Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Jack (b. 1803 - d. )
MSA SC 5496-51530 
Fled from Slavery, Somerset County, 1832

Biography:

    Caleb Kennerly placed a runaway advertisement in the Commercial Chronicle and Daily Marylander, just before Christmas in 1832. Jack was alleged to have a wife, "Ditch Bank Ibby", living in Baltimore. Kennerly assumed that his man would be headed toward the city to rendezvous with her. Interestingly, Ibby had been very close to leaving Maryland for the new Liberia colony on the west coast of Africa. According to Dr. Kennerly, she was ready to depart with all her belongings when Jack and other local blacks persuaded her to stay. 

    Jack is likely the John, who is recorded on Kennerly's tax assessments consistently from 1817 to 1830. The Federal Census also confirms that the doctor owned 12 African Americans in 1820, most of them young males. Kennerly figured that Ibby and Jack immediately fled after abandoning the Liberia-bound vessel. However, it is unknown what happened to the couple after the incident.            


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