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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