Introduction.           xxvii

         ant woman (Archives XLIX, pp. 538-545; 234-5; ibid. LI, pp. 12 1-128). Not
         all masters or overseers were cruel and heartless to their servants. Sometimes
         they treated them fairly, and even took care of them when they were ill. Richard
         Carter of Talbot County, gentleman, going out of the Province, left Peter
         Dennis of the same county, planter, to manage his estate. Peter agreed with
         one of the servants, Francis Story, to give him a share of a corn and tobacco
         crop for his labor. This was in itself more than usually considerate. More
         than that, when the servant fell ill, manager Peter called a physician for him.
         Francis had a “Virulent coroded Ulcer in his legg, & another in his arm & a
         complicated distemper regnant in his body, which afforded a certaine malevolent
         & Venomous humour to feed the said ulcerous sores And the said Peter .
         knowing the said Charles [Howell] to be a Chirurgion, & to use & practice the
         same art of a Chirurgion in Talbott County aforesaid in consideracon that the
         said Charles him the said ffrancis would attend & the sores of him the said
         ffrancis would dress & endeavour to heale & cure, & to the same would apply
         such meanes druggs Unguents Emplaisters & remedyes for the cureing of the
         said sores & distemper as to him the said Charles should seem meet, & giveing
         the said ffrancis due attendance for administring of the same” promised to pay
         Doctor Charles “what for the same he should reasonably deserve”. The doctor
         looked after the sick servant from June 1676 to January 1677. The inward dis
         temper he cured and the sores in arm and leg he cured, too, so that Francis
         could take care of the crop as he was supposed to do. Howell submitted to the
         Court a particular of the “meanes druggs Unguents Emplaisters Phisick skill
         cuning & attendance” he had used; and he said he deserved 3000 pounds of
         tobacco, but, he said, Peter had refused to pay him. When, on April 12, 1678,
         the case came to trial, Howell appeared but Peter Dennis came not but made
         default. Thereupon the Court gave Howell the tobacco he asked as damages,
         and gave him also 544 pounds for his costs. But the boy Francis had been cured
         (post, 42, 135, 181, 294-295).

          Servants were people; they were also property, treated like any other part of
         a man's personal estate. Richard Perry was said to have received from Jarvis
         Ballard one barrel of mackerel, six barrels of salt, eleven barrels of molasses,
         ninety-six gallons of rum and one man-servant (post, p. 178). Garret Van
         Sweringen bought from Casper Herman a grey gelding, for which he agreed
         to pay 2600 pounds of tobacco. When Van Sweringen did not pay, Herman
         sued, and the Court gave him the 2600 pounds (post, pp. 408-409). In exactly
         the same way, Eliza Greene sold a servant woman, Eliza Martindale, to Dennis
         Sulevant for 8oo pounds of tobacco, with a warrant that the woman would
         serve him for eighteen months. Six months later, the chancellor freed her
         from Sulevant's service, though he had paid the tobacco. Greene had warranted
         the servant woman's time for eighteen months but she refused to make good
         when the chancellor found the woman free. So Sulevant sued Mrs. Greene.
         When, on April 10, 1678, the case came to trial, the defandant pleaded not
         guilty, but the plaintiff said he would make no further prosecution. For this he
         was nonsuited, and Eliza Greene recovered against him her costs of 1007
         pounds of tobacco (post, pp. 296-299).