You should check the law, but I believe that during this period male 
slaves were taxable at sixteen as were free white males thus they were 
considered to be capable of doing adult work. I would suggest that your 
man boy was probably 14-16, what was earlier called a half-tithable, and 
that your adult male could have been as young as 20.

Barbara Vines Little, CG, FNGS, FVGS
PO Box 1273
Orange, VA 22960

540-832-3473
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CG, Certified Genealogist, is a service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used
under license by board-certified genealogists after periodic evaluation; the board name is
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On 8/5/2015 4:39 PM, Martha Katz-Hyman wrote:
> In doing research on the family of Edward Moss (grandson of William Moss
> and son of James Moss of York County), I went to the estate administration
> of John Chisman, father of James's wife, Catherine, and from whom Catherine
> inherited 4 slaves in 1758. These 4 slaves were part of a larger group of
> 21 slaves who were then divided among James' and Catherine's 3 children
> (John, Anne and Edward) after James's death in 1762.
>
> In the description of the men and boys included in the appraisement of the
> slaves is the term "man-boy", which, in all of my years of studying probate
> inventories, I do not remember seeing. For example, the first two
> individuals listed are "Ben a Negro Man Shoemaker L50/Ben a Man-Boy L40."
>
> My assumption is that Ben, the shoemaker, is an adult at least 30 years
> old, while Ben, the "Man-Boy", is an older teenager--young adult. There are
> two other individuals who are described as "Man Boy", with approximately
> the same value, in the appraisal list.
>
> I would be interested in knowing of other uses of this terminology, perhaps
> other period usages, and also whether my assumption is correct.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Martha Katz-Hyman
> Curator
> Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
> Williamsburg, Virginia
>
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