RELEASE DATE: MARCH 21, 2021
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
Well-known for compiling multiple volumes of newspaper advertisements which identified white runaways in the Mid-Atlantic colonies, Joseph Lee Boyle continues exploring news about black, Indian, and white escapees in the northern colonies. His latest book is “He is a person of very ill fame”: NEW ENGLAND RUNAWAYS, 1755-1768.
The majority of the people mentioned in this compilation were eighteenth-century runaway servants or slaves, both men and women. However, a significant number were runaway apprentices, skilled workers (a class which encompassed bakers, butchers, coopers, carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers, and tailors), deserters (including military and civilian sailors), and a variety of criminals, such as horse thieves, counterfeiters, burglars, jail breakers, an occasional murderer, and other low-lifes. The runaways also included errant wives, some of whom countered the statements of their husband with ads of their own, often relating unpleasant circumstances to readers.
Although perhaps the majority of runaways were of British descent, the escapees were sometimes from other countries. Thomas EDWARDS, for instance, was “a Dutch indented Servant...about fifteen Years of Age....”
In his interesting and informative introduction, Boyle points out that runaways of both sexes sometimes utilized a variety of names, often making it harder to track them. Discrepancies sometimes appeared in the same advertisement. Differences may be due to spelling or pronunciation errors, use of nicknames, or an assortment of other reasons. An Indian woman named Lidia PETERS, for example, was “commonly known by the Name of Lid One-shoe.” The ad for runaway English servant, John SIMS, claimed he was married to the woman with him; she was called Eleanor DEBUTCHER, “alias Catherine COTTON....”
Generally, the notices provide the names and any aliases of the runaways, the person or persons offering the reward for their return, a location (including the future states of Maine and Vermont), and the name and date of the newspaper reference. Additional information varies from a few sentences to a long paragraph. Details may include the individual’s age, occupation, country of origin or nationality, a description of the clothes worn at the time of the escape, and a summary of his or her physical traits (for example, army deserter Benjamin FURROW was missing the thumb of his left hand), personality quirks, or special abilities. In 1763, for instance, John PIGEON placed an ad in the Boston newspaper for his black servant named ZANGOE, who “can talk pretty good French....”
For this volume, Boyle extracted names of more than 3,000 individuals from twenty-five New England and Mid-Atlantic newspapers. Because eighteenth-century newspaper notices and advertisements concerning fugitives often supply facts not found in other resources, the fascinating information may furnish valuable clues for new avenues of investigation. “He is a person of very ill fame”: NEW ENGLAND RUNAWAYS, 1755-1768 is an important research tool for genealogists seeking colonial ancestors in the northern section of the Thirteen Colonies.
The 409-page book has soft covers, a lengthy introduction, a list of the newspapers consulted by the author, and a full-name index. To the book's price of $47.50, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $5.50 for one book and $2.50 for each additional copy; for FedEx ground service, the cost is $7.50 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book. The volume (item order #8153) may be purchased by check, money order, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211-1953. For phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website at www.genealogical.com.