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Historic Newspapers
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Sheriff's Sale of a Free Negro (January 21st, 1859)
From The American Sentinel; Westminster, MD
Summary: Free Negro John Bud to be sold for one year at sheriff's sale in Westminster "for being without visible means of support and not of good and industrious habits."
Death of a Colored Preacher (May 4th, 1859)
From The Herald of Freedom & Torch Light; Hagerstown, MD
Summary: African American preacher James Brown died recently as one of the “oldest colored Clergymen in the United States.” He was once a slave of the late Benjamin Galloway.
For Hire! (May 4th, 1859)
From The Herald of Freedom & Torch Light; Hagerstown, MD
Summary: Advertisement: “Three Valuable Negro Men,” offered for hire as farm hands by J.B. McLeery at Robertson’s Book Store in Hagerstown.
Slaveholder Meeting (May 13th, 1859)
From The Valley Register; Middletown, MD
Summary: A meeting to be held in Urbana District to appoint delegates to the Slaveholder’s Convention in Baltimore next month.
The Slaveholders' Convention (June 8th, 1859)
From The Herald of Freedom & Torch Light; Hagerstown, MD
Summary: Maryland slaveholders are meeting in convention today in Baltimore to consider plans to better regulate the free black population, although some suspect the meeting has been gotten up by the Democrats for political reasons. Washington County’s delegates include Dr. Charles MacGill, Andrew Rentch, A.K. Syester, Isaac Nesbitt, Fred. Dellinger and Jacob Fiery, among others.
The Slaveholders' Convention (June 15th, 1859)
From The Herald of Freedom & Torch Light; Hagerstown, MD
Summary: At the recent Slaveholders’ Convention held in Baltimore, a resolution was adopted that called for the legislature to reaffirm and amend 1831 laws that regulate the black population, and that it should consider prohibiting emancipation or requiring that freed slaves be removed from the state. Among the delegates in attendance were Bradley T. Johnson and Edward Shriver of Frederick County, and J.T. Mason of Washington County.
A Fugitive Slave Case (June 29th, 1859)
From The Herald of Freedom & Torch Light; Hagerstown, MD
Summary: Agnes Robinson, an African American woman, and her child Mary were arrested in Washington, D.C., for having escaped from slavery in Washington County twelve years earlier. The woman and her child have been sent to Hagerstown so that her right to freedom can be determined in the local court.
A Negro Girl Wanted (July 6th, 1859)
From The Herald of Freedom & Torch Light; Hagerstown, MD
Summary: Advertisement: A “Negro Girl” who is a good cook and knows how to do housework is wanted as “a servant for life.”
District Meetings (August 10th, 1859)
From The Herald of Freedom & Torch Light; Hagerstown, MD
Summary: Recent district meetings of the American Party were held in District No. 1 (Sharpsburg), District No. 4 (Clear Spring), District No. 6 (Boonsboro), District No. 7 (Smithsburg), District No. 9 (Leitersburg), District No. 10 (Funkstown) and District No. 13 (Cearfoss Cross Roads). The meetings selected delegates to the upcoming party County Convention and Congressional Convention, the names of whom are provided.
District Meetings (August 17th, 1859)
From The Herald of Freedom & Torch Light; Hagerstown, MD
Summary: Recent district meetings of the American Party were held in District No. 2 (Williamsport), District No. 3 (Hagerstown), District No. 8, District No. 11 (Sandy Hook), and District No. 12 (Fairplay), The meetings selected delegates to the upcoming party County Convention and Congressional Convention, the names of whom are provided.
