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March 1764: James Donbar, a "Spanish Indian" man escapes from Egg Harbor
FIVE POUNDS Reward.
RUN away, on the 26th of March last, from the Subscriber, at Great Egg-harbour, a Spanish Indian Servant Man, named James Donbar, about 5 Feet 3 or 4 Inches high, his Hair tied behind: Had on, when he went away, a blue Jacket, lined with red, a Check Flannel Shirt, old Leather Breeches, and blue Stockings; there are a Great Coat, and an Indian Blanket missing, and it is thought he will make towards the Forks of Delaware.
Whoever takes up and secures said Runaway in any Goal, so as his Master may have him again, shall have the above Reward, and reasonable Charges, paid by
RICHARD WESCOT.
Notes
James Donbar is described as a "Spanish Indian Servant Man," a combination of terms that encompass many possible situations and origins. The term "servant," while sometimes used to describe persons enslaved for life, in this instance probably refers to an indenture for a term of years. Terms of indentured servitude ranged from a few years, often arranged to pay off the cost of passage of impoverished white men and women from Europe, to twenty years or more, typically used to hold people of color in bondage. Servitude might also be imposed by a court as punishment for a crime or to pay off debts.
Although African Americans are most often associated with systems of colonial enslavement, Indiginous people of the Americas were also enslaved in large numbers by colonists. The enslavement of Native Americans by Europeans in the North American colonies was most common in the decades prior to the mass importation of African slaves, but the practice persisted on a smaller scale into the revolutionary era. Those enslaved under Spanish or Portuguese colonial rule were brought to the north via trade routes and from British raids on Spanish settlements.
Colonel Richard Wescott was a patriot and a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He owned a tavern in an area known as The Forks, in the Pine Barrens where the Batsto River feeds into the Mullica River. Along with ironmaster Charles Read, Wescott shared ownership of the Batsto Furnace, which manufactured cannons, munitions and other supplies for the Continental Army. Wescott was also involved with organizing blockade runners during the war and getting supplies to Washington's army encamped at Valley Forge. He died in 1825 at near 90 years of age in Mays Landing, New Jersey.
Wescott believed that Donbar would "make towards the Forks of Delaware," referring to an area in Northampton County, Pennsylvania at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers. This is in present day Easton.
Sources
The Pennsylvania Gazette, 12 April 1764.
Covering the history of African Americans in central Pennsylvania from the colonial era through the Civil War.
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