Joseph Viney (b. 1817 -
d. 1876)
MSA SC 5496-8016
Fled from slavery, Dorchester County, Maryland, 1857
Biography:
On October 24, 1857, Joseph Viney fled from Dorchester County, joining a group that ultimately included twenty eight fugitives. According to an interview conducted by William Still, Viney was owned by Charles Bryant of Alexandria, VA, though there is little other information about his earlier life.1 Joe was probably hired out to work in the burgeoning maritime and timber trades around Cambridge, near his wife, Susan Viney, and their four children. The latter members were owned by Samuel Pattison, a prosperous farmer who was hit particularly hard by the increased incidence of flight. He claimed to have lost at least 15 slaves during the October exodus.2
In a November 16 letter, Pattison expressed his exasperation and proposed a $2650 reward for "a fair proportion" of those chattel that had escaped him. $400 was offered specifically for Joe's apprehension. Viney is a central character in the account, though the slave holder does not attempt to lay blame upon him. Among Pattison's lost chattel were Henry, Joe, and Tom, 16 to 22 year old fugitives, also identified as the elder Viney's children. Still says that "Joseph had very nearly finished paying for himself."3 However, it would have been difficult to pass up the opportunity of obtaining freedom for his whole family. On their way north, the Vineys braved continuous storms, hunger, and the ever-present threat of slave catchers. Some members of the large group, who were armed with numerous guns and knives, had a violent engagement with "several Irishmen" while being conducted through Delaware. The freedom seekers apparently made it through the scuffle relatively unscathed, though they would have to remain vigilant against similar threats along the journey.4
Joe and his family were able to reach Philadelphia, where Still provided clothing and food to the exhausted travelers. They may have been forwarded through Norristown, PA, through abolitionist Elijah Pennypacker.5 The Vineys settled in Ontario, Canada, within the large fugitive community in St. Catharine's. As of 1861, their neighbors included Kit and Leah Anthony, who were also among the twenty eight person "Cambridge Party."6 However, Joe's three older sons do not appear in any of the Canadian records, so they may have been recaptured or simply decided to remain in the United States. The elder Viney is listed as a laborer in the 1871 Census, as he was in the previous record.7 He would die five years later from smallpox, though the fate of his family is unknown.8
Footnotes -
2. "2000 Reward." 26 October 1857.
3. Still, pp. 101-2.
4. Still, pp. 639-640.
5. Kate Clifford Larson. Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero. Ballantine Books: New York, NY, 2004, p. 148.
6. Ancestry.com. 1861 Census of Canada. Lincoln, Canada West, p. 146.
7. Ancestry.com. 1871 Census of Canada. St. Catharine's, Ontario, p. 151.
8. Ancestry.com. Ontario, Canada Deaths, 1869-1938. Lincoln, 1876 "Joseph Vinia".
Researched and Written by David Armenti, 2012.
Return to Joseph Viney's Introductory Page
|
|| Search the Archives || Education & Outreach || Archives of Maryland Online ] Governor General Assembly Judiciary Maryland.Gov
|
