Doug,

    Thanks so much for this.  If people were wondering why Wikipedia is 
inadequate for scholarly work, this posting of the (mis-)story of Anthony 
Johnson, et al SHOULD demonstrate the problem nicely.
    By the way, after Anthony Johnson's death his widow and at least some of 
his sons took up land in Maryland.  In the published Records of Maryland, 
John Casor (Cazor) is recorded as having a cattle brand registered, 
suggesting that he was not held as a slave later ordinary would have been; 
allowed to own chickens but not cattle.

Harold S. Forsythe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Douglas Deal" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2007 8:05 AM
Subject: Re: "Americans" and Wikipedia


> [log in to unmask] wrote:
>> oh, it's a good thing many of you all have your "advanced" degrees so you 
>> can make fun of them.
>>  J South
>>
>>
>>
>>
> Ok. Here's what we're talking about: the Wikipedia article on Anthony 
> Johnson, an early African resident of colonial Virginia, follows in its 
> entirety--
>
> Anthony Johnson (American Colonial)
> From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> Jump to: navigation, search
>
> Anthony Johnson (? - 1670) was an early black resident of the Virginia 
> Colony. He was one of the original 20 Africans brought to Jamestown in 
> 1619 as an indentured servant. On records from Jameston, he is referred to 
> as "Antonio a Negro". In 1623, he purchased his freedom and by 1651 he was 
> prosperous enough to import five "servants" of his own, for which he was 
> granted 250 acres as "headrights".
>
> According to the earliest known court records, slavery was first 
> established in Virginia in 1654, when Johnson convinced the court in 
> Northampton County that he was entitled to the lifetime services of John 
> Casor, also a black man. Claiming that he had been imported as an 
> indentured servant, Casor attempted to transfer what he argued was his 
> remaining time of service to Robert Parker, a white, but Johnson insisted 
> that "he had ye Negro for his life".
>
> The court ruled that "seriously consideringe and maturely weighing the 
> premisses, doe fynde that the saide Mr. Robert Parker most unjustly 
> keepeth the said Negro from Anthony Johnson his master....It is therefore 
> the Judgement of the Court and ordered That the said John Casor Negro 
> forthwith returne unto the service of the said master Anthony Johnson, And 
> that mr. Robert Parker make payment of all charges in the suit."
>
> The unfortunate defendant in the court action, John Casor, thus became the 
> first individual in the Thirteen Colonies known to be legally declared a 
> slave.
>
> [edit] Sources
>
>    * Virginia, Guide to The Old Dominion, WPA Writers' Program, Oxford 
> University Press, NY, 1940 (p. 378)
>
>    * PBS
>
>    * A PBS article about Johnson's Life
>
> *************************************************************************
>
> Notice first that the article relies on one outdated, non-scholarly book 
> (the WPA guide to Virginia), plus a couple of PBS websites. No reference 
> is made to any of the more recent scholarship addressing the life of 
> Johnson and his significance for the early history of slavery and race in 
> the colony.
>
> Not surprisingly, there are a number of errors. The "original 20 Africans" 
> were actually "20. and odd" according to the only report of their arrival, 
> and we have no evidence whatsoever that they were considered "indentured 
> servants." This is a moot point anyway, since there is no evidence that 
> this early group included Anthony Johnson. There is instead some 
> indication that he arrived in the colony in 1621. But we do not know that 
> Johnson "purchased his freedom" in 1623.
>
> The emphasis of the entry thereafter is on one 1654 court case involving 
> Johnson's "slave," John Casor. The details are reported accurately, but 
> the author of this piece is incorrect in saying that "according to the 
> earliest known court records, slavery was first established in Virginia in 
> 1654" and that "John Casor thus became the first individual in the 
> Thirteen Colonies known to be legally declared a slave." That statement 
> should instead point to John Punch, an African runaway servant, who was 
> sentenced to lifetime slavery in 1640 (and as far as we know had no 
> connection to Anthony Johnson). Or this brief article should be more 
> consistent with the sources we do (and don't) have and conclude that the 
> legal shaping of slavery occurred over the course of several decades--it 
> was not something that happened with a single county court decision.
>
> There's a lot more that could've been said about Johnson and his family. 
> What is said is riddled with errors, small and large. The innocent 
> Wikipedia user will be seriously misled by this entry. There are problems 
> with many entries. That real historical scholarship goes through various 
> processes of peer review is a matter of great importance. We can waste 
> time chipping away at the inaccuracies on sites like Wikipedia, or we can 
> do something both easier and more sensible: we can refer people to 
> worthwhile and much more accurate materials in print or online.
>
> Doug Deal
> History/SUNY Oswego