Paul Heinegg's very useful post (below) underscores the uncertainty of the period. Some people where claiming Africans as slaves for life; there were no statutes or even decisions creating slavery, but no one was challenging it because the Africans were unlikely to know that they could not (or at least should not) be held as slaves and the British setters in Virginia (can we even call them "Virginians" at this point?) were happily taking advantage of these Africans.
However as late as 1672 and 1673 Virginia Courts ordered the release of Africans who had been "indentured."
Re Edward Mozingo, McIlwaine 316 (October1672)
Whereas . . . EdwardMozingo a Negro manhad been and was an apprentice by Indenture . . . and that by Computation histerme of Servitude for Twenty Eight yeares is now Expired . . . It is Ajudged by this Court that thesaid Edw: Mozingo be and Remayne freeto all Intents and purposes by order of This Court [.]
Moore vs. Light, McIlwaine 354 (October1673)
Whereas Andrew Moore A Servant Negro to Mr Geo: Light . . . [came] into this Countybut for five yeare, It is Thereoforder[e]d that the Said Moore beefree from his said master, and that the Said Mr Light pay him Corne and Clothes According to the custome of theCountry and four hundred Pounds tob[acc]o & Caske for his service Done himSince he was free, and pay Costs[.]
We also need to understand the difference between holding a "slave" and having a "system of slavery." The first begins in then 1630s through individualized acts, a will here or a sale there. By 1660 the practice is common enough for the House of Burgesses to enact a tax law encouraging the importation of slaves:
An Act for the Dutch and all other Strangers for Tradeing tothis Place,
Act XVI, March, 1659‑60 (1 Hening 540) [it would be 1660 under a modern calendar.]
WHEREAS the restriction of trade hath appearedto be the greatest impediment to the advance of the estimation and value of ourpresent only commodity tobacco, Bee itenacted . . . That the Dutch and allstrangers of what Xpian nation soever in amity with the people of England shallhave free liberty to trade with us, for all allowable comodities . . . Provided they give bond and pay theimpost of tenn shillings per hogshead laid upon all tobacco exported to anyfforreigne dominions . . . Allwaiesprovided, That if the said Dutch or other forreigners shall import anynegro slaves, They the said Dutch or others shall, for the tobacco reallyproduced by the sale of the said negro, pay only the impost of two shillingsper hogshead, the like being paid by our owne nation.
Two years later (1662) the legislature recognize that some Africans who ran away were "incapable of making satisfaction by addition ofa time" Run‑aways, Act CII, March, 1661-62 (II Hening 116-17)
These two laws (1660 and 1662) mark the beginning of a system of slavery in VA.
Was this legal? Slavery clearly violated English common law and statutory law in the metropolis. But as a colony of the King the general understanding was that the local authorities could change English law with the acquiescence of the Crown. That is what happened. A century later (Somerset v. Stewart, 1772) Lord Mansfield acknowledged that the law in the colonies was different, and that English courts would respect that law as long as the slaves remained in the colonies.
I hope this helps. I thinks Johnson v. Parker is interesting, and part of the story, but not "earth shaking" in terms of understanding how slavery came to Va.
********
PaulFinkelman, Ph.D.
President
GRATZCOLLEGE
7605Old York Road
MelrosePark, PA 19027
Email:[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
Office:215-635-7300 x 124
Cell: 518-605-0296
On Monday, May 13, 2019, 7:47:38 AM EDT, Paul Heinegg <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
The deeds, wills and court orders are complete for Northampton County from
1632.
They record deeds for the sale of "Negros" which include no terms of
service, and they include wills which devise "Negros and their increase."
If one is looking for a case before 1654 which decided whether a slave was
property, there may be no other.
However, one could argue that the sole reason that the Johnson vs Parker
trial took place was the odd situation that "Negro" Johnson owned "Negro"
Casor. And Johnson's wife, children and neighbors appealed to him to release
Casor.
Parker would not have allowed the slave of a white planter to openly take
refuge on his property, nor would Casor have dared to openly challenge a
white master that way.
If a court did not intervene when a master beat a white servant to death in
1624, it is unlikely that the courts would intervene when planters kept as
slaves Africans who had no indentures and came from countries that England
had no diplomatic relations with.
Paul
-----Original Message-----
From: Gray, LaToya
Sent: Friday, May 10, 2019 10:31 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] John Casor
Hi Brent,
May I ask how early are we speaking (for early judicial records in
Virginia)? I haven't had a chance to review the origins of this e-mail
chain, but this caught my attention because of a previous project I worked
on. I used to assist a professor through typing transcriptions of early
court cases from English legal history, and I think that there were some
from early cases in Virginia. The project was a bit monotonous to me at
times, so I did not read all of the cases I typed, but perhaps I can suggest
a few sources that can help, depending on the desired time period.
Sincerely,
LaToya
LaToya S. Gray
User Support Specialist
Boatwright Memorial Library
University of Richmond, VA 23173
804.287.8884
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history
<[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Tarter, Brent
Sent: Friday, May 10, 2019 9:28 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] John Casor
I don't know enough about the surviving judicial records of other colonies
know whether an earlier such record exists. Earlier records may have once
upon a time existed in Virginia, but we can't say for sure.
Brent
On Thu, May 9, 2019 at 4:25 PM Johnson, Kirk N. <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Boris,
>
> I don't understand your tone here. Brent was making a very particular
> observation about the archival realities when researching early
> Virginia history. Maybe your question should be to ask is it the first
> KNOWN case.
>
> Kirk Johnson
> Serials Manager
>
> Prince William Public Library System
> 13083 Chinn Park Drive
> Prince William, VA 22192-5073
>
> (703) 792-4883
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history <
> [log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Boris Sokolovsky
> Sent: Thursday, May 9, 2019 2:20 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] John Casor
>
> Historical research is not based on what is "missing". The challenge
> facing you in using archival data is to find materials from the
> multitude of materials available in various archives and collections,
> which are both reasonable and suitable for the research topic. The
> treatment of very old materials is a particularly difficult challenge to
> overcome.
> So, I am asking again, based on what material is available, was Was
> "Johnson vs Parker" a first case in the colonies that recognized a
> person as a "property' of another person?
> As you know British Laws did not have any Law that mentioned "Slavery".
>
> On Thu, May 9, 2019 at 10:54 AM Tarter, Brent <
> [log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > Early court records are very, very incomplete and scattered, so it
> > is not wise to state that that or any other one case was definitely
> > the first. The best we can do is to state that one might be the
> > earliest identified case and hedge even that by reference to the
> > loss of a vast abundance of county and General Court records from
> > Virginia.
> >
> > Brent Tarter
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
> > On Thu, May 9, 2019 at 1:08 PM Boris Sokolovsky <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> >
> > > Can you formulate a concise answer to this question?
> > > Was Johnson vs Parker a first case in the colonies that recognized
> > > a
> > person
> > > as a "property' of another person?
> > > The case of Punch was a punishment for violating an Indenture
> > > Contract.
> > >
> > > On Tue, May 7, 2019 at 6:23 AM Kimball, Gregg <
> > > [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > >
> > > > There are a few premises in the initial post that I would
> > > > consider
> > > suspect,
> > > > but I'm sure better scholars on the list will weigh in. I hope
> > > > they
> > will,
> > > > because a few of these assumptions have troubled me for some time.
> > > >
> > > > How can we consider the "20 and odd" Africans who arrived in
> > > > Virginia
> > in
> > > > 1619 as "indentured servants with time restricted contracts" if
> > > > they
> > were
> > > > taken from a Spanish slave ship by English raiders and traded in
> > > > the colony?
> > > >
> > > > Do we know that there were "no laws regarding slavery for life"
> > anywhere
> > > in
> > > > Britain and its colonies? I ask that because we seem to assume
> > > > that a
> > > lack
> > > > of statutes means "no law," but British law, as I understand it,
> > > > was largely based on the common law.
> > > >
> > > > Can we EVER assume a "first" in terms of the law of slavery in
> > > > Virginia given the massive loss of early records?
> > > >
> > > > Gregg
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, May 7, 2019 at 7:58 AM Boris Sokolovsky
> > > > <[log in to unmask]>
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Since there were no laws regarding slavery for life(all "slaves"
> > > > > were brought in as indentured servants with time restricted
> > > > > contracts)
> > what
> > > > was
> > > > > the first established by law case of slavery?
> > > > > Many resources point at the Johnson vs Parker case.
> > > > > Can you clarify the issue?
> > > > >
> > > > > On Mon, May 6, 2019 at 1:11 PM Paul Heinegg
> > > > > <[log in to unmask]>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > No, but he may have been the first slave owned by a former
> > > > > > slave.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Casor sued for his freedom from former slave Anthony Johnson
> > > > > > in Northampton County, Virginia, in 1653, but Johnson
> > > > > > insisted that "hee had ye
> > > Negro
> > > > > for
> > > > > > his life" [Orders, Deeds, Wills, 1651-54, 226].
> > > > > > John Casor/ Cazara travelled with the Johnson family to
> > > > > > Somerset
> > > > County,
> > > > > > Maryland, where he recorded his livestock mark in court,
> > > > > > with the
> > > > consent
> > > > > > of
> > > > > > Anthony's widow Mary Johnson [Archives of Maryland, 54:760-1].
> > > > > > He was a witness (signing) to her power of attorney by which
> > > > > > she
> > > > assigned
> > > > > > her son John Johnson authority over her property in Virginia
> > > [Somerset
> > > > > > County Judicial Record, 1671-75, 159-62].
> > > > > > Paul
> > > > > >
> > > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > > From: Boris Sokolovsky
> > > > > > Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2019 3:14 PM
> > > > > > To: [log in to unmask]
> > > > > > Subject: [VA-HIST] John Casor
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Was John Casor one of the first legal black slave?
> > > > > >
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