Robert Rich (b. 1838 -
d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-51290
Fled from servitude, Caroline County, 1856
Biography:
Robert Rich was only 18 years old when he fled from James Bryan in 1856. Although not legally a slave, the boy had been entangled in Caroline County's indenture system for over 10 years by this time. Robert's father Ennals Rich was a free African-American living in the same Eastern Shore county. Unfortunately, as a landless laborer and farmhand, Ennals was unable to completely support his wife Ann and three other children.1 He had little choice but to bind out his son, Robert, to local white resident William Barton in 1846. This arrangement stipulated that Barton would provide for the youth and teach him the skills associated with farming. Indenture contracts contained quite a bit of optimistic language regarding the child's treatment and prospects for learning.2 However, in practice, the situation was often similar to enslavement. Robert would be expected to "obediently in all things demean himself to his new master," with the distinct possibility of receiving physical punishment or having service extended.
The boy worked for Barton at his Queen Anne's County farm, which employed the labor of at least 3 African-American slaves. Interestingly, one of those listed in Barton's 1850 slave schedule is a twelve year old male, whose age and description correspond exactly with Robert Rich.3 This may have been a mistake by the census taker. More likely the record does refer to Robert, and it indicates just how blurred the lines were between enslaved and indentured blacks in this society. The similarity was further illuminated when Barton sold the rights to Rich's indenture for $175 in 1853, with seemingly no explanation.4 The purchaser, James Bryan, was a farmer who lived at "Stock Landing, or Brick Mills, Caroline County." It was this location that Robert ran from in May of 1856. The runaway advertisement, placed in the Easton Star, offered a five dollar reward for the "likely boy," who was "rather small for his age."5 Rich's life is difficult to track after the escape, but there is no record of him being recaptured.
Bryan gave no clues as to his motivations or possible destination, but the slaveowner's recent record of buying and selling blacks may provide a hint about Robert's thought process. Only one year earlier, Bryan had sold a sixteen year old Harrison for $700.6 In January of 1856, he purchased "negro woman Ann and her two children, slaves for life."7 With his length of service down to just three years, Rich may have sensed that he was next to be dealt and Bryan would attempt to capitalize, legally or illegally, while he still had value. The prospect of being sold was often a motivation for flight, and many bondsmen were quite cognizant of their masters' business activities for that reason. Therefore, even "free" African-American indentures like Robert Rich had a strong desire to escape servitude on the Eastern Shore, which they did with increasing frequency in the mid-nineteenth century.
Footnotes -
1. Ancestry.com, 1850, United States Federal Census, Caroline County, Maryland, p. 152.
2. CAROLINE COUNTY REGISTER OF WILLS (Indentures), 1847-1853, p.439.
4. Ibid, Indentures, p. 439.
5. "$5 Reward," Easton Star, 17 June 1856.
6. CAROLINE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Land Records), Book BB, 1853 - 1855, p. 521.
7. CAROLINE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Land Records), Book CC, 1855-1858, p. 96.
Researched and Written by David Armenti, 2011.
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