Binah's Story, 1812
Receipt for a reward for the capture of Jacob, February 3, 1795
Received February 3rd, 1795, [from] James Woodland, eleven pounds five shillings (in three ten-dollar banknotes) for taking up and bringing home a negro man, Jacob, belonging to Mrs. Mary Woodland, [the] wife of John Woodland Esq., deceased, living in Kent County and state of Maryland.
Received in full by me, Charlton Barns
[spelling and punctuation have been modernized]
Received in full by me, Charlton Barns
[spelling and punctuation have been modernized]
Numerous papers in the Commodore Collection show that escapes were common occurrences among enslaved people on the Eastern Shore. This 1795 records a man named Jacob’s unsuccessful attempt at self-liberation. It is a receipt for $10 paid by slaveholder Mary Woodland to Charlton Barns as a reward for Jacob’s recapture.
Click "Commodore Collection" below to return to the main exhibit page.