I have a question about a run away slave and I can not seem to find an answer, so I am turning to this ever knowledgeable list.

BACKGROUND:

I recently appeared before the Sarasota Florida City Commission to request a historic designation for the oldest cemetery in Sarasota Florida.  My application was based on the life of the first white settler (William Whitaker) in Sarasota Florida in 1843.  In the application I stated that he owned 6 slaves.  During the question period, one of the Commissioners asked if I would find more information about any slaves in the Sarasota Florida area prior to the War Between the States.


MY FINDINGS:

I found that one of the slaves of William Whitaker was a run away from North Carolina.  Long story short -- William Whitaker paid his previous owner $1,000 for him.  

MY QUESTION:

Most slaves would go north for freedom, while some from Georgia would come to Florida and live with the Seminole.  But this slave ran away in 1857 after the majority of Seminoles had been relocated west.  It is very puzzling to me why he chose to come through South Carolina,  Georgia and on to Florida - a slave state.  To me this does not make sense.  

Any thoughts or comments or books I could read would be most helpful.  

One of the Commissioners was actually shocked to think that we at one time had slaves in Sarasota.  These folks are politicians not historians so ........

Thanks for taking time to read my dilemma.

Phebe Morgan
Sarasota, Florida

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