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May 1780: Virginia slaves Dick and Tom escaped from a slave catcher near Reading, PA
Alexandria, May 5, 1780.
Fifteen Hundred Dollars Reward
FOR apprehending TWO NEGRO MEN, viz. Dick, a likely fellow, about 25 or 26 years old, low and well set, has three remarkable scars on each side his face, being his country mark, speaks very little English. Tom, about 30 years old, is a very likely, lusty fellow, taller than Dick, has lost two of his upper fore teeth, has a number of curious flourishes, or artificial cuts, on one of his arms, being his country mark.
They are notorious offenders, and were taken from the jail at Northampton county, in Pennsylvania, by a certain Lev Tolbert, from whom they made their escape about twelve miles from Reading, on the night of the 14th of October last. Whoever apprehends the said Negroes, and secures them in any jail, so that I may get them again, shall have One Hundred Pounds reward, or Fifty Pounds for either of them, and if brought to Alexandria, the above reward, by me
MICHAEL GRETTER.
N.B. As they are artful fellows, it is earnestly requested, that if they are apprehended, particular care may be taken to prevent them from making their escape.
Notes
This May 1780 notice for the capture of Dick and Tom, enslaved men of Michael Gretter of Alexandria, Virginia, introduces a story of escape that began four years earlier for the man called Dick. In 1776 he had been owned by Dr. William Mills in North Carolina, from whom he escaped and made his way all the way to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His later enslaver, Michael Gretter, tells more of the story in a 1779 notice:
SIXTY DOLLARS REWARD.
RAN AWAY last night from the subscriber living in Alexandria, a likely young Negroe man, named DICK, about 24 years of age, a low well set fellow, has three remarkable scars on each side his face, being his country mark, speaks very little English; had on and took with him, a country linen shirt, a brown ditto, a superfine red broad-cloath double-breasted jacket, a blue coat, country linen trowsers, and many other cloathes; also a large old bed rug:
He knows the country very well, and did belong to Dr. William Mills, of North-Carolina, from whom he ran away about three years ago; and was put into Lancaster gaol, and on his return to Alexandria, I purchased him of an Agent, appointed by Dr. Mills to sell him. Whoever takes up said Negro, and secures him, so that I may get him again, shall have the above reward, and all other expences paid, if brought home.
MICHAEL GRETTER.
April 5, 1779.
As noted, Dick was purchased from Dr. Mills by Michael Gretter in Alexandria. It was from Gretter that Dick made another escape attempt on the night of April 4, 1779. Gretter apparently recovered Dick but the man, along with fellow enslaved African man Tom, made their escape together, making it as far as Northampton County in Pennsylvania before being captured and placed in the jail at Easton.
Dick and Tom are both described as displaying body modifications typical of certain African cultures, a feature frequently mentioned by American slaveholders as remarkable on slaves native to Africa. Perhaps this commonality bonded the two men on Gretter's tidewater Virginia plantation. Upon their escape they remained together, successfully traveling north into Pennsylvania and Northampton County. From Gretter's account, slave catcher Levi Tolbert in mid-October 1779 removed them from the Pennsylvania jail and started south to return them to Gretter in Alexandria and collect the promised reward and expenses. After traveling some fifty miles, on the evening of October 14th,Tolbert stopped with his charges for the night, and there, about twelve miles outside of Reading, Pennsylvania, things went wrong for slave catcher Tolbert. It is Michael Gretter again who provides details of their escape in an escape notice published in late October 1779:
They ... were taken from the gaol of Northampton county in Pennsylvania, by a certain Levi Talbert, from whom they made their escape about twelve miles from Reading Town on the night of the 14th inst. by slipping their hands out of their handcuffs and breaking a link of the chain which coupled them together round their necks.
October 21, 1779.
It seems likely that Gretter heard the details of their escape directly from Tolbert himself. Despite being handcuffed and shackled together at the necks, these "artful fellows" got away once again, prompting Gretter to include his "earnest" post script note to take "particular care...to prevent them from making their escape." Gretter's last published notice seeking the recovery of Dick and Tom appeared in the Pennsylvania Packet in June 1780, about eight months after their escape near Reading. With that amount of elapsed time, it is likely that these "notorious offenders" were finally enjoying freedom somewhere well north of Michael Gretter's Alexandria plantation.
A similar incident occurred five years later, in February 1785, when enslaved men Jack and David escaped from a slave catcher who was taking them from the jail in Easton back to Virginia. Like the men in this story, Jack and David also got away from the slave catcher near Reading, Pennsylvania. Read the story here.
Sources
Pennsylvania Packet, 05 June 1779.
Pennsylvania Packet, 28 October 1779.
Dunlap and Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser, 23 May 1780.
Covering the history of African Americans in central Pennsylvania from the colonial era through the Civil War.
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