![[WASHINGTON, George (1732-1799).] The Maryland Gazette, No. 850. Thursday, August 20, 1761. 4 pages, folio. Runaway slave advertisement by George Washington on first column of third page.](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2014/NYR/2014_NYR_03400_0071_000(washington_george_the_maryland_gazette_no_850_thursday_august_20_1761030611).jpg?w=1)
PROPERTY FROM THE FORBES COLLECTION
[WASHINGTON, George (1732-1799).] The Maryland Gazette, No. 850. Thursday, August 20, 1761. 4 pages, folio. Runaway slave advertisement by George Washington on first column of third page.
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[WASHINGTON, George (1732-1799).] The Maryland Gazette, No. 850. Thursday, August 20, 1761. 4 pages, folio. Runaway slave advertisement by George Washington on first column of third page.
A RUNAWAY SLAVE NOTICE PUBLISHED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON, as the master of Mount Vernon tries to reclaim four men who “ran away from a Plantation of the Subscriber’s on Dogue Run in Fairfax, on Saturday the 9th Instant.” The names Washington supplies for them are Peros, Jack, Neptune and Cupid. He provides physical descriptions: Jack has “cuts down each cheek, being his country marks” and Neptune has “small marks or dots running from both shoulders down to his waistband.” Washington says “the two last of these Negroes [Neptune and Cupid] were bought from an African Ship in August 1759, and talk very broken and unintelligible English; the second one, Jack, is a countryman to those, and speaks pretty good English.” These notices often tell us as much about the slave owner as about his slaves. And Washington can state with genuine surprise, and even a hint of offense, that the four “went off without the least suspicion, provocation or difference with any body, or the least angry word or abuse from their overseers.” Bondage itself not being sufficient “provocation” in his mind. Washington promises 40 shillings to “whoever apprehends the said Negroes...besides what the law allows...If they should be taken separately, the reward will be proportioned.” A fascinating glimpse into Washington’s early life as a slave owner.
A RUNAWAY SLAVE NOTICE PUBLISHED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON, as the master of Mount Vernon tries to reclaim four men who “ran away from a Plantation of the Subscriber’s on Dogue Run in Fairfax, on Saturday the 9th Instant.” The names Washington supplies for them are Peros, Jack, Neptune and Cupid. He provides physical descriptions: Jack has “cuts down each cheek, being his country marks” and Neptune has “small marks or dots running from both shoulders down to his waistband.” Washington says “the two last of these Negroes [Neptune and Cupid] were bought from an African Ship in August 1759, and talk very broken and unintelligible English; the second one, Jack, is a countryman to those, and speaks pretty good English.” These notices often tell us as much about the slave owner as about his slaves. And Washington can state with genuine surprise, and even a hint of offense, that the four “went off without the least suspicion, provocation or difference with any body, or the least angry word or abuse from their overseers.” Bondage itself not being sufficient “provocation” in his mind. Washington promises 40 shillings to “whoever apprehends the said Negroes...besides what the law allows...If they should be taken separately, the reward will be proportioned.” A fascinating glimpse into Washington’s early life as a slave owner.