Sam Willson (b. circa 1784 - d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-51893
Fled from Slavery, Dorchester County, Maryland, 1824
Biography:
Sam Willson was owned by James Pattison, of Slaughter Creek, Dorchester County, Maryland.1 Pattison would "liberate, manumit, and set free all my Negroes slaves that I am possessed of at present" in 1817.2 He would set free nine slaves once there term of servitude expired. The terms of servitude would last until they reached a certain age and then would be free. Manumissions in Maryland were not uncommon even in the earliest days of slavery.3 It's possible that Pattison offered delayed manumissions to most of his slaves to ensure their loyalty. However, on July 10, 1824, Pattison placed a runaway advertisement in the Cambridge Chronicle for Willson after he escaped on July 4, 1824.4 At the time, Willson was approximately 40 years old. Willson was not listed among the nine slaves that were to be manumitted meaning he had no sense of loyalty to Pattison. Willson could have been a slave for life and chose to seek out his freedom by escaping from Pattison's plantation.
Willson was described as having a "dark complexion, stout made, and lame in one of his knees, which causes him to limp when walking; rather of a pleasing countenance when spoken to; his height about 5 feet 6 or 8 inches."5 Pattison believed that Willson's destination would be Delaware because Willson had "acquaintance there."6 Pattison offered a "fifty dollar reward" for any person that apprehended his slave out of the state of Maryland.7 Pattison also offered a $30 reward if taken in the state and out of the county, and a $20 reward if he was apprehended in the county. Pattison made a concerted effort to have Willson apprehended with a detailed description and sizeable reward. It is unknown if Sam Willson was captured, but Pattison placed a runaway advertisement in the local newspaper in hopes of reclaiming his property.
Endnotes:
1. "Fifty Dollars Reward." Cambridge Chronicle.10 July 1824.
2. Dorchester County Court (Land Records) September 23, 1817. "James Pattison to Sundry Negroes." Liber ER 4. Folio 537. [MSA CE46-55].
3. Larson, Kate Clifford. Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero (New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 2004) 5.
4. "Fifty Dollars Reward." Cambridge Chronicle.10 July 1824.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
Researched and written by Tanner Sparks, 2014.
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