Roberta Estes wrote July 7, 2007:
“In 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh financed a venture in which 116 men, women and children were planning to establish the first permanent colony in the New World. Their goal was to raise tobacco and other supplies that colonists were unable to obtain in England, and to search for precious minerals, like gold.
In the fall of 1587, the colonists finally arrived on Roanoke Island in present day North Carolina, after a very difficult journey in which their food supplies were ruined. They sent John White, whom they had elected governor, back to England to obtain food and supplies and expected his return in the spring of 1588.
However, the Spanish attacked England, and England, having no Navy, impressed all of her fishing vessels and private mer-chant ships into Naval service. Finally, in 1590, three years after leaving the colonists which included his daughter, son-in-law and infant granddaughter, he returned to Roanoke Island to find it deserted, but not destroyed. It appeared as if the col-onists had simply moved. A single word, a clue, “Croatan,” was carved on a tree.
The Croatan were the friendly Indians living nearby. Before John's departure, he had instructed the colonists to carve cross-es if they had to leave in distress. There were no crosses.
John White would spend the rest of his life searching for the Lost Colonists. Many hints and clues indicate that at least some of the Colonists survived and were assimilated into the native tribes. The question is, did they, and if so, who are they today?
In 1993, the original site of the Croatan village was located. Subsequent archaeological and genealogical research suggests that the colonists did survive, and that when the land was granted to settlers, it was granted to some of those survivors who were by that time considered to be Indians.”
==O==
Following English custom, before 1837, most colonial North Carolina marriages took place in the parish church, following the publication of banns [the announcement in church on three successive Sundays], or by license, according to Sherry Irvine, BA, CGRS, FSA. There were two proper ways to get married, by banns or by license. If the couple obtained a marriage li-cense from one of the ecclesiastical offices, banns were not required.
In North Carolina few Colonial licenses survive because the license was given to the groom to present to the officiating minister. The license contained statements made on oath that both parties to the union were over the age of 21 [or they supplied the proper permission] and that there was no known impediment to the marriage. The bond, originally required, was for a sum of money to be forfeited if any part of the allegations were false.
==O==
Important Dates in North Carolina Indian History
Compiled by the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs
40,000 B.C. People migrate to North America via the Bering Land Bridge.
8000 B.C. Archaic tradition.
1200 B.C. Southeastern Indians begin growing squash and gourds.
1000 B.C. Woodland tradition.
200 B.C. Southeastern Indians begin cultivating corn.
700-1500 Mississippi tradition.
1524 Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano is the first European
explorer.to visit the Indians of North Carolina. He lands at
Cape Fear and the Outer Banks.
1540 Hernando de Soto and his expedition visit Indian communities in West- ern North Carolina on his march north from Florida.
1566 A Spanish expedition led by Juan [Joao] Pardo visits the Catawba, Wateree, and Saxapahaw tribes of Carolina.
1584 Sir Walter Raleigh's first expedition visits the Indians of Roanoke
Island.
1585 English colony is established at Roanoke Island under the direction of
Sir Walter Raleigh. Colony falls the following year.
1587 John White's colony established on Roanoke Island.
Disappearance of John White's colony is discovered. Henceforth this
colony is called the "Lost Colony."
1670The beginning of a steady stream of white settlers moves into
Indian lands along the coastal sounds and rivers of North
Carolina.
1664 Clarendon County colony from Barbados established in the
1665 Cape Fear region. Several years of Indian-white conflict ends the colony.
1670 German physician John Lederer visits the tribes of coastal North
Carolina.
1675 The first Indian "war" in North Carolina erupts between the Chowan
and white settlers in Virginia.
1701-1711 Surveyor John Lawson visits the tribes of eastern North Carolina.
He is killed by the Tuscarora in 1711.
1711 Tuscarora War begins.
1713 Tuscarora War ends. The majority of the defeated Tuscarora seek
refuge with the Five Nations of the Iroquois in New York State.
1715 Peace treaty with remaining North Carolina Tuscarora is signed.
Tuscarora, Coree, and Machapunga are placed on reservation
established in Hyde County near Lake Mattamuskeet. By 1761
the reservation has ceased to exist.
1730 Cherokee leaders visit London, confer with the king of England, and
pledge eternal friendship to the British.
1732 Lumbee Henry Berry Lowry and James Lowry are granted land on
the Lowry Swamp east of the Lumber River.
1738-1739 Smallpox epidemic ravages Indian population in North Carolina.
1755 Proposal to establish an Indian academy in present-day Sampson
County is approved by the colonial governor.
1775 Cherokee cede large tract of land in central and western Kentucky,
southwestern Virginia, and parts of north and northwestern
Tennessee in the "Henderson Purchase."
1776 Cherokee side with the British during the American Revolution. The
Coharle and Lumbee fight on the side of the Americans.
1785 Cherokee sign the Treaty of Hopewell, which delineates the
boundaries of Cherokee territory.
1791 Cherokee sign the Treaty of Holston and are forced by treaty to cede
100-mile tract of land in exchange for goods and annuity of
$1,000 per year.
1802 Cherokee National Council is established.
1808 Cherokee establish a law code and the "Light Horse Guards" to
maintain law and order.
1810 Cherokee abolish clan revenge as a mechanism for social control.
1812-1814 Cherokee fight on side of Americans to put down Tecumseh's efforts
to drive out whites. Several Lumbee serve in American forces
during the War of 1812.
1817 Cherokee cede land in exchange for land on the Arkansas River, and
2,000 Cherokee move west.
1820 Cherokee establish Judicial administration and eight districts.
1821 Cherokee National Council approves the Cherokee Syllabary invented
by Sequoia between 1809 and 1821.
1822 Cherokee National Supreme Court is established.
1825 New Cherokee capital is established at New Echota.
1827 Cherokee approve a new tribal constitution.
1828 First edition of the "Cherokee Phoenix," a newspaper printed in
Cherokee and English, is released.
1830 U.S. Congress passes Indian Removal Act.
1835 Cherokee Removal Treaty is signed.
1838-1839 Cherokee are removed to Oklahoma on the "Trail of Tears."
1840 North Carolina General Assembly passes law prohibiting Indians from
owning or carrying weapons without first obtaining license.
1848 Catawba at Cherokee request Bureau of Indian Affairs to appoint an
official to organize their removal to the West.
1862-1872 Lumbee Henry Berry Lowry and his triracial band wage "war" against
the whites in Robeson County for injustices to Indians.
1868 New North Carolina constitution, which restores voting rights to
Indians, is passed.
1885 Indians in Robeson, Richmond, and Sampson counties are recognized
1886 as the "Croatan" by the North Carolina General Assembly.
Legislation also provides for separate schools for the "Croatan."
1887 Croatan Normal School for the Indians of Robeson County is
established one mile west of Pembroke and is given an
appropriation of $500 by the North Carolina General Assembly.
1889 Eastern Cherokee tribe is incorporated under North Carolina law.
1907 North Carolina General Assembly mandates separate schools for the
"Croatan Indians and Creoles of Cumberland County."
1910 Coharie hold their first recorded community meeting and elect a tribal
chief. Slilloh Indian School is constructed in Sampson County.
Operating funds for the school are secured from a monthly fee
charged each student. School closes in 1938.
1911 North Carolina General Assembly changes name of Croatans to
"Indians of Robeson County." Croatan Normal School is
renamed
Indian Normal School of Robeson County. High Plains Indian
School for the Indians of Person County is established. School
closes in 1962. New Bethel Indian School is established for
Indians in Sampson County. School closes in 1941.
1913 Indians of Robeson County renamed "Cherokee Indians of Robeson
County" by the North Carolina General Assembly. Indians in
Person County [formerly called "Cubans"] are designated as
"Indians of Person County" by North Carolina General Assembly.
1926rokee lands are placed in trust status with the federal
government.
1933 Wide-Awake School for Waccamaw-Siouan is established in
1934 Columbus County. School closes in 1966.
1935 North Carolina General Assembly passes act to provide for the
preservation of Indian antiquities in North Carolina. Citizens are
"urged" to comply. No criminal penalties are set.
1937 North Carolina General Assembly empowers governor to set aside
"some day" as "Indian Day."
1940 First college degree granted at Indian Normal School of Robeson
County.
1941 Name of Indian Normal School of Robeson County is changed by
General Assembly to "Pembroke State College for Indians."
1942 East Carolina Indian School is established in Sampson County to serve
Indians in seven surrounding counties. School closes in 1965.
1947 First Indian mayor of town of Pembroke is elected. Prior to this date,
the governor of North Carolina appointed the mayors of
Pembroke, all of whom were non-Indians.
1950 Funding of Cherokee Historical Association and first performance of
outdoor drama "Unto These Hills."
1952 Hawkeye Indian School for the Indians living in Hoke County is
established. School closes in 1968.
1953 Lumbee Tribe recognized by the state of North Carolina.
1954 Les Maxwell School for the Indians of Cumberland County is
ablished. School closes in 1967.
1956 "Lumbee Bill" is passed by U.S. Congress. The bill recognizes the
Lumbee as an Indian tribe but denies them services from the BIA.
1957 Halliwa Elementary and Secondary School is established. School
closes in 1968.
1958 Lumbee successfully thwart attempt by Ku Klux Klan to establish
itself in Robeson County.
1965 Halliwa receive state recognition as an Indian tribe.
1968 Lumbee Regional Development Association is chartered.
1969 Pembroke State College for Indians becomes Pembroke State
University and part of the University of North Carolina system.
1970 East Carolina Tuscarora Indian Association is established in Robeson
County. Waccamaw-Siouan Development Association is
chartered. Cherokee Civic Center is completed.
1971 Coharie and Waccamaw-Siouan tribes are recognized by the state of North Carolina. North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs is
established. First Indian-owned bank in the United States,
Lumbee Bank, is chartered.
1973 "Carolina Indian Voice," an Indian-owned newspaper, begins
operation in Robeson County. Cumberland County Association
forIndian People is chartered. Henry Ward Oxendine, a Lum-bee from Robeson County, becomes the first North Carolina-born Indian to serve in the North Carolina House of Repre-sentatives.
1974 Halliwa Tribe is chartered.
1975 Guilford Native American Association and the Coharie Inter-Tribal
Council are chartered. New multi-million dollar Cherokee High
School opens.
1976 Metrolina Native American Association is chartered. The outdoor
drama "Strike at the Wind," the story of Lumbee Henry Berry
Lowry, opens in Robeson County.
1980 "Indian Heritage Week" is proclaimed by Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr.
1981 Lumbee and Halliwa received membership in National Congress of
American Indians. The "Unmarked Human Burial and Human
Skeletal Remains Protection Act" and the "Archaeological
Resources Protection Act" are unanimously passed by the North
Carolina General Assembly. Criminal penalties are set for
violations, and involvement of Indian communities is mandated in
decisions concerning treatment, analysis, and disposition of
native American remains.
==O==
By Erin Bradford
I have been working on a project for the past five years to doc-ument the people and experiences of free blacks during the Antebellum period of North Carolina. This is a topic I'm very passionate about and basically have dedicated my life to studying this out. I've written many papers on the subject while looking at various topics: laws, education, economics, marriage, demographics, etc. Below is an excerpt of the last paper I wrote about the legal status of free blacks in North Carolina. It is in the form of a timeline rather than by topics of the laws. Eventually, I plan to study free blacks every-where in the Antebellum US, but that is a HUGE project. In the summer or fall of 2005, I hope to begin to host an African American chat, but until then, please join me Monday nights from 9-10pm EST in the Southern US chat and we can talk some more about the topic. -Erin
Laws and Lives of Free Blacks in North Carolina: 1715-1863
Between the years of 1715 and 1863, the state of North Caro-lina passed numerous laws that gradually restricted the rights of free blacks within its borders. These laws focused on re-stricting rights on how slaves could gain freedom, whether or not free blacks could vote, rules for paying taxes, movement within the state as well as movement out of or into the state, regulation of apprenticeships, property ownership, marriage and cohabitation, and involvement of free blacks with slaves. Despite these restrictions, the free black population in North Carolina continued to grow from 4,975 in the 1790 census to 30,463 in the 1860 census. In looking at court cases and county records in North Carolina, not all laws, especially those in the 1800’s, were created as results of current problems fac-ing the state, but rather reactions to problems facing neighbor-ing states, particularly Virginia. Many of the laws in the 1800’s were reactions to events like Gabriel’s Rebellion in Virginia during 1800, the Revolt of Denmark Vessy in South Carolina during 1822, and the Nat Turner Revolt also in Vir-ginia during 1831. The state of North Carolina also passed many laws in 1861 in reaction to the Civil War.
The majority of the free black population in North Carolina consistently resided within eight counties during this seventy year period: Bertie, Craven, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Northampton, Robeson, and Wake. In these eight counties, the free black population grew rapidly between 1790 and 1820, but very slow growth from 1820-1840. It wasn’t until 1850 that the free black population again saw a sharp increase (see table 1.) On the county level, in comparing the numbers of free blacks in 1790 with those in 1860, only Bertie County decreased in number (see table 1.) Granville and Wake Coun-ty gradually grew in number and every decennial enumeration showed more free blacks in the county than the previous enumeration. The rest of the eight counties, however, fluctuated in number decade to decade (see table 1.) Overall, the population of free blacks in North Carolina increased for all the counties. These numbers are important because they can reflect two things. First, how the rise in free black popu-lation could have prompted the General Assembly to pass laws that restricted the rights of free blacks and secondly, the num-ber can reflect how the laws that the General Assembly passed affected the movement out of the state or to a different county within the state.
|
|
1790 |
1800 |
1810 |
1820 |
1830 |
1840 |
1850 |
1860 |
|
Bertie |
348 |
195 |
214 |
250 |
250 |
303 |
323 |
319 |
|
Craven |
337 |
328 |
1,125 |
1724 |
1,744 |
950 |
1,538 |
1,332 |
|
Granville |
315 |
329 |
467 |
521 |
531 |
674 |
1,090 |
1,123 |
|
Halifax |
443 |
635 |
1,236 |
1541 |
1,551 |
1528 |
1,870 |
2,452 |
|
Hertford |
216 |
430 |
304 |
788 |
788 |
665 |
873 |
1,112 |
|
Northampton |
462 |
538 |
580 |
730 |
725 |
650 |
830 |
650 |
|
Robeson |
277 |
341 |
417 |
437 |
428 |
982 |
1,230 |
1,452 |
|
Wake |
180 |
324 |
519 |
734 |
734 |
1056 |
1,306 |
1,446 |
|
Total |
2,578 |
3,120 |
4,862 |
6,725 |
6,751 |
6,808 |
9,060 |
9,886 |
Table 1. Total number of free people of color
enumerated in Bertie, Craven, Granville,
Halifax, Hertford, Northampton, Robeson, and Wake Counties 1790-1860 census.
Laws of the 1700s
Between the years of 1715 and 1799, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed a total of eleven different laws restricting the rights of manumitting slaves and the rights of free blacks. These eleven laws concerned the right to manumit slaves, voting rights of free blacks, who counted as tithables for paying taxes, migration into and out of the state, the practice of apprenticeships, registration of free blacks within certain towns, marriage rights, and an act designed to prevent the selling of stolen goods by slaves and free blacks.
In 1715, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed “An Act Concerning Servants and Slaves.” This act contained twenty-one sections, five of which pertained to free blacks. Sections one through thirteen, as well as section nineteen, all specified laws regulating slaves and indentured servants, especially women, while sections fourteen through eighteen aimed to regulate free persons of color (including Native Americans). Sections fourteen through seventeen were the first laws of the state to outlaw miscegenation. Section fourteen stated that if any white woman, whether servant or free, had a child by any person of color, she would be required by law to pay to the church warden six pounds or be sold into 2 years of servitude. Furthermore, section fifteen empowered church wardens to bind out any children born from a union between a white woman and colored man, until they become of age 31. It is important to note that only these children were to be bound to age 31, while other children, including legitimate children of color, were to be bound until only age 21. Section sixteen stated, “. . . Be It Further Enacted By the Authority aforesaid that no White man or woman shall intermarry with any Negro, Mulatto, or Indyan Man or Woman under the penalty of Fifty Pounds for each white man or woman.” Finally, section seventeen fined any members of the clergy who performed a marriage between a white person and person of color. Section eighteen was the first act passed by the General Assembly regulating the right of slave owners to set their slaves free. According to this section, owners could not grant manumission to slaves who previously attempted to runaway. Furthermore, the law stipulated that manumission would only be granted for “honest and faithful” service and that freed slaves must leave North Carolina within six months or face being sold back for an additional five years.
In 1715, the General Assembly passed another act, this time making it illegal for free people of color (including Native Americans) to vote. This act came about in part from a petition launched in 1705 which complained about servants, free people of color, Jews, and “aliens” voting in the previous election of the General Assembly for the state of North Carolina. In 1776, the state constitution of North Carolina gave back the right to vote to free blacks until a new constitution was written in 1835.
1723 saw the passage of one act regarding both taxables and migration in and out of the state. The act first deemed any free person of color age 12 or over taxable and also that any white person who married a free person of color became liable under the same law. A petition was filed in the Granville County Court to complain against this law, signed by both free black and white men, including Gibbea Chavis, a free black man, who owned 300 acres of land at one time. , The second part of the law stipulated that if a freed slave, after leaving the state within the required 6 months later returned, they could be apprehended and sold back into slavery for 7 years.
An act passed in 1733 regarding the practice of apprenticeship offered the only form of relief to free blacks during this time. Before 1733, free blacks could be taken and forced into an apprenticeship against their will. In July 1733, many complaints and petitions came forward concerning free blacks who were either forced into an apprenticeship or forced to remain past the legal age of 21, many forced to stay as long as age 31. As a response to these unethical apprenticeships, Moseley Vail, of the North Carolina House, wrote to the General Assembly that, “. . . these practices are well known . . ..” and further wrote, "It is therefore humbly recommended by the said Committee that a vote pass this House declaring the illegality of such a practice and that all such Persons so taken from their Parents or Guardians be returned . . ." Later the same year, the General Assembly agreed with Vail and made such practices illegal.
An act passed by the state legislature of North Carolina in 1741 repealed the manumission act of 1715. Three major points comprised the act of 1741. First, slaves could only be emancipated as a reward for meritorious service. No longer could slaveholders free their slaves as they desired for whatever reason they desired. As its second point, this act required manumitted slaves to leave the state within six months in the same manner as the act of 1715. Finally, if the newly freed slave did not leave the state by the end of the six-month period, they could be sold back into slavery. Unlike the act of 1715, this new act did not limit the length of time for them to serve.
In 1762, the General Assembly passed two separate laws, only one of which proved beneficial to free blacks, concerning the practice of apprenticeship. It is worth noting that the laws regarding apprenticeship during the 18th century applied to both white and free black children, unless otherwise noted. The first of the apprenticeship acts required apprentice masters or mistresses to “. . . provide for him or her Diet, Clothes, Lodging, Accommodations, fit and necessary; and shall teach or cause him or her to be taught, to read and Write . . ..” This is a big step for free black children because without this stipulation, many free black children would not receive an education before reconstruction. The second apprenticeship law passed in 1762 upheld previous laws while adding three more stipulations. First, the second law gave county courts the power to bind orphan children with little to no inheritance. Second, and the only difference in the treatment of white and black children, is that all male children were bound to age 21, all black females bound to age 21, and all white females bound to age 18. The third stipulation is that all apprenticeships are now to be treated as indentures. Although free black children in an apprenticeship were taught to read and write, in essence, these apprenticeships could become a virtual form of slavery for the first 21 years of their lives.
The General Assembly passed laws that further restricted manumission in 1777 and 1778. Both laws upheld earlier laws, but added further restrictions. In 1777, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed an act, which in effect upheld the 1741 act. One of the major differences between the two acts is that the 1777 act called the practice of manumitting slaves “evil and pernicious” and that it “ought at this alarming and critical Time to be guarded against by every friend and Wellwisher to his country.” No doubt, that “critical time” in the law refers to the Revolutionary War. The 1777 law made it so that any free white person could apprehend a freed slave who reentered the state. After apprehension, these freed slaves who reentered the state could then be sold to the highest bidder, with one-fifth of the proceeds given to those who captured the slave. In effect, this gave a reward to the capturers and led to opportune-seeking individuals to capture legal free black citizens, as well as those illegally in the state, in order to make money. Once sold, the new owner could not allow the apprehended slave to hire themselves out. If their new owner allowed them to hire themselves out contrary to the law, the they could again be apprehended and forced to work twenty days of hard labor. Threats posed by the act of 1777, particularly that of apprehension and re-sale, did not constitute mere words. A group of Quakers in the state of North Carolina kept a log of manumitted slaves who fell victim to the act of 1777 from Pasquotank, Perquimans, and Chowan counties. Luckily, the General Assembly later released many of these manumitted slaves on the log.
In 1778, the General Assembly saw the error of the earlier law and passed a new law that stipulated that only the Sheriff could apprehend a freed slave who illegally reentered the state. The stipulation of 1778 remained in force as long as slavery existed in the state of North Carolina.
North Carolina’s first attempt at registering free people of color came in 1785. Apparently, the cities of Edenton, Fayetteville, Washington, and Wilmington had a problem with slaves attempting to pass as free. As a result, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed an act requiring the registration of free people of color who resided in the towns of previously stated, as well as free blacks who were visiting these four cities for three days or more. As well as registration, free people of color in the four towns were required to wear a patch on their shoulder that said “FREE.” It is important to note that this act applied only to Edenton, Fayetteville, Washington, and Wilmington and not to the entire state. Also of notice is that all four towns bordered a major body of water. Fayetteville is on the banks of the Cape Fear River, while Edenton, Washington, and Wilmington are all on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. A strong possibility exists that slaves in these four towns attempted to escape via these waterways by passing as free. Further evidence of this hypothesis can be seen from a law passed in 1787.
A law in 1787, entitled “An Act to Prevent Thefts and Robberies by Slaves, Free Negroes and Mulattoes,” had five major stipulations concerning two different things, but with a similar purpose: a start in preventing contact between slaves and free blacks. The first two sections concern the “entertainment” of slaves and free blacks. First, no slave or free black can be entertained on boats from sundown to sunrise from Monday to Saturday and not at any time at all on Sunday. If any are found, perhaps during a raid or while on patrol, it will be assumed that the slave or free black person is trying to sell stolen goods and the commander of the boat will be fined. Two exceptions existed for the first section: that the slave has a pass from their master allowing them to be there or that the slave or free black person be employed on the ship. The second section states that free blacks cannot entertain slaves during the said times stated above. The difference in the two sections is how much a white commander will be fined versus a free black. There is no amount stated in the first section, but a free black person will be fined 20 shillings for the first offense and 40 shillings thereafter. The third section to the law made it illegal for a slave and free person of color to marry or cohabitate unless they have the written consent of the slaves master. If the master did not give consent, the free person of color could become a slave for one year. It becomes very clear that the intention of this law is not to prevent theft, but rather to prohibit contact between slaves and free blacks.
Laws of the 1800s
Although some laws passed by the state of North Carolina during the 19th century were brought on by events happening within its borders, many laws were really reactionary laws brought on from events outside its borders. Some of the events that the state government responded to were Gabriel’s Rebellion of Virginia in 1800, the Denmark Vessy Revolt of South Carolina in 1822, and Nat Turner’s Revolt of Virginia in 1831. Although the author could find no laws passed right after Denmark Vessy’s revolt, it is likely to have had some affect on laws passed in the 1830’s along with Nat Turner’s revolt since the revolt happened just outside their borders. One important thing to note here is that many of the free blacks in North Carolina were manumitted in Virginia and migrated into the borders of North Carolina. Because of this, it is likely that insurrections in Virginia had more of an affect on North Carolinians than those in other states since that is where many of their free black population (or their ancestors) during the colonial and revolutionary period originally came from. Five laws in the first half of the 1800’s were passed by the state of North Carolina, the first three of which specifically restricted the practice of manumission.
Three separate laws were passed between 1801-1833, no doubt brought forth by the fear of whites from Gabriel’s Rebellion and Nat Turner’s revolt. All three laws concerned the act of manumission. The first law, passed in 1801, required a 100 pound bond by the slave owner for each slave manumitted. The General Assembly of the state passed the second law in 1830. This law increased the amount of the bond to one thousand pounds, ten times the amount of the 1801 law. On top of that, if any slaveholders desired to manumit a slave, this law required them to file a petition with the county court and give public notice six weeks in advance. Section two of this act stipulated that any manumitted slave must leave North Carolina’s boundaries within ninety days “. . . and will never return within the State afterwards.” A third law passed in 1833 that made no changes to the 1830 law, but rather upheld it.
Apparently, none of these three manumission laws were followed completely. For instance, in 1814, a slave named Maria was freed in Cumberland county and the 100 pound bond was not a required condition for her emancipation. In 1821, Job Hazell, a free black man, petitioned the court to set free his two slaves who were actually his wife and daughter. The court complied and no mention of a monetary reimbursement to the court was mentioned in neither the petition nor the decision. In an 1836 case, the court was petitioned to set free four slaves for a monetary reimbursement of only $1200, less than half of what the law required. In 1847, Joshua Carman of Cumberland County set free two of his slaves for a payment of only $500, only a quarter of the requirement. It is possible that the law allowed individual counties to interpret and apply the law in the manner they saw fit. Further examination of emancipations during the 19th century is necessary to come to a more conclusive understanding on how the law was applied statewide.
The year 1836 saw the passage of two more laws dealing with apprenticeships, public preaching, and slave insurrections. The first of these laws passed gave power to the many county courts to bind out all illegitimate children born to free people of color and all children of free people of color whose parents were not employed in “honest and industrious work.” As with earlier apprenticeship laws, all children of free people of color bound out were to remain so until of age 21 and apprenticeship masters were required to teach reading and writing. A new stipulation required apprenticeship masters to pay a $500 bond that said they would not remove their wards from the county in which they resided. The second law of 1836 further restricted contact between free blacks and slaves. The first section made it illegal for any slave or free black person to preach in public or to even officiate as a teacher in a meeting that included slaves. Violation of the first section was punishable by thirty-nine lashes. As its second point, if any free black was found involved in any capacity in a slave insurrection, they would be put to death.
The passage of laws regarding free blacks during the last years of the slavery era in North Carolina seemed to be a scramble to hang on to the last threads of an institution. Five laws alone were passed in 1861 and another in 1863 for a total of at least six laws during the Civil War. There may have been others, but were not found as of yet by the author. 1861 saw the first passage of laws limiting the rights of property ownership for free blacks in North Carolina, as well a further and final restriction on the practice of manumission and apprenticeships, taxes, and trade and the setting up of a poor house specifically for free people of color.
Free blacks in North Carolina owned property just like their white neighbors. Some of them owned a lot, some very little. In North Carolina, free blacks, “. . . enjoyed all the protection in the matter of acquisition, transfer, devise, and descent [of property] that other citizens . . . enjoyed.” The courts ruled strongly against violations of property rights against free blacks. The first two laws of 1861 regarded the rights to bear arms and the ownership of slaves. Until 1861, no laws denied free blacks the right to own a gun, as long as it they held a license issued by a county court. This first act took away that right and prohibited county courts from granting licenses to free blacks. Violation of this law could have resulted in a fine of at least $50. It should be noted here that at least one exception was made. For instance, in 1861, the County Court of Robeson County allowed Jack McPherson, a free black man, to own and carry a gun on his own premises for a year and there appears to be no action taken against the county. The second law prohibited free blacks from owning slaves or purchasing slaves, including the purchase of family members’ freedom. In many cases where free blacks in North Carolina owned slaves, the slaves were family members who had been purchased in order to obtain their freedom. This law made it impossible for free blacks to purchase slaves, even members of their immediate family, for the purpose of emancipation. In its entirety, this act stated:
That no free negro, or free person of color shall be permitted or allowed to buy, purchase or hire for any length of time, any slave or slaves, or to have any slave or slaves bound as apprentice or apprentices to him, her, or them, or in any other wise to have the control, management or services of any slave or slaves, under a penalty of one hundred dollars for each offense, and shall further be guilty of misdemeanor, and liable to indictment for the same.
This act does give relief to free blacks who have already purchased or hired slaves in that this law does not apply to them; however, it prevents them from purchasing or hiring any more slaves in the future. In a case where a free black man or woman has a spouse or child still a slave because they have not yet saved enough money to purchase them (and hence their freedom), this is indeed a striking blow.
Yet another blow to slaves hoping for the chance to gain their freedom and possibly join the rest of their family, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed a law in 1861 that made it illegal to manumit a slave by a person’s last will and testament and in cases where that was attempted became null and void.
Perhaps the strangest law passed in North Carolina before and during the Civil War was a law that the General Assembly passed in 1861 allowing all free persons of color to choose their own masters and become slaves. Originally, the author thought that perhaps a free black person in huge debt to another person might enter into a form of slavery as a method to pay off his or her debt; however, under closer examination of the law, it stipulated that there cannot be any outstanding debt with the chosen master. Why a person would choose to become a slave is unfathomable, but it did happen. At least two instances in North Carolina, people chose to become slaves. In Guildford County in 1861, John Phillips and Jenetta Wright both filed petitions to become slaves. It is not clear why these two free blacks chose to become slaves, but a reasonable assumption is that that they were so destitute to that even slavery looked like a good option, since they would at least have food and shelter as slaves. Of all the county papers on slaves and free blacks, these cases were the only that could be found of a free black person petitioning the court to become a slave.
The final and longest law of 1861 had eleven points to it, covering four separate topics. The first section of this law was an act to set up a poor house in each county specifically for free people of color. Furthermore, each county was to summon before its court every free person of color within its boundaries and note their name, age, economic status, and whether if willing and able to support their family. If they are found willing and able, then nothing further was needed, however, if they are not willing nor able to support their families, then either the family was sent to the poor house or the children under age 10 were to be bound out. Along with this law, if the court found a person willing and able to support their family, any of their children age 16-21 were considered taxable and the county courts received the power to assess taxes on these households based on the value of labor. If the court bound out any child, they retained the right to file a plea that would prevent the county court from further binding out and for the court to reassess the economic status. Lastly, all previous laws regarding the trading between whites and slaves now applied to trade between whites and free people of color. This meant that whites could no longer buy product or trade with free people of color without the written consent of their employer or the justice of the peace for that county in which they resided. In essence, this act cut off all sources of livelihood of free people of color and relegated status of free blacks to that of slaves. Because they were free, they were not allowed to trade or do business with slaves, but now because they are black, they can no longer trade or do business with whites.
The last law passed by North Carolina concerning that of free blacks before the end of the Civil War was that of 1863. This law regarded punishment for felonies and for manslaughter. This law stated that if any free person of color was found guilty of manslaughter or any felonies, punishment should be public whipping not to exceed thirty-nine lashes.
Of all the laws restricting the freedoms of the free black population passed between 1715 and 1863, the great majority of those laws were passed out of fear held by the white population. There are two parts to this fear. First and foremost, a fear that came from events that took place outside North Carolina borders, particularly Gab