Runaway Sailors

August 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

New-Hampshire Gazette (August 6, 1773).

“RAN-AWAY … a Sailor, named John Morgan … Portsmouth, Aug. 5.”

The notice arrived in the printing office too late to appear in the August 6, 1773, edition of the New-Hampshire Gazette… almost.  John Morgan, a sailor, deserted or “RAN-AWAY from the Ship Exeter Galley” and William Pearne offered a reward to “Whoever will bring the said Man” to him in Portsmouth.  Readers could recognize Morgan, “pretty tall, well built, about 30 Years of Age,” by his “dark Complexion, & black short Hair” as well as his “blue Jacket, check Shirt, Oznabrigs Trousers, and a new Pair of Shoes.”

The advertisement was dated “Portsmouth, Aug. 5.”  The August 6 edition was already in production when Pearne delivered the notice to the printing office.  Like other colonial newspapers, the New-Hampshire Gazette consisted of four pages created by printing two pages on each side of a broadsheet and then folding it in half.  Daniel Fowle, the printer, and others in the printing office would have selected the contents, set the type, and printed the first and fourth pages on one side of the broadsheet in advance of working on the second and third pages on the other side.  They needed to hang the incomplete newspapers to dry after the first printing.  Fowle and the rest apparently had the type set for the second and third pages and were ready to take it to press when Pearne’s advertisement arrived.  Pearne may have pleaded or insisted that it needed to appear in the August 6 edition rather than wait an entire week for the next issue.  That would have given Morgan even more time to make good on his escape.

Fowle or one of the compositors made room for the advertisement in the margin at the bottom of the second page.  It consisted of nine lines, too many to appear together, but there was enough space to add three lines below each of the three columns of news on that page.  The text of the advertisement featured a larger font, a subtle visual cue to alert readers that they encountered content that was not part of the news items originally planned for that page.  The following week, the advertisement did appear as a single piece along with other paid notices on the third page of the August 13 edition.  For immediate publication, however, the printing office resorted to the margin to satisfy a customer who submitted a time-sensitive advertisement at the last minute.

February 10

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , , , , , ,

Who were the subjects of an advertisement in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Feb 10 - 2:10:1768 Georgia Gazette
Georgia Gazette (February 10, 1768).

“RUN AWAY WITH … A SQUARE STERN PILOT-BOAT.”

When Captain Samuel Covell departed Savannah for Barbados in early February 1768 the Elizabeth and Mary sailed without three members of its crew. James Colmy, John Roche, and Alexander Sim had deserted while the ship was in port. That these sailors chose not to continue on the Elizabeth and Mary was not itself out of the ordinary, but their choice to steal a boat from William Lyford attracted more attention than they might otherwise have received.

Lyford placed an advertisement in the February 10 edition of the Georgia Gazette, the first issue published after Colmy, Roche, and Sim stole his “SQUARE STERN PILOT-BOAT” sometime in the night of February 5. To aid in apprehending the fugitive seamen, Lyford provided descriptions of the thieves and his boat. In addition, he indicated that one of his slaves had been kidnapped in the process of stealing his boat. He reported that “there was on board a DARK INDIAN FELLOW, who speaks good English, also the property of the said William Lyford, who it is supposed was asleep in the hold when the above men stole the vessel.”

Lyford may have been correct that the unnamed “INDIAN FELLOW” had been asleep and even unnoticed by the thieves when they made off with his pilot boat, but that was not the only possibility. Sensing an opportunity to gain his freedom, the enslaved Indian may have collaborated with the fugitive sailors in stealing the vessel, choosing not to resist or raise an alarm even if he had been surprised when they first boarded. If he was familiar with local waterways, the unnamed Indian could have been a valuable ally in making the escape and avoiding detection. Colmy, Roche, and Sim may have welcomed him as a partner in their adventure. After all, eighteenth-century mariners practiced an egalitarianism that often overlooked race in favor of emphasizing skill, status, and similar experiences. The “INDIAN FELLOW” and the sailors may have both embraced circumstances that allowed them to cooperate for mutual benefit as they ran away from the masters – whether slaveholders or captains – who exercised power over them.