Esther
Enslaved by Thomas Coffield
Esther’s work at the tavern included helping to grow, harvest, preserve, and cook food, take care of tavern guests, and tend livestock. She would also help to clean and mend clothes for the Coffield family and their other slaves enslaved people. On June 6, 1810, 18-year-old Esther took a chance and escaped from the Coffields. Thomas Coffield added her name to an advertisement he had placed in the Pennsylvania newspaper, the Aurora General Advertiser, for another escaped slave named Moses,
The last known mention of Esther in the historical record is in an escaped slave advertisement published on January 22, 1811.
Associated Keepers
Biographical Information
Born:
Birth date and place unknown
Parents:
Unknown
Spouse:
Marital status unknown
Children:
Unknown
Lived:
Lower Susquehanna Ferry, Cecil County, MD
Died:
circa 1792, place unknown
Additional Information
Source Information
Primary Sources
August 4, 1810
Thomas Coffield places an advertisement in a Philadelphia newspaper seeking Esther's capture and return to slavery. In the same advertisement includes another freedom seeker named Moses.
Aurora General Advertiser, pg. 3, August 4, 1810 accessed via Newspapers.com
