As a P.S., I should add that I have also seen the phrase "to give [someone] his time" used in other American historical contexts to indicate the action of a master in ending an apprentice's period of servitude, or when a young person is released from the obligation to work for an employer while conveying his wages to his father. I can't say whether this usage was ever current in Virginia, however. Clearly, though, the term had similar applications in various types of servitude other than slavery; and I wonder if perhaps its use in the context of slavery derived from those situations when a slave was permitted to hire him- or herself out and keep the wages rather than remitting them to his/her legal owner--a situation that would have been more or less equivalent to informal emancipation. --Jurretta Heckscher On Feb 27, 2007, at 6:34 PM, Jurretta Heckscher wrote: > Yes, I have come across the term "to give a slave his/her time," and > it means, as you have surmised, an unofficial emancipation: the > person was allowed to live as a free person, but legally they were not > free--and thus subject to having their "freedom" revoked at any time > by their legal owner or his/her heirs. > > The reasons for this practice were probably numerous. In Virginia, > the law (of 1806, if memory serves?) stating that those who were > officially freed either had to leave the state within a year, or have > their residence in the state approved by a petition to the > legislature, probably led some slaveholders to "give time" in this > fashion rather than go to the trouble, and publicity, of turning to > the legislature. > > I don't know, but can imagine, that it might therefore have been an > especially useful mechanism among two grooups: those who had > themselves been manumitted and were subsequently able to purchase > enslaved family members, but who (even if they were literate and could > craft a formal petition) might reasonably have supposed that their > wishes would carry little weight with the legislature; and those--such > as Martha Jefferson Randolph--whose social position was such that > whatever informal arrangements they might make for their human chattel > would likely have been treated with respect, discretion, and > understanding by the white community, thus affording the slaves so > treated some measure of local protection. > > Hope this helps. > > --Jurretta Heckscher > > On Feb 27, 2007, at 5:53 PM, Heritage Society wrote: > >> Martha Jefferson Randolph, by an unsigned note, expressed a wish for >> her children >> "to give their time" to three slaves ("Betsy Hemmings, Sally and >> Wormely"). >> Other references in the note make it clear that the slaves are not >> being liberated. This note has been referred to as a "codicil," but >> it is unsigned and unrecorded , and why it has been referred to as a >> "codicil" is unclear. Has anyone run across this term "to give their >> time"? The procedure for manumission was specific in the Virginia >> statutes at this time , so this term suggests a euphemism for a >> practice where slaves were permitted to go on their own , but were >> not required to leave Virginia , since they were not legally freed >> from slavery . Does this term appear anywhere else in the literature? >> . Any comments would be appreciated and it may be off list if >> preferred. >> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html