Matthew Ashby References Navigation menuMatthew Ashby biographyRepresentation at

1727 births1771 deathsAmerican slavesIndentured servantsPeople from York County, Virginia


York County, Virginiaslaveryblack slaveWilliamsburgcartercarpenterGovernor BotetourtsilverbricklayerChurch of Englandcatechismheart disease




Matthew Ashby was born in York County, Virginia, in 1727. He is a notable and rare example of the successful escape from slavery and indentured servitude. The son of a black slave and a white indentured servant, he was born free under Virginia law, which at the time gave children the legal status of their mothers. Ashby worked around the Williamsburg area as a carter and carpenter. He was also known to deliver messages for the state, working for Governor Botetourt. Although he himself was indentured until the age of 31, by law, he managed to acquire many things that were well out of the realm of the average slave or servant, including a silver watch, candle making supplies, tea boards, and books.


Matthew married Ann, a slave of the bricklayer, Samuel Spurr. They had two children named John and Mary, who attended the Bray school affiliated with the College of William and Mary. Ms. Anne Wager taught the children the Church of England catechism as well as other subjects. Matthew was able to use his free status to buy his children and wife from Spurr, at the cost of £150.


Despite owning his own children and wife Ashby still had to petition the government for their freedom. Standing before the council, Ashby proclaimed that his wife had been faithful and diligent in all her wifely duties, and that his children were also deserving of their freedom. The council deliberated and found that they agreed with his proposal and his family was granted their freedom in 1769. Two years later Ashby died of a heart disease, leaving his family alone. Having freed his family from slavery and amassing a sizable estate with monetary value well above the average indentured servant or slave.



References





  • Alkalimat, Abdul (2004). The African American Experience in Cyberspace. Pluto Press. .mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
    ISBN 0-7453-2222-0.

  • Matthew Ashby biography


  • Representation at Colonial Williamsburg


1727 births, 1771 deaths, American slaves, Indentured servants, People from York County, VirginiaUncategorized

Popular posts from this blog

Frič See also Navigation menuinternal link

Identify plant with long narrow paired leaves and reddish stems Planned maintenance scheduled April 17/18, 2019 at 00:00UTC (8:00pm US/Eastern) Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara Unicorn Meta Zoo #1: Why another podcast?What is this plant with long sharp leaves? Is it a weed?What is this 3ft high, stalky plant, with mid sized narrow leaves?What is this young shrub with opposite ovate, crenate leaves and reddish stems?What is this plant with large broad serrated leaves?Identify this upright branching weed with long leaves and reddish stemsPlease help me identify this bulbous plant with long, broad leaves and white flowersWhat is this small annual with narrow gray/green leaves and rust colored daisy-type flowers?What is this chilli plant?Does anyone know what type of chilli plant this is?Help identify this plant

fontconfig warning: “/etc/fonts/fonts.conf”, line 100: unknown “element blank” The 2019 Stack Overflow Developer Survey Results Are In“tar: unrecognized option --warning” during 'apt-get install'How to fix Fontconfig errorHow do I figure out which font file is chosen for a system generic font alias?Why are some apt-get-installed fonts being ignored by fc-list, xfontsel, etc?Reload settings in /etc/fonts/conf.dTaking 30 seconds longer to boot after upgrade from jessie to stretchHow to match multiple font names with a single <match> element?Adding a custom font to fontconfigRemoving fonts from fontconfig <match> resultsBroken fonts after upgrading Firefox ESR to latest Firefox