5 Cents and No Thanks - People Not Property

You can help index records of the enslaved. Honor their struggles, strength, and perseverance.

Digital Library of American Slavery - People Not Property
Ads for Runaway Slaves typically offered a substantial reward, but what about the ads that only offer 5 cents and no thanks?
Perhaps the enslaved person was not worth keeping, but I think these cases typically are ones where the owner wants to emancipate the enslaved person and has to post an ad to comply with laws. Other laws also made emancipation difficult - posting a bond, other arrangements to get manumission papers, wills and loan agreements that prohibited emancipation or complicated the process, financial loss and potential bankruptcy. These factors show how difficult institutional racism is to change even when people want to do right.


Runaway Slave Ads












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FamilySearch Cases in Black and White and All Shades of Brown

This blog explores redemptive views and opportunities related to Family History and studies such as the 1619 Project. It includes presentations and case studies using  www.FamilySearch.org  to gather family history and collaborate with others. It also shows how FamilySearch can be used for education. Thomas Riley Higgs times Two and Spikes Black and White https://redeem1619.blogspot.com/p/thomas-riley-higgs-times-two-and-spikes.html Esau Family Reunion May 2023 - Esau SC, Crooms & Latta NC, Smith, Thomas, Suiter VA, Boyd FL https://redeem1619.blogspot.com/p/esau-family-sc-crooms-nc-smith-va.html Joseph B Vickers b 1884 GA in Black and White with Lott Family https://redeem1619.blogspot.com/p/joseph-b-vickers-b-1884-ga-in-black-and.html Langford CME Church - Monroe NC and GA connections - Workshop Notes https://redeem1619.blogspot.com/p/langford-cme-church-monroe-nc-and-ga.html Iola Fudge - check image, edit index https://redeem1619.blogspot.com/p/iola-fudge-check-image-edit...
Read more

1619 - Those who learn from history are blessed to redeem it ...

Image
This blog explores redemptive views and opportunities related to Family History and studies such as the 1619 Project. It includes presentations and case studies using  www.FamilySearch.org  to gather family history and collaborate with others. It also shows how FamilySearch can be used for education.  In 1619, 20 to 30 Angolans came ashore at Point Comfort, Virginia having endured the horror of crossing the Atlantic in a slave ship after being enslaved in Africa by the Portuguese and perhaps its allied tribes. If Virginians treated these people fairly, how would that change your perspective on the 1619 Project and related studies, proposals, and projects? In October 2019, my wife Peggi and I attended the annual conference of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) where Ric Murphy, the lead historian, presented many years of detailed research on these 1619 events. He unveiled the USA TODAY infographics that dramatically show the growth of slavery...
Read more

Family Search and Redeeming History

Image
This blog explores redemptive views and opportunities related to Family History and studies such as the 1619 Project. It includes presentations and case studies using  www.FamilySearch.org  to gather family history and collaborate with others. It also shows how FamilySearch can be used for education.  FamilySearch is a free service dedicated to the theory that all of the human race - past, present, and future are children of God, brothers and sisters in spirit, and kin in body and DNA. 6 Nov 2025 notes: See this link for FamilySearch Live Webinars and RootsTech I am currently working on my Redeem History blog in preparation of an AAHGS conference on 21 Feb 2026 at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte. Please give your feedback. Family Search and Redeeming History presentation
Read more