The trans-Atlantic slave trade between Africa and the Chesapeake had largely ended by the 1770s. Records show just one slave ship coming to Maryland from Central Africa during the trade’s final decades: the Jenny. That vessel arrived in 1760 from the port of Cabinda at the mouth of the Congo River (in present-day Angola) with 333 enslaved men, women, and children aboard. This ad for the sale of the Jenny’s captives appeared in an Annapolis newspaper.

Intriguingly, one of the two merchants responsible for selling the Jenny’s African captives after their arrival was Thomas Ringgold, a prominent Kent Countian who lived in Chestertown, in the mansion now known as the Custom House. It is quite possible that Congo arrived in 1760 aboard the Jenny as a child or young adult.

Click "Commodore Collection" below to return to the main page or "Continue" to read more about this topic.

← Commodore Collection

Continue →