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Davey
Enslaved by Samuel Thomas
Davy is one of two enslaved people tasked with operating the ferry boat between modern day Perryville and Havre de Grace in 1781. He, along with his fellow enslaved ferry operator Ned, attempted to escape from the Lower Susquehanna Ferry on April 17, 1781, a day after transporting the Marquis de Lafayette and 1,200 Continental soldiers across the Susquehanna River.
The escaped slave ad published in the Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser describes Davy as:
a tall slim black fellow, country-born about 23 years of age, upwards 6 feet high, and [lisps] in his speech. [His clothing is country-made tow shirts, and full'd cloth or linsey jacket and breeches; but as [he has] other clothes, and money, may change [his] dress.
His attempt to seek freedom was unsuccessful. A few years later both Davy and Ned are listed on Samuel Thomas' 1783 inventory of goods and chattles. An inventory is a detailed listing of Samuel's personal property and slaves at the time of his death.
Associated Keepers
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