Orth, Adam
Town or Township: Lebanon
Occupation: Farmer, miller, ironmaster
Notes: During the Revolutionary War, Adam Orth took charge of four of the Hessian prisoners that were being held in the Moravian Church. The prisoners performed work for Orth in exchange for being released from their imprisonment at the church. The Hessians were: Justus Fogal, John Gersten, Henry Carle and John Knobel.
- Enslaved Person's Name: Sala
Age: 32
Sex: Female
Date of Birth: circa 1748
Date of Record: 12 October 1780
Notes: Status: Slave for life.
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon"
- Enslaved Person's Name: Franck
Sex: Male
Age: 14 (Registered by John Harris in 1780)
Date of Record: 09 October 1780
Notes: "Aged 14 years last May." Status: Slave for life. Born May 1766. Frank died 04 November 1839 in the Dauphin County
Poorhouse. His obituary appeared in The Liberator, which attributed the Reporter as its source. The obituary says Frank "was manumitted
by the late Mr. Adam Orth, of Lebanon (then Dauphin) County." This seems to indicate the Frank was sold or otherwise
transferred to Orth sometime after the death of John Harris in 1791.
Source: Register of Negro and Mulatto Slaves and Servants, 1780; The Liberator, 22 November 1839.
- Slaveholder's Name Patton, Robert
Town or Township: Lebanon (township, as part of Lancaster County in 1780)
Occupation: Merchant
- Enslaved Person's Name: Benn Logan
Age: 06
Sex: Male
Date of Record:October 1, 1780
Notes: Status: Slave for life. Described at registration as "Mulatto Boy." Registered in Lancaster.
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon" | "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780"
- Enslaved Person's Name: Jenny
Age: 10
Sex: Female
Date of Record: October 1, 1780
Notes: Status: Slave for life. Described at registration as "Mulatto." Registered in Lancaster.
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon" | "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780"
- Enslaved Person's Name: Zilpah
Age: 34
Sex: Female
Date of Record: October 1, 1780
Notes: Status: Slave for life. Described at registration as "Mulatto Woman." Registered in Lancaster.
Source: Egle, "History of the Counties of Dauphin and Lebanon" | "Slaves in Lancaster County in 1780"
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