All Slave Research is NOT the Same

Researching A New England Slave From The 1600s

State	MASS	NH	NY	CON	RI	PA	NJ	VT
European settlement	1620	1623	1624	1633	1635	1638	1620	1666
First record of slavery	1629?	1645	1626	1639	1652	1639	1626?	c1760?
Official end of slavery	1783	1783	1799	1784	1784	1780	1804	1777
Actual end of slavery	1783	c1845?	1827	1848	1842	c1845?	1865	1777?
Percent black 1790	1.4%	0.6%	7.6%	2.3%	6.3%	2.4%	7.7%	0.3%
Percent black 1860	0.78%	0.15%	1.26%	1.87%	2.26%	1.95%	3.76%	0.22%

   Chart: Slavery in the North, Douglas Harper, 2003; online http://www.slavenorth.com

I received a message today from a reader who had a problem that all researchers of slaves would love to have.  She ran into a brick wall on her slave ancestor from the 1600s!  The 1600s?  That means, I suspect, she got through the Civil War, and backed up past the Revolutionary War, and was able to trace an ancestor to the 1600s! She even knew the slave master’s name.  What?  How?

This ancestor was from the Northeast.  Of course, like all of us, she wanted to continue her search using a comprehensive slave database.  Well, there are several slave databases scattered about, but none are comprehensive.  So what is a researcher of slaves to do?

You start researching and delving into the slave master’s records, and you begin to hone your analytical skills.  Yes, you should have paid attention in school.  For starters, pull the slave master’s will, deeds, and other relevant property records (that may include land records).  Why? These records most often named the slave by name (usually by first name, but may have a second name/surname if previously owned).  Slaves were valuable property and to be inherited in many cases.  There were even serious court fights over the ownership of a slave and the off-springs of slaves. 

Don’t forget to peek around the New England Historical Society in Boston for slave master records, even if your person wasn’t from Massachusetts. This repository holds a surprising amount of resources.

Now the analytical part! 1600 New England slave trafficking had a different flavor than that in the south. Just look at the chart above. Sure it too was part of the Atlantic Slave Trade, but practices and customs were different. Many slaves during this time were brought over with the masters, or purchased right off the ship, even though some did come from the south. So be sure to become familiar with where the slave master originated and lived (England, Portugal, etc).  Be familiar with customary practices of transporting and selling slaves for that area.  

By the Revolutionary War, slavery was practically wiped out in the US north east.

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