Lucy B. Richardson (b. 1795 - d. 1869)
MSA SC 5496-51303
Property Owner, Caroline County
Biography:
Lucy B. Richardson posted a runaway advertisement in the Easton Gazette, in October 1839, when her “negro men” Bob and Major fled.1 Both had been previously owned by her husband Joseph P.W. Richardson, who died the previous December. The former Lucy B. Potter had married Joseph in 1815, and they lived at their farm in the Tuckahoe Creek area of Caroline County.2
While the Richardson’s did utilize African-American slaves, they temporarily lost a majority of their labor force in order to pay off Joseph’s debt to a William R. Hughlett of Talbot County.3 An 1829 land record details the transaction, which gave Hughlett the rights to 11 negroes, including a 21 year old Major and 28 year old Bob, likely the father of the later fugitive.4 At least four of these slaves would be returned to Richardson as he paid down in his $2500 dollar debt. Lucy would have faced with some unpleasant legal proceedings when her husband died unexpectedly in 1838. Without a proper will, the distribution of the Richardson’s property could be controlled more by the courts than by family. A master’s death was always a particular source of anxiety for slaves, who were often some of the most valuable assets and the easiest to deal. The family’s property and financial issues were not fully resolved until well into the 1840’s.5,6
Bob and Major could well have considered this factor
when they fled on October 13, 1839, prompting Richardson’s quick response
in the paper.7 The advertisement would run in the Gazette for about
four weeks afterward. Strangely, Lucy Richardson had paid $350 for “Bob,
Jr.” from her husband’s estate, on November 5.8 Perhaps she assumed
he would eventually return on his own, or she had hired someone to retrieve
the two men. However, Richardson does not have any slaves recorded in the
1840 Census, nor does she appear to sell or free either man in the ensuing
years. While the owner “supposed that these runaways made for Pennsylvania
and New Jersey,” there is little to suggest what became of Bob or Major
after their initial flight. Lucy Richardson would live in Caroline County,
using African-American labor at the family farm, until her death in 1869.9,10
Footnotes -
1. “200 Dollars Reward,”
2. CAROLINE
3.
4. Ibid.
5. CAROLINE
6. CAROLINE
7. "200 Dollars Reward"
8. CAROLINE
9.
10. CAROLINE
Researched and Written by David Armenti, 2011.
Return
to Lucy B. Richardson's Introductory Page
|
Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
|