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| Keywords: MARCUS Runaway Ad Philadelphia Gazette 22 September 1800 p4.jpg Mount Vernon MARCUS One of the House Servants at Mount Vernon Absconded on the second instant and since has not been heard of He is a young lad about 16 years of age a bright mulatto dark blue eyes long black hair about 5 feet 4 or 5 inches high and of a slender make He had on when he left this place a coat and jacket of dark mixture black and white and black breeches “ but having various suits one of black and another of very light drab it is uncertain which of these he now wears Originally his name was Billy and possibly he may resume the same It is very probable he may attempt to pass for one of those negroes that did belong to the late Gen Washington and whom Mrs Washington intends in the fall of this year to liberate “ the public are therefore warned against any such imposition as he is one of those negroes which belongs to the estate of Washington P Custis Esq and held by right of dower by Mrs Washington during her life I will give Ten Dollars Reward to any person who shall apprehend the said negro and lodge him in some safe gaol upon producing me a certificate to that effect; and will also pay all reasonable charges over and above this reward for the delivery of him to me at this place Ship Masters are hereby forewarned not to take on board Marcus; and those who are found to secret or harbor him will be punished as the law directs JAMES ANDERSON Mount Vernon Virginia August 28 The Philadelphia Gazette Daily Advertiser page 4 James Anderson overseer of Mount Vernon 1800-09-22 PD-old-100 Background The 1786 Mount Vernon Slave Census lists Billy as the son of House Charlotte and 4 yrs old His mother Charlotte is listed as one of three seamstresses at the Home House the Mansion Her presumed husband Austin Billy's father is listed as one of two Waiters in the House Also listed are Charlotte's infant son Timothy Billy's brother 1 yrs old; and Austin's mother Betty Billy's grandmother another seamstress at the house All of these names are marked with asterisks as Dower Negros meaning they were the property of the Daniel Parke Custis Estate http //books google com/books id P5wvzIy1RW0C pg PA36 lpg PA36 dq 1786+mount+vernon+slave+census source bl ots N0cojL3JMp sig D_4jlkKoP6td7CrqunS_4tSjlfM hl en sa X ei OWHJUpnYJKaisQTTnoHADQ ved 0CGwQ6AEwCQ v onepage q 1786 20mount 20vernon 20slave 20census f false Charlotte went on to have three more children Elvey Jenny and Eliza Billy's sisters born between 1786 and 1795 In 1789 Austin was brought to New York City then the national capital to work in Washington's presidential household http //www mountvernon org/educational-resources/encyclopedia/Austin The next year he was brought to Philadelphia the temporary national capital from 1790 to 1800 to work in Washington's presidential household there Following a fall from a horse Austin died on December 20 1794 in Harford Maryland while traveling from Philadelphia to Mount Vernon to spend Christmas with his family http //www ushistory org/presidentshouse/slaves/austin htm Austin's sister Oney Judge Billy's aunt also worked in both presidential households She escaped to freedom from Philadelphia in May 1796 http //www ushistory org/presidentshouse/slaves/oney htm By 1799 Billy's name had been changed to Marcus This may have been his choice or one imposed by the Washingtons The 1799 Mount Vernon Slave Census lists Marcus as a Hs Ser House Servant no age given with no Wife http //www mountvernon org/slavery/1799census Dower slaves Martha Washington's first husband had been Daniel Parke Custis 1711 1757 As widow she was granted the use of one-third of the Custis Estate's enslaved Africans during her lifetime hence the term dower slaves At the time of her 1759 marriage to George Washington the dower slaves numbered at least 85 enslaved persons http //www ushistory org/presidentshouse/slaves/numbers htm They were brought to live and work at Mount Vernon and some later intermarried with George Washington's enslaved Africans In his 1799 Last Will and Testament George Washington directed that his enslaved Africans be freed which was accomplished on January 1 1801 But he did not have the power to free the dower slaves Following Martha Washington's 1802 death the Custis Estate was settled and the by-then approximately 153 dower slaves were distributed among the four Custis grandchildren This runaway ad indicates that Billy/Marcus was to be inherited by Washington P Custis At age 18 Billy/Marcus escaped to freedom from Mount Vernon on August 2 1800 but it is not known if he was ever captured and forced to return to slavery The Fugitive Slave Clause of the U S Constitution Article IV Section 2 Clause 3 guaranteed the property rights of slaveholders and allowed slavecatchers to operate in all U S states and territories even those in which slavery had been abolished Living as a fugitive slave Billy/Marcus would have been subject to capture at any moment for the rest of his life If he survived until 1863 he finally would have been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation at age 81 Fugitive slave advertisements Slavery at Mount Vernon Documents related to George Washington 1800s advertisements Slavery in Virginia PD-old-100-1923 | ||||
