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Chapter XXI
Redemptioners And Slavery In Delaware County.
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few men speculated in these emigrants as they would cattle. They would purchase the redemptioners from the master of the vessel, or the merchants to whom they were consigned, at wholesale, and then drive them through the country to be sold at retail at an enormous profit. The men engaged in this trade were known as soul-drivers. But finally the business became precarious, so many of the redemptioners escaping from their owners while traveling through the country to find a market, that about the year 1785 the trade was absolutely discontinued. One of these dealers, named McCullough, became noted in the trade in Chester County, and prospered so that he would go to Europe and gather a drove of redemptioners which he would sell at a greater profit than he could make by buying of the intermediate dealer. The late Joseph J. Lewis has recorded an amusing incident of the trade, in which McCullough, instead of selling, was sold by one of his herd, as follows:
"The fellow, by a little management, contrived to be the last of the flock that remained unsold, and traveled about with his master without companions. One night they lodged at a tavern, and in the morning the young fellow, who was an Irishman, rose early and sold his master to the landlord, pocketed the money, and marched off. Previously, however, to his going he used the precaution to tell the purchaser that his servant, although tolerably clever in other respects, was rather saucy and a little given to lying - that he had even presumption enough at times to endeavor to pass for master, and that he might possibly represent himself as such to him. By the time mine host was undeceived the son of Erin had gained such a start as rendered pursuit hopeless."1 | 1 "Sketches of the History of Chester County," published in the Village Record, West Chester, 1824. | ||
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The last reference to the sale of redemptioners in Delaware County is related in a sketch of Abraham Peters, of Lancaster County, written by the late Col. John W. Forney, which was published in Progress in 1879. The colonel stated that in 1811 Peters was hauling grain from Lancaster County to the mills on the Brandywine, and was requested by his sister to buy a small German girl from a vessel for her. "The vessels stopped at Chester. So, after he had disposed of his grain, he mounted one of his horses and rode to Chester. He went on board an emigrant vessel, and as he spoke German, he was soon surrounded by a crowd, each one requesting to be bought, as they preferred to get into families where German was spoken. He called the captain and made known his errand. The captain told him he had two small orphan girls on board, their mother having died on the voyage. He asked forty dollars for the two, but as Mr. Peters only wanted one, and could take but one on horseback with him, the captain said he would charge him twenty-five dollars for one, and if he sent him a purchaser for the other, he would give her for fifteen dollars. . . . Before parting the girls were going to divide their dead mother's effects, but Mr. Peters would not allow this, as he assured them that Katy, the girl he was taking with him, would find plenty, and therefore insisted on the other keeping all except the clothes that Katy was wearing. Again assuring the captain that he would try and find another purchaser, he started for Wilmington, and was soon on his way home. Katy was a bright and lovely girl, and soon forgot her sorrow as she stood at the front of the wagon looking at and admiring the horses. He had proceeded but a short distance from Wilmington when he met a fine old Quaker gentleman and his wife driving to town. The lady saw the little girl, and admiring her, stopped and wanted to buy her. But Mr. Peters told her that he had bought the girl for his sister, and therefore could not sell her, but told her of the little sister that was left behind on the vessel, and requested them to go to Chester and buy her. He gave a few lines to the captain, and reminded him of the fifteen dollars he had agreed to take. "The Quaker promised to go and buy the sister. They gave each other their addresses, and promised to write and keep the girls in communication with each other. Katy was installed in her new home, and under the kind, motherly treatment of Mrs. Bausman grew up to be a fine woman. Her sister also found a good home with the Quaker family. Correspondence was kept up between the families, and yearly visits were made alternately with the girls, and very friendly relations sprung up between the families, which were kept up long after the girls were free. When Katy had served out her time and arrived at a proper age, she was married to a worthy German baker in Philadelphia. She esteemed it a great pleasure to visit her former mistress, to whom she was ever thankful for the good, religious training she received from her." Slaves. - When slavery of the negro and Indian races first showed itself in the annals of Pennsylvania is difficult of ascertainment, for it is well known that previous to the grant of the province to William Penn the Swedes and Dutch settlers had the pernicious systern of servile labor implanted in the territory. In 1677, James Sandelands was the only person on the Delaware River from Upland northward who owned a slave. The wrong, however, did not go long unchallenged after the English power had acquired ownership of the soil, for as early as 1688 the Friend settlers at Germantown issued their now famous protest against. the holding of their fellow-men in bondage. Although the movement was purely addressed to the conscience of the public, and did not prevent the importation of negroes to the colony, it was the corner-stone on which the principles of emancipation of slaves in every Christianized nation of the earth were subsequently erected. In 1696 the Yearly Meeting of Quakers put themselves broadly on record as follows: "Friends are advised not to encourage the bringing in any more negroes." From these small beginnings the sentiment adverse to slavery extended, and when Penn made his second visit to this province in 1700, he was instrumental in incorporating in the discipline of the society provisions regulating the | |||