Slaves in the North

How slavery was practiced in New York

Autumn Maedl

April 6, 2022

Slaves in the Home

Unlike many slave owners in the South who owned numerous slaves, the slave owners of the North typically had 1 to 3 slaves. This was because people in the North did not have large plantations which needed many people to be maintained, instead they just need their homes cared for. This consisted of tasks such as cooking, cleaning, caring for children, or otherwise maintaining the home.

When Slaves Ran

There were many different reasons a slave would run away from their owner. One of the most obvious is the desire to be free, especially from a particularly bad-tempered master. Another reason to run would be to see family or friends they had been estranged from. This was especially common if a slave was sold to a new master and moved away from their family and friends.

Where they went

While some slaves did attempt to run to free territory and pass as free, it was less common than other places to run. Many slaves ran to old masters or places they used to live either to be with family or children they were separated from.

The Typical Runaway

The most common type of slave to runaway was young men from the ages of 14 to 25, although women ran as well.

Most of the ads were for runaways, but few were for deserters as well.

Some of the ads were placed to find slaves who had deserted from a military position. This is valuable information, as it shows that slaves were forced into military work as well as working in homes or on farms.

Most of the runaways were male, but there were still some female runaways.

Most of the enslaved who ran away were young men. This is because they were more likely to survive the hardships of a life on the run. Enslaved women were also forced to bear children for their masters, so they were less able to runaway because they had children to take care of.

The age of the runaways varied greatly, but the most common ages seem to be 18 and 24.

Young slaves were more likely to runaway than older slaves. This is because they were the most able to withstand the hardships of running away. Younger slaves were also more likely to have parents or a partner to run away to, which increases the likelihood of running away significantly.

Most of the enslavers were male, although there were some female and some unknown.

The most common enslaver gender was male. This is likely because it was less common for women to own property and need slaves to maintain it. Women were also not permitted to place ads in the newspaper, so data from runaway ads may not be to most accurate way to determine the amount of male and female enslavers.

All ads examined were printed in the Royal Gazette.

The Royal Gazette was a New York City newspaper which ran from 1777-1783. It was eventually taken over by James Rivington, supporter of the British during the American Revolution, and was renamed Rivington's New York Gazette.

Wordcloud showing the most common words in the runaway ads

This wordcloud shows the most common words in the runaway ads. The larger the word, the more times it was mentioned. Reward seems to be the highest, which makes sense as every ad offered a reward for the return of the slave, even if the amount was not specified.