Elijah (b. circa 1791 - d. ?)
MSA SC 5496-51909
Fled from Slavery, Dorchester County, Maryland, 1824
Biography:
Elijah was born around 1791 in Dorchester County, Maryland. His owner, Robert Dennis, had a plantation near Vienna. At approximately age 33, Elijah absconded from slavery on Christmas Day in 1823.1 With Dennis being deceased at the time, his executor, Clement Stanford, publicly pushed to apprehend those slaves by placing a runaway advertisement in the Cambridge Chronicle on November 13, 1824. Elijah was described as a "bright mulatto, thin visage, walks a little knock-kneed."2 Stanford had the same advertisement posted in the "Patriot, Baltimore; Star, Easton, Md. - Emporium, Trenton, N.J. and National Gazette, Philadelphia."3 Stanford appeared to focus his efforts in Baltimore and northern cities where many slaves were fleeing to seek their freedom.
Stanford offered a reward of $750 dollars "to any person or persons, who may apprehend said negroes and secure them in jail or otherwise, so that the subscriber gets them again, or 75 dollars for each one secured."4 On January 1, 1825, two months after the original advertisement, Stanford increased the reward amount to $1000 for all slaves.5 However, he offered another stipulation: "100 dollars for each man, or 50 for the woman and each of the children."6 Most runaway advertisements from slave owners generally placed a higher value on male slaves.
Endnotes:
1. "$750 Reward." Cambridge Chronicle. November 13, 1824.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. "One Thousand Dollars Reward." Cambridge Chronicle. January 1, 1825.
6. Ibid.
Researched and Written by Tanner Sparks, 2014.
Return to Elijah's Introductory Page
|
Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
|
