The History of Slavery at Georgetown

Dublin Core

Title

The History of Slavery at Georgetown

Subject

Slavery--history
Slavery--Georgetown

Description

The items in this collection focus on the history of slavery at Georgetown, and draw on sources made available through the Georgetown Slavery Archive.

Creator

Atlantic World, Fall 2020

Collection Items

SARAH'S CERTIFICATE OF FREEDOM, 1810
In 1810, the courts at Baltimore County certified the freedom of a woman named Sarah, who had previously been enslaved by the Rev. William Pasquet.

Her certificate of freedom describes her as 37 years old, with a yellow complexion, and five feet…

Jail receipt, December 1838
This receipt from December 8, 1838, charges Fr. Thomas Mulledy ten dollars for taking an enslaved person to Alexandria and depositing him in jail.

"To a free colored man to buy his wife," 1827
On May 21st, 1827 a payment was made to an unnamed free African American man to help him buy his wife who was going to be sold to Georgia. The entry above records a payment to "Charly's wife, a black woman, for clothes."

Hiring "servants" at the College, February 1805
This entry in the Procurator ledgers of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus indicates that the Jesuits' general fund financed the hire of "servants" for Georgetown College in 1804. The reference to "servants" most likely refers to enslaved…

Runaway ad for Isaac, 1814
A runaway slave advertisement for Isaac, who had run away from Georgetown College. The ad was published in the Daily National Intelligencer on February 1, 1814. John McElroy, who posted the ad, was a Jesuit priest and Clerk of Georgetown.

"Spalding has runned away": Leonard Neale to Francis Neale on the management of the Missions, July 15, 1805
In a letter from 1805, Leonard Neale, President of Georgetown College, writes to his brother Rev. F. Neale and shares that Spalding has run away, presumably from the College.
The letter also mentions two other people who were possibly enslaved: "In…

Georgetown College pays to capture Spalding, a runaway slave, 1805
In a letter from 1805, Leonard Neale, President of Georgetown College, wrote to his brother Rev. F. Neale that Spalding had ran away. The following entries from the College Cashbook register payments for "going after A. Spalding," and paying…

John Hoover sells "Negro boy Mat" to the College, 1835
On New Year's Eve in 1835, the College purchased an enslaved boy named Mat from John Hoover for $500.

The death and burial of Margaret Smallwood, April 21, 1837
These two documents from 1837 provide an account of the death and burial of Margaret Smallwood, an enslaved woman who worked and died at Georgetown College at the age of 45. Margaret was born in St. Mary's County and was buried at the College…

Shoes for Harriette, an enslaved woman at Georgetown College, May 10, 1824
On this account record from 1824, Mrs. Margaret Fenwick was charged for 4 pairs of shoes for her slave Harriette. She was also credited for Harriette's monthly wages at the College.Georgetown hired Harriette from Mrs. Fenwick from 1824 to 1826.Upon…
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