Somewhat More Independent This page intentionally left blank Somewhat More Independent THE END OF SLAVERY IN NEW YORK CITY, i 770— i 8 i o Shane White THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA PRESS Athens and London © 1991 by the University of Georgia Press Athens, Georgia 30602 All rights reserved Designed by Betty Palmer McDaniel Set in eleven on thirteen Janson Text The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Printed in the United States of America 91 92 93 94 95 C 5 4 3 2 1 95 96 97 98 99 P 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data White, Shane. Somewhat more independent : the end of slavery in New York City, 1770–1810 / Shane White. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8203-2374-8 1. Slavery — New York (N.Y.) — History. 2. New York (N.Y.) — History — 1775–1865. 3. Afro-Americans — New York (N.Y.) — History. 4. New York (N.Y.) — Race relations. I. Title. F128.44.W54 1991 974.7'1 — dc20 90-10843 CIP British Library Cataloging in Publication Date available ISBN for this digital edition: 978-0-8203-4362-4 Portions of this book have previously appeared as “Impious Prayers: Elite and Popular Atti- tudes Towards Blacks and Slavery in the Middle-Atlantic States, 1783–1810,” New York His- tory 67 (1986), 261–83; “A Question of Style: Blacks in and Around New York City in the late Eighteenth Century,” Journal of American Folklore 102 (1989), 24–25; “Pinkster: Afro-Dutch Syncretization in New York City and the Hudson Valley,” Journal of American Folklore 102 (1989), 69–76; and “‘We Dwell in Safety and Pursue Our Honest Callings’: Free Blacks in New York City, 1783–1810,” Journal of American History 75 (1988), 445–70. For Mavis and Chalky White, and for Lexie Macdonald This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Maps and Figures ix List of Tables xi Preface xiii Introduction xix A Note to the Reader xxv PART ONE: WHITES / Slavery in New York City 3 2 The Decline of Slavery in New York City, 1790-1810 24 3 Impious Prayers 56 PART TWO: BLACKS 4 A Mild Slavery? 79 5 Running Away 114 6 Free Blacks 150 7 A Question of Style 185 Epilogue 207 Notes 211 Index 271 This page intentionally left blank Maps and Figures Map i. Slaveholding Households in New York City in 1790 15 Map 2. Slaveholding in New York State in 1790 r; Map j. Slaveholding Households in New York City in 1800 42 Map 4. Slaveholding Households in New York City in 1810 44 Map 5. Free Black Households in New York City in 1790 172 Map 6. Free Black Households in New York City in 1800 174 Map 7. Free Black Households in New York City in 1810 176 Figure i. Distribution of New York and New Jersey Runaways, 1771-1805 141