By Cynthia Wallace-Casey, PhD
Honorary Research Associate
Fredericton Region Museum
It wasn’t until 1834 that slavery became illegal in New Brunswick. Up until that year, people could be bought or sold as property, with they and their children receiving no hope of freedom for as long as they lived. A typical bill of sale would be worded as such:
This Indenture witnesses that for and in the consideration of the sum of fifteen pounds New Brunswick currency paid me, I do hereby bargain, sell and deliver unto my son John, a negro boy named Sippeo to be his property and his heirs and successors during the life of the said negro, the receipt of which money from the said John HARDING I do hereby acknowledge; and I, the said George HARDING, do also warrant the said property against all claimants whatsoever. In witness whereof I do hereby set my hand and seal at Maugerville, this eighth day of July in the year of our Lord 1797. – Be It remembered that on the tenth day of February 1802, personally appeared before me the above named George Harding and acknowledged the above signature to be his hand and seal and that he delivered the above instrument for the above mentioned purposes. Elijah MILES, J.P. [1]
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| Abolitionist coin (Credit: Joe Gee, New Brunswick Black History Society) |
By the turn of the century, however, the anti-slavery movement had become very active in this province. Two of the leaders in this initiative were Saint John lawyers Samuel Denny Street and Ward Chipman. In 1800 they challenged the legality of slavery in New Brunswick by bringing to trial the case of Nancy, an individual who had been enslaved for more than fourteen years.
Tuesday, July 25, 1786
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| (Fredericton Region Museum, Artist Claire Vautour) |
RAN AWAY – from the subscriber living at the Nashwakshis [sic], in the county of York, between the 15th and 21st days of this instant July, the following bound Negro slaves, viz. ISAAC about 30 years, born on Long island near New York, had on when he went away, a short blue coat, round hat and white trousers. BEN, about 35 years old, had on a Devonshire kersey jacket lined with Scotch plad [sic], corduroy breeches, and round hat. FLORA, a Wench about 27 years old, much pitted with the small-pox, she had on a white cotton jacket and petticoat. Also NANCY about 24 years old, who took with her a Negro child about four years old named LIDGE. The four last mentioned Negroes were born in Maryland, and lately brought to this country.
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| (Fredericton Region Museum, Artist Claire Vautour) |
Some fourteen years later, both Nancy and Caleb Jones would become lightening rods for the larger issue of the legality of slavery. Defended by the flamboyant Samuel Denny Street and the stalwart Ward Chipman, the famous freedom trial of Nancy took place in Fredericton in February of 1800. Although Nancy did not gain her freedom, her courage in standing for her own cause resulted in others gaining theirs. Her trial also helped draw public attention to the cruelties of slavery in this province.
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| Ward Chipman’s
Slavery Brief, preserved in the collection of the Harriet Irving Library Archives and Special Collections, University of New Brunswick (Credit: University of New Brunswick) |
The Ward Chipman Slavery Brief
A most historic and rare archival record of Nancy’s trial can be found in the Ward Chipman Slavery Brief, preserved in the Harriet Irving Library Archives and Special Collections of the University of New Brunswick. Tucked inside the 82-page handwritten manuscript, where it has remained for well over 100 years (as if in testament to the significance of her case), can be found a calling card belonging to Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, vice-president to Abraham Lincoln between 1861 and 1865. Hannibal Hamlin was a well known opponent to slavery in the United States and was a strong supporter of the Emancipation Proclamation that gave freedom to many American slaves during the American Civil War.
Unfortunately, however, very little is known about the central figure in Fredericton’s slavery trial of 1800. Nancy was born in Maryland to an African slave and worked on the Jones tobacco plantation near Chesapeake Bay, in Somerset County, Maryland. She was brought to New Brunswick by Caleb Jones in 1785, where she became one of 7 slaves and 4 tenants who worked on the Jones estate located in present-day Nashwaaksis[2]. This 900-acre property was located at the mouth of the Nashwaaksis stream, and extended about one mile down the St. John river, ending near present-day Devonshire Drive. Jones had personally selected this choice tract of land with the intent of establishing a plantation, similar to as he was accustomed on his former property in Maryland.
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“The Old Plantation”, c. 1785 – 1795. Attributed
to John Rose |
Born in Maryland in c. 1743, Caleb Jones was a tobacco planter, merchant, and (for a short time) sheriff of Somerset County. Upon the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War he was arrested in 1776 and required to pay a bond of 200 pounds “for his obedience to the self-constituted Whig authorities” . Soon after, he fled to New York City[3], leaving his wife Elizabeth behind to look after their property and business interests in Maryland. He became a captain in the Maryland Loyalist Regiment, and saw active duty in Philadelphia as well as Florida. His regiment also passed five years of the war on Long Island, where they were responsible for foraging fresh food from local residents to feed British and Loyalist troops garrisoned nearby. Just by chance, Caleb Jones’ Orderly Book, kept between June 18 and October 12, 1778, was found many years later inside a house in Newtown, Long Island, and was eventually published by the Historical Printing Club of Brooklyn.
By 1786, Caleb Jones had been reunited with his wife and family, and was living on their property in Nashwaaksis. Also living and working on the estate were four tenants (Allen Morrison, William Turner, Isaac White, and Elizabeth White), along with three adult slaves: Isaac, Ben and Nancy (who ran away in 1786), as well as four child slaves: Sarah, Harry, Jab and Elijah (or “Lidge,” who also fled with Nancy).
I am a volunteer for the right of human nature
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Ward Chipman,
1754-1824 |
“I am a volunteer for the right of human nature” wrote Ward Chipman in December 1799, as he described the Jones-Nancy case to a friend. At this point in time there existed a growing tide against slavery in British North America, but in New Brunswick slavery was still common practice with Loyalist families who were accustomed to the traditions of the American colonies.
In neighbouring Nova Scotia abolitionists were using both legislative and judicial means to restrict the practice (even though an obscure law in support of slavery had existed in that province since 1762). In New Brunswick, no such law existed, but since our province was a part of Nova Scotia at the time that their slavery law was enacted, it was considered also applicable to New Brunswick. Ward Chipman was aware of this rare law, but—in his words— “carefully avoided mentioning it” during Nancy’s trial.
Ward Chipman was a well-established and highly respected Saint John lawyer. A Harvard graduate and close friend of Edward Winslow, he held several important positions within the administration of the Province. He was also described as a critic of political reform, and it was said that as long as Ward Chipman lived “suggestion of reform was considered an attack upon the constitution.” [4]
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Samuel Denny Street, 1752-1830 |
So why would he take on this case—pro bono? Although, with time, Chipman was heralded as the hero of the anti-slavery movement in New Brunswick, in fact he was not the one who initiated the trial. It was his partner and co-counsel, Samuel Denny Street, who actually set the wheels in motion.
Samuel Denny Street was a staunch reformer and a driving force behind the anti-slavery movement in New Brunswick. Described as a “small man, proud, provoking, and provoked,” he was a “regular game-cock, one who would brook no slight from any man.”[5] A partnership with the conservative Chipman would be very unexpected, but Chipman and Street rose to the occasion, with Chipman preparing an 82-page document that became—as he described it—“one of the chief glories of his career.”[6] This document is now in the Special Collections and Archives of the Harriet Irving Library on the Fredericton campus of the University of New Brunswick.
The Trial of Nancy
No doubt, Chipman and Street were looking for an opportunity to test the legality of slavery in the province. As the two looked across the St John river in Fredericton to the Jones estate, they found the ideal candidates for their cause: Caleb Jones and his slave Nancy. The notorious Caleb Jones was not a member of the Loyalist establishment, and was disliked by several of the local magistrates. He thus did not hold any political power to intimidate their abolitionist crusade. Correspondingly, his slave Nancy, who was now 38 years old, had already tried to gain her freedom by running away 13 years earlier.
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| (Fredericton Region Museum, Artist Claire Vautour) |
Still bound to Caleb Jones, Nancy presented an ideal case against the practice of slavery, although both Chipman and Street knew that her plead for freedom would not pose an easy defense. Indeed, three of the four judges who were to hear Nancy's case were slave-owners themselves: Chief Justice George D. Ludlow, Judge Joshua Upham, and Judge Isaac Allen.
Characteristically, Caleb Jones did not respond meekly to the summons of Habeas Corpus that was issued on July 17, 1799. Jones, in a response to the court order signed by him the next day, stated his case boldly. With the help of his attorney, Jonathan Bliss, and four other attorneys: Thomas Wetmore, John M. Bliss, Charles J. Peters and William Botsford, Jones maintained the legality of slavery in the colonies where he originally owned Nancy. He pointed out that his property had begun life as a legal African slave, and because Nancy had been his “slave or servant for life” since her birth, so she should remain. He ended his protest by stating that in all his actions he had acted lawfully under the laws of Maryland, New Brunswick, and the British Empire. He then delivered Nancy to the court, confident that vindication awaited him.
(Fredericton Region Museum,
Artist Claire Vautour)
Last week the Hilary Term of the Supreme Court was held at Fredericton, at which we understand there were few causes agitated of any consequence excepting one upon an Habeas Corpus brought by a Negro Woman claimed as a slave by Captain Jones of Fredericton, in order to procure her liberation. The question of Slavery upon general principles was discussed at great length, by the Counsel on both sides, and we understand the Court were [sic] divided in their opinions, the Chief Justice and Judge Upham being of opinion that by the existing law of this Province, Negroes may be held as Slaves here, and Judge Allen and Judge Saunders being of opinion, that the Law upon that subject is the same here as in England and therefore that Slavery is not recognized by the Laws of this Province, - The Count being thus divided, no judgement was entered. [7]
The Aftermath of Nancy’s Trial
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George Leek’s table, in the collection of |
In the end, although Nancy did not gain her freedom, her trial served as a catalyst in the fight against slavery in this province. Her trial also led to the freedom of others, since one of the judges who ruled in Nancy’s favour was Isaac Allen. Like Caleb Jones, Judge Allen also depended upon slaves to operate his 2,000-acre estate on the outskirts of Fredericton (Springhill). Following Nancy’s trial, Judge Allen acted upon his conscious and granted freedom to his own slaves—one of whom was George Leek. Upon gaining his freedom, George Leek purchased land from Judge Allen, and established a farm at Springhill with his wife Jane Hector. Together, they raised a large family, and contributed several voices to the noted African-Canadian choir at St. Peter’s Anglican Church. Today, a table belonging to George Leek can be found in the collection of Kings Landing Historical Settlement.
As for Nancy, her fate remains unknown. She disappeared from the written record following her trial in 1800, although the sale of “A Negro Wench, named Nancy” was advertised in The Royal Gazette in 1809 (two years after the British Parliament had passed an Act to abolish trading in slaves within the British Empire). By 1822, there were (reportedly) no slaves reported living in New Brunswick, although evidence exists to suggest otherwise; it was not until 1834 that slavery was actually abolished in all parts of the British Empire.
In the years that followed Nancy’s trial, Ward Chipman’s legal brief was carefully guarded by the Chipman family, and passed down through the office of the Recorder for the City of Saint John (a position that Ward Chipman was the first to hold). His brief now rests within the Beaverbrook Collection of the Harriet Irving Library’s Archives and Special Collections on the University of New Brunswick campus in Fredericton.
References:
Bell, David. 1982. Slavery and the judges of Loyalist New Brunswick. University of New Brunswick Law Journal/Revue de droit de l'Université du Nouveau-Brunswick, 31.
Ford, Paul. 1891. Orderly book of the Maryland Loyalists Regiment. Brooklyn, NY: Historical Printing Club.
Harriet Irving Library, University of New Brunswick. 1980. Finding aid to Chipman papers in Lawrence Collection. HIL-REF FC2471.1.C45P8.
Harriet Irving Library, University of New Brunswick (n.d.). The Ward Chipman slavery brief: From the archives and special collections at the University of New Brunswick [Accessed July 12, 2018]. Available from: https://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/NBHistory/chipman/index.html
Harper, David. 2001. Ambitious Marylander: Caleb Jones and the American Revolution. [Thesis] Utah State University.
Hill, Isabel Louis. 1976. Some Loyalists and others.
Jack, I Allen. 1898. The Loyalists and slavery in New Brunswick. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Canada, II(4). [Accessed July 12, 2018]. Available from: https://archives.gnb.ca/exhibits/forthavoc/html/Loyalists-and-Slavery-in-NB.aspx?culture=en-CA
Library and National Archives of Canada. Lawrence Collection. MG 23 D1.
Maxwell, Lillian B. 1984. The history of Central New Brunswick. Fredericton: Centennial Print and Litho Ltd.
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Daniel F. Johnson’s New Brunswick newspapers vital statistics [Accessed July 12, 2018]. Available from: https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/NewspaperVitalStats/FullTextResults.aspx?culture=en-CA
Smith, T. Watson. 1899. The slave in Canada. Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, vol X [Accessed July 12, 2018]. Available from: https://archives.gnb.ca/exhibits/forthavoc/html/Slave-in-Canada.aspx?culture=en-CA#link1
The Daily Sun, August 29, 1890.
The Royal Gazette and New Brunswick Advertiser, July 25, 1786.
The Royal Gazette and New Brunswick Advertiser, February 18, 1800.
Footnotes:
[1] The
Daily Sun, August 29, 1890.
[2] Harper, pp. 99-100.
[3] Ford, p. 11.
[4] Hill, p. 160
[5] Jack, p. 174. Cited from The Ward
Chipman Slavery Brief.
[6] Harriet Irving Library, The
Ward Chipman Slavery Brief.
[7] The
Royal Gazette and New Brunswick Advertiser,
February 18, 1800.
