Friend of Friends Friday: Ranaway: JOHN and HARRY

National Intelligencer
23 October 1813

TWENTY DOLLARS REWARD

RAN-AWAY from the subscriber in Prince William county, near Dumfries Virginia, two Negro Men,

JOHN AND HARRY,

Both of black complection. John absconded about the 25th of May last; he is about 5 feet 6 inches high, short and thick set, of bad countenance and has an uncommon look out of his eyes, one of which is defective in sight; he is between 45 and 50 years of age; a carpenter  by trade; he had on a long drab colored coarse cloth coat, a pair do__ green trowsers, one blue ditto waistcoat, but as he has other clothes, it is probable he will change them. He was hired from the representatives of the estate of the late Mr. Thomas Mason of Woodbridge, on the 1st January by my overseer for the present year for me.

HARRY absconded about 15 August; he is about 5 feet 5 or 6 inches high; 25 years of age, though very small of his age and has very much the appearance of a ad; has several marks of the small pox in his face, and on one of his hams has a considerable scar occasioned by a scald; he is a cooper by trade; had on a pair of yellow and blue mixed trowsers, a striped blue and yellow twilled waistcoat, a wool and cotton dark mixed twilled short coat, all of domestic manufacture; but as he is a fellow of considerable smartness he may change his clothing. I will pay the above reward to any person who will deliver them to me or secure them in Jail so that I get them again or ten dollars for either of them. 

THOS. HARRISON

N.B. it is probable Harry is in Richmond as he has connections living with Mr. James Smith of that place, who formerly lived in Dumfries.  T.H.

Chappawamsic, Oct. 6--3tw2w

Newspaper Tidbit: Meeting of the Whigs of PW (1840)

Richmond Whig (Richmond, Va)
14 April 1840

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY.

At a meeting of the Whigs of Prince William at Brentsville, Samuel H. Janney, Esq. in the Chair, and Stephen French, jr. Esq. Secretary, Allen Howison, Esq. was selected as the Whig Candidate for the County, and Messrs. Nicholas Cleary, Stephen French, jr. Addison H. Saunders, and J. Selden Mason, as Delegates to the Young Men's Baltimore Convention.

Friend of Friend Friday: Ranaway: DAVID and JOHN (1819)

Alexandria Gazette (Va.)
30 July 1819

ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD.

On Monday, the 28th June, eloped from Bell Isle, King George county, Virginia, two negro men, DAVID and JOHN. David is a black fellow, about forty years of age, rather below the middle size, has invariably a smile when spoken to, a good hand in the field, and a tolerable wagoner; his clothing, when he absconded, were an old felt hat, a double milled drab great coat, much worn, lined with red flannel, jacket and pantaloons of domestic cotton and yarn cloth, and a coarse linen shirt. David has a wife belonging to Mr. John Singer, who some years since moved from Culpeper county to Harrison county, Va., and for the last two years has been in habits of intimacy with a negro woman by the name of Rose, who was sold last fall, by Mrs. Berryman, of King George, to Mr. George Mason, of Gunston, Fairfax co. Va. it is probable he will attempt to get to one of these neighborhoods.

Jack is a lively black fellow, about thirty years of age, of the middle size, a little bow legged, rather an awkward hand in the field, having been bred a house servant, at which he excells, rather a surly disposition, and by profession a Baptist. He has a father belonging to Mr. John B. S. Fitzhugh, near Falmouth, Stafford co. Va. and a wife and family belonging to Mr. Thos. Fitzhugh, of Brenton, Prince William co. it is highly probable he is lurking in one of these neighborhoods; had on when he absconded, an old hat, a suit of domestic cloth cotton and yarn, and a brown linen shirt, and carried with him a suit of white domestic jeans. It is probable he and David will change their names and dress. FIFTY DOLLARS will be given for apprehending and securing in jail said negroes, or half for either, if taken in the state of Virginia, or District of Colombia; or the above reward, if taken out of the state, & all reasonable charges, if brought home to the subscriber's residence. Masters of vessels, and others, are forewarned from harboring or carrying off said negros. 

FRANCIS T. FITZHUGH
King George's county, Virginia
july 16    f4w

The editors of the Federal Republican (Baltimore) will please insert the above once a week for four weeks, and forward their accounts to this office for payment.

Will: Sophia C. M. Bullitt

Will of Sophia C. M. Bullitt
PWCo Will Book I, pg. 14
Proved: 2 January 1804

As I esteem it the duty of every individual to make such arrangements of his temporal concerns as may spare the survivors those difficulties and altercations that may otherwise arise, I mean with divine assistance to specify the manner in which I design my property to be disposed of after my decease; and I appoint my esteemed friends William Barnes and John Macrae executors of this my last will and testament.

My proportion of the Kentucky land I bequeath to be equally divided between my sisters Francis Garard, Sarah Barnes, and Helen Huie excepting a small legacy of Fifty Acres to my negroe boy Frederick, which fifty acres are to be of equal quality with my sisters portion. My negroes David Antony, Joan and her son Frederick I will should be emancipated after one years servitude from the time of my death during which year I desire that they may be hired out and the money arising from said hire must be appropriated to the payment of my debts. 

The Legacy of five hundred pounds the greatest part of which is yet due me from my fathers estate I direct to be equally divided between my sisters before mentioned after the following legacies are deducted. Viz. Fifty pounds to my niece Sophia Bullitt Garard, one hundred dollars to be appropriated to the education of poor children to be delivered in the hands of my esteemed friend Elizabeth Mason ten pounds to my friend and brother Thomas James Bullitt to purchase a mourning ring which I request him to accept as a small proof of my friendship and gratitude. I bequeath the same sum for the same purpose to my friend Lewis Hue Girarden. My house and lot I bequeath to my niece Helen Scott Huie, but if the hire of the negroes during one year from the time of my death is not sufficient to indemnify my creditors it must be rented out until all my debts are paid. One of my lots in Newport I devise to my niece Ann Foster Huie and the other to my niece Mary Barnes which each party is to receive by casting lots. Five guineas which were devised to me by my father in his will I bequeath to my nephew Thomas Barnes, my wearing apparel I direct to be divided between my nieces Helen and Ann Huie, my fortepiano I leave to Mary Barnes, my proportion of negroe Jenny's hire I bequeath to be annually paid into said Jenny's own hand, my body I bequeath to the dust from whence it came and my soul I recommend to the mercy of God through the merits of a redeemer.  I desire that my negroe boy Frederick should have three years schooling and that he should afterwards be bound to a trade for which purpose I have bequeathed to him the aforementioned fifty acres of land.

I wish that the money which I bequeath to my sisters may be appropriated to their own use independent of their husbands and I direct my Executors to place the money in the hands of proper Trustees to that effect. I desire that a claim which my Brother Thomas Bullitt has on me for a hundred dollars may be paid previously to my other debts. 

This I declare to be my last will and testament, and I again recommend to the God the Universe for whose mercy I humbly hope through the mediation of a blessed saviour.

Dumfries May 27th, 1803.

Sophia C. M. Bullitt

Teste
Benjamin Wells
James Rison
Peregin Davis

At a court held for Prince William County January 2nd, 1804.

This last will and testament of Sophia C. M. Bullitt deceased was presented to the Court and being proved by the Oath of Benj. Wells was ordered to be certified. John Macrae renounced in open Court the burthen of the Executor of the said Will. 

And at a Court Continued and held for the County aforesaid February the 7th 1804

This said last will and testament of Sophia C. M. Bullitt was fully proved by the Oath of James Rison and ordered to be recorded.

Test   J. Williams   Ct. Cur.

And at a Court continued and held for said county Feby. 5th, 1805.

William Barnes an Executor named in the Last Will and Testament of Sophia C. M. Bullitt decd came into Court and having proved the said Will according to Law, taken the Oath of an Executor and Executed a bond with security certificate is therefore granted him for obtaining a probate thereof in due form.

Test   J. Williams   Ct. Cur.

Trustees' Sale (or is it?): Yorkshire / Locust Grove

Alexandria Gazette (VA)

24 October 1846

TRUSTEES' SALE OF LAND AND NEGROES.--Pursuant to the provisions of two deeds of trust, the one bearing date the first day of May, 1841, and the other the first day of September, 1843, executed to the subscribers for purposes therein mentioned, by John Hooe, Jr., late of Prince William County, both of which deeds are duly recorded in the Clerk's Office of the said County, we shall, on Monday, the 2nd day of November next, at Brentsville, proceed to sell, by public auction, for cash, the following property, to wit:

1. A TRACT OF LAND, lying and being in the county of Prince William, called and known by the name of "YORKSHIRE," adjoining the lands of Lovell Marders, Wm. J. Weir, and Wm. Brawner, containing about 1100 acres, and is the same land which was conveyed to said Hooe by Bushrod Washington and H. Turner.

2. Another tract of land, adjoining the above tract, called "LOCUST GROVE," containing --- acres, to which the said John Hooe, Jr. derived title from his father, the late Bernard Hooe, of Prince William County.

3. A TRACT OF LAND lying in said county of Prince William, on Occoquan run, adjoining the lands of Mrs. Kincheloe, Mrs. Hixon, and others, and contains about 400 acres.

4. The following SLAVES and their increase since 1st September, 1843, to wit: Reuben, Nancy, Lucinda, Thornton, Paris, Mary Ann, Bill, Sally, Laurinda, Betsy, Horace, Davy, and Richard. Such title only as is vested in the undersigned by the deeds aforesaid, will be conveyed to the purchaser; but it is believed that the title to all said property is unquestionable.

A. HANSFORD,

W. R. MASON,

Trustees

King George County, Va., aug 27--eots

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

NOTICE. -- The public are hereby forewarned that the debt embraced in the deed of trust, under which the above lands are offered for sale, is usurious, and not binding upon the estate of Col. John Hooe, deceased; and that as the lands advertised have descended to Mrs. Virginia B. Mason, as a part of her separate estate, and are now in her possession, he will resist the recovery of possession of any of the lands that may be sold by the trustees in said trust, on the ground that the deed of trust is utterly void and of no effect.  As a purchaser at a Trustee's sale is a purchaser without warrant of title, and at his own risk, this notice has been deemed property.

JOHN S. MASON,

VIRGINIA B. MASON,

only child and heir of Col. John Hooe, Jr., dec'd.

Prince William Co., Va., sep 10 -- cots

Newspaper Tidbit: Columbian Agricultural Society

The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six
Vol. III, Issue 23, pg. 3
Washington, DC
Friday, 30 November 1810

From the Agricultural Museum
Columbian Agricultural Society

At the meeting of the Columbian Agricultural Society, held at the Union Tavern in Georgetown, on Wednesday the 21st instant, the Premiums were adjudged as follows, viz:

Premium 1. Sixty dollars, for the best Bull; to George Calvert, esq. of Prince George's County, Maryland.

Premium 2. Sixty Dollars, for the best Cow with her first Calf; to Osborne Sprigg, esq. of Prince George's County, Maryland.

Premium 3. Fifty Dollars, for the best fat Bullock or spayed Heifer, for beef; to William Stinnbergen, esq. of Shenandoah County, Virginia.

Premium 4. Forty Dollars, for the best piece of fulled and dressed woolen cloth; to Mrs. Anna M. Mason, of Analostan Island, Washington County, District of Columbia.

Premium 5. Thirty Dollars, for the best piece of woolen kersemere; to Mr. George M. Conradt, of Fredericktown, Maryland.

Premium 6. Thirty Dollars, for the best piece of Cloth, cotton warp, filled with wool, to shew the wool on one side; to George M. Conradt, of Fredericktown, Maryland.

Premium 7. Thirty Dollars, for the best piece of Fancy Patterns for Vests, of wool and cotton; to Mrs. Martha P. Graham, of Dumfries, Prince William County, Virignia.

Premium 8. Thirty Dollars, for the best piece of Flannel, all wool; to Mrs. Sarah McCarty Mason, of Hollin Hall, Fairfax County, Virginia.

Premium 9. Twenty dollars, for the best piece of Flannel, part cotton part wool; to Mr. George M. Conradt, of Fredericktown, Maryland.

Premium 10. Ten Dollars, for the best pair of fine woolen knit Stockings; to Miss Patsey Shackelford, of Culpeper Courthouse, Virginia.

Premium 11. Ten Dollars, for the best pair of fine woolen woven Stockings; none were offered.

Premium 12. Thirty Dollars, for the best pair of fine woolen Blankets; to Mrs. Martha P. Graham, of Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia.

Premium 13. Twenty Dollars, for the best pair of fine cotton Blankets; to Mrs. Martha P. Graham, of Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia.

Premium 14. Fifteen Dollars, for the best pair of stout coarse Blankets, for labourers; to Mr. George M. Conradt, of Fredericktown, Maryland.

Premium 15. Fifteen Dollars, for the best parcel of flaxen or hemp Sewing Thread; to Mrs. Elizabeth Gunnell, of Minorca, Fairfax County, Virginia.

Premium 16. Forty Dollars, for the best woolen Carpet, or Carpetting in the piece; to Mrs. Elizabeth Maynadier, of Belvoir, Ann Arundel County, Maryland.

Premium 17. Fifteen Dollars, for the best hearth Rug; to Mrs. Elizabeth Maynadier, of Belvoir, Ann Arundel County, Maryland.

Premium 18. Twenty Dollars, for the best specimen of durable Dye, with the Recipe; to Mrs. Martha P. Graham, of Dumfries, Prince William County, Virginia.

Sunday's Obituary: Ann Elizabeth Dickerson / William R. Leachman

Evening Star (Washington, DC)
28 June 1900

A telephone message received here this morning from Brownsville, Prince William county, announced the death of Mrs. Ann Elizabeth Dickerson, sister of Colonel J. T. Leechman of that county.  Deceased was well known here, and was about ninety-four years old.  The funeral will take place tomorrow afternoon at Bristow.

Alexandria Gazette
3 December 1847

At the Castle of Perote, Mexico, on the 10th July last, of the prevailing disease of that country, Corporal Wm. R. Leachman, of Prince William County, Va. (Company F, R.M.R. late Capt. S. T. Mason) beloved and respected by all his comrades in arms, and lamented by a numerous circle of friends and relatives.  -- He was wounded at the battle of Cerro Gordo, of which he soon recovered, so as to be able to take his place: but in the  march from Jalapa to the city of Mexico, being unable to proceed farther than the castle, in consequence of sickness, was left behind with many others to join the army no more.  By this afflicting news, a heart stricken mother, and loving brothers and sisters, are made to mingle their tears and sympathies with the many households already clad in the habilaments of woe by this calamitous war.  -- When will it end?  Echo answers, when.  [The Washington Union and Balt. Sun, please copy.]

Sunday's Obituary: Emma C. Handy

Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, Illinois)
November 24, 1908

DEATH OF OLD NURSE

Mrs. Emma C. Handy, a resident of Alton for thirty years and for many years a well known nurse, died this morning at 6:20 o'clock at the home of her daughter, Mrs. L. T. Jones, on Easton street.  She was a native of Virginia, being born in Prince William county in 1846.  Beside her daughter she leaves two grans-children, Cordelia and Connie Jones in Alton.  The funeral will be held Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock from the home and services will be conducted by Rev. Mason.

Friend of Friends Friday: Gerard Mason, Slave Owner

In 1849, Gerard Mason, slave holder and owner of "Wood Bridge" plantation, was killed by Agnes, a slave woman.  The accounts of the day vary, from self defense (in Northern newspapers) to murder (Southern).  Agnes was tried, convicted, and hanged in 1850.  Her ghost is rumored to haunt the Brentsville Jail, where she was confined and later executed.

~ ~ ~

Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD) - December 21, 1849 - Mr. Gerard Mason, living near Colchester, Prince William county, was killed on yesterday by one of his servant women.  It appears Mr. M. had been from home, and returned under the influence of liquor.  He became offended with something the woman had done, and threatened to kill her with an axe; she warded off the blow, and wresting the axe from him, struck the blow that killed him.  The poor negro made no effort to escape.

Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, VA) - January 10, 1850 - At the County Court of Prince William on Monday last, Agnes, a negro woman, the property of Gerard Mason, deceased, was tried for the murder of her master, found guilty, and sentenced to be hung.  In the absence of the attorney for the Commonwealth, the prosecution was conducted by Francis L. Smith and E. Hunton, and the defence by Daniel Jasper.  We learn from one who witnessed the trial that the evidence established, beyond a rational doubt, that Mr. Mason was killed in his bed, most probably whilst asleep, by blows inflicted with an axe by the accused.

~ ~ ~

Alexandria Gazette - February 9, 1850 - NEGROES FOR SALE - I will offer for sale on the 14th inst., at Woodbridge, near Occoquan, Prince William Co. Va., seventeen likely young negroes.  Terms Cash.  - Richard Atkinson, Administrator of Gerard Mason, dec'd., Prince William County, feb. 9 - eots

Alexandria Gazette - January 19, 1850 - NEGROES FOR SALE - I will offer for sale, to the highest bidder, on the first Monday in February next, in Brentsville, before the front door of the Court House, for cash, two Negro Men belonging to the estate of Gerard Mason, dec'd. - Richard Atkinson, Adm'r of Gerard Mason, dec'd, Prince William Co., jan 7 - eots

Alexandria Gazette - September 20, 1823 - Twenty Dollars Reward. Ran Away from the subscriber, livingin Prince William County, Va. on the 15th instant, a negro man named BILL, about 5 feet 7 or 8 inches high, between 20 and 25 years of age, one of his hands has been much burnt when a child, which prevents him from opening it.  His clothing consisted of country cloth much worn.  i will give the above reward for apprehending and securing said fellow so that I get him again, and reasonable charges if brought home.  Masters of vessels and others, are cautioned against carrying him off.  Gerard Mason, Sept. 18.

Alexandria Gazette - January 4, 1823 - RANAWAY from the subscriber on Sunday, the 3d of November, a black man named WILL, about five feet 7 or 8 inches high, between 40 and 45 years of age, had on when he went away a white round-about and black trowsers of trilled country coth.  He has lost two of his front teeth, has a down look when spoken to, and a scar on his nose.  He lived a few years ago with mr. Wm. McCarty, in Loudoun county.  I will give the above Reward for securing said Negro in any jail and all reasonable charges paid if brought home.  Gerard Mason.  Prince William County, (Va) dec 21

Those Places Thursday: Ghosts of Brentsville Courthouse and Jail

Brentsville Courthouse
Photo: Carolyn G. Lynn

Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre is located at 1229 Bristow Road in Bristow, Virginia, approximately three miles from the Bristoe Station Battlefield.  The 28 acre site includes the fully restored Courthouse, one of the oldest in the United States.  It served as the county seat from 1822 until 1892 when the court was moved to Manassas.  Public auctions frequently occurred in front of the Courthouse doors, including the sale of real estate and slaves, and during the Civil War Confederate units were formed here (notably, Co. A., 4^th Virginia Cavalry and Co. A, 49^th Virginia infantry). 

In addition to the Courthouse, the site includes the Brentsville Jail which housed a wide variety of miscreants, from town drunks to murderers, both male and female.  The gallows, built behind the Courthouse, were well within sight of the prisoners in the jail awaiting their final reckoning.  Several inmates are known to have successfully escaped from the building’s confines, often by setting fire to the cells.  In 1872, the jail was the scene of a sensational  murder when commonwealth attorney James Clark, awaiting trial for abducting and then abandoning 15 year old Fannie Fewell, was shot in his cell by the young lady’s brother.  Clark died three days later of his wounds.  (The brother, Rhoda Fewell, was later acquitted of the murder.)

After Manassas became the county seat and there was no longer a need for a Brentsville jail, the building was repurposed and underwent a series of renovations, at various times serving as a women’s dormitory, private residence, and office building.  Now closed to the public, it is currently being restored to its 1822 heyday as a county jail.

With a rich history of crime, punishment, and murder, are the Brentsville Courthouse and Jail haunted?

In the Courthouse, there are tales of a phantom figure seen standing by the window of the Judge’s office on the second floor and the sound of phantom chairs sliding across wooden floors when no one is upstairs.

The June 14, 2004 issue of the Prince William News & Messenger relates the story of a time when the jail served as the County Clerk’s office.  A secretary who was alone in the building “saw a woman outside dressed in Civil War clothing.  The woman came up the sidewalk … and said ‘Where’s my soldier? … They said he’s back here.  I’ve come for my soldier.’  Then the woman vanished.”

Another legend tells of a different secretary who looked up from her desk on the second floor of the jail to find a young African American male standing in front of her.  The youth asked her for his shoe buckles.  In the moment that she glanced away, he vanished.  Could this have been the shade of a former inmate looking for the return of the property that had been confiscated during his imprisonment?

Still another eyewitness describes having turned to look at the jail and being startled to see the face of a female slave looking back.  Is this the spirit of Agnes, who was imprisoned there and later hanged behind the Courthouse for the murder of her master, Gerard Mason?

Whatever activity is (or isn’t) going on in the jail, it has enticed investigations by several paranormal groups, among them The Atlantic Paranormal Society (“TAPS”) which featured the building in an episode of Ghost Hunters.

~ ~ ~

Spectral Stories at Historic Brentsville

October 18, 2013 – 7:00pm until 9:00pm

$5/person and free for children under six

Details:  703-365-7895

Do you love scary movies and hearing ghost stories?  Join site staff for a fun filled evening spent around a campfire as you hear spooky stories about Historic Brentsville and other haunts in and around Prince William County.  Apple cider and cookies will be provided.

Marital Monday: McDonald - Evstaphieve

Washington Post (Washington, DC)
October 13, 1899

McDONALD-EVSTAPHIEVE.

Evening Wedding of Prominent Young People at Berryville

Berryville, Va., Oct. 12 - The marriage of Miss Nannie Gray McDonald, daughter of the late Capt. William N. McDonald and Mrs. Catherine S. McDonald, of this place, to Mr. Ellerty Leckie Evstaphieve, of Prince William County, Va., was solemnized this evening in Grace Episcopal Church.  The ceremony was performed by Rev. Arthur P. Gray, an uncle of the bride, assisted by Rev. Edward Wall, rector of Grace Church, and was witnessed by a large assemblage of society people.

Mr. Clarence Alexis Evstaphieve, of New York city, acted as best man, and the ushers were Messrs. Hugh N. McDonald, a brother of the bride, of York, Pa.; Harrison Tyler, of Fauquier County, Va.; R. Douglas Simms, and Dr. Selma M. Mason, of Washington; Walter Clerkson, of Haymarket, Va., and Blackburn Smith, of Berryville.

Sunday's Obituary: Thomas Mason

Baltimore Sun - May 17, 1906

THOMAS MASON.  The body of Mr. Thomas Mason, of Charles county, Maryland, was buried yesterday in Greenmount Cemetery, in this city.  Mr. Mason was the last in the male line of descendants of Thomas Mason, of Woodbridge, Prince William county, Va., who was the fifth son of George Mason, of Gunston.  He was born in March 1828, on the estate of his great-grandfather in Charles county, Maryland, where he lived until the close of the war between the States.  Mr. Mason was an ardent Confederate, although he took no active part in the war, feeling it his duty to remain at home with his widowed mother.  Upon receiving the news of the result of the war his health broke down completely and his mother was compelled to send him to a sanitarium near this city, where he remained until his death Tuesday.  Mr. Stevens Thomas Mason, of this city, was his trustee.

 ~~~


The Project Gutenberg EBook of Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States, by Work Projects Administration.
(http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11552/11552-h/11552-h.htm)

JAMES V. DEANE, Ex-slave.
Reference: Personal interview with James V. Deane, ex-slave,
     on Sept. 20, 1937, at his home

..."My master's name was Thomas Mason, he was a man of weak mental disposition, his mother managed the affairs. He was kind. Mrs. Mason had a good disposition, she never permitted the slaves to be punished. The main house was very large with porches on three sides. No children, no overseer."

Black History Month: Newspaper Tidbits

Virginia Gazette - January 19, 1776

PRINCE WILLIAM county, Jan. 4, 1776.  WHEREAS the subscriber, some time in the month of October last, passed his obligation to a certain Charles Adams, of the town of Dumfries, for the sum of 10 l. to be paid in pork and corn for a servant woman purchased of him, and warranted by him to have no other ailment than the ague and fever; and whereas, upon taking her home, I have discovered her to be a lunatick, with which I am convinced the said Adams could not be unacquainted at the time of the sale, and have therefore returned her to the said Adams, who refused to give up my obligation: I therefore forewarn all persons from taking an assignment of the same, as I was deceived by him, and am determined not to pay it.

ALEXANDER CATLETT

~~~

Virginia Gazette - August 21, 1779

FREDERICKSBURG, August 10, 1779.  RUN away from the subscriber in December last, a middle sized negro boy named Dick, about 17 years old, flat footed, and a large scar on the top of his head, had been inoculated for the small pox a month or two before, the scar when he went off was very plain in his arm, but little other appearance of the disorder remaining.  I have reason to believe he was enticed away by one Simon Sackett a waggoner, who lived near Bland's ford in Prince William county, and who set off with his waggon, the day after the boy disappeared, bound as he gave out, for Carolina, but as he came from the Jersey's to Virginia, he may have directed his course that way.  Sackett is a lusty man, above 6 feet high, between 25 and 30 years of age, of a swarthy complexion, brown hair, and a down look. Whoever delivers the above mentioned negro boy to me in Fredericksburg, or to my overseer William Munday, near Bland's ford in Prince William county, shall be paid ONE HUNDRED POUNDS reward, and if stolen, upon conviction of the thief, TWO HUNDRED POUNDS.

LEWIS WILLIS

~~~

Alexandria Gazette - January 29, 1827

NOTICE.  By virtue of a deed of trust executed to us by James Foster and Silas Foster, on the 7th day of December 1825, for the purpose of securing to John Withers & Co. and Withers & Washington, the payment of the debts therein mentioned, we shall, on Monday, the 5th day of March next, expose to sale by public auction for cash, before the front door of the Court House of Prince William county, one negro girl named Anne and her child -- Also, the interest of the said James and Silas Foster, in the estate of their father, James Foster, deceased.  Such title as we have under the trust deed will be conveyed to the purchasdr.

M.B. SINCLAIR
PEYTON NORVILL, Trustees

~~~

Alexandria Gazette - January 29, 1850

NEGROES FOR SALE. -- I will offer for sale, to the highest bidder, on the first Monday February next, in Brentsville, before the front door of the Court House, for cash, two Negro Men belonging to the estate of Gerard Mason, dec'd.

RICHARD ATKINSON, Adm'r of Gerard Mason, dec'd
Prince William Co., jan 17 --eots

~~~

Alexandria Gazette - July 7, 1869

LETTER FROM PRINCE WILLIAM.  There are certainly two, and probably three, colored registrars appointed for this county.--Jesse Bates, 1st precinct (He's a "nice one," I tell you), H. E. Pinn, 3d precinct (Pinn is the "heir expectant" of the post office at Manassas) Summer Fitts is the President of the Board of the 3d precinct.  Fitts was nominated here in March, I think by eight republicans (?) for the Legislature.  He cannot be registrar if he is a candidate.  Which are you, Fitts, candidate or registrar?  In the language of Shakespeare, "Whence and what art thou, execrable shape?"  Josiah Thomas in the 4th precinct, may be a colored man for all I know.  I have never heard of him before.  Fitts better stick to his military appointment.  He'll never be elected to any office.  Nothing but the devil will ever catch Fitts in this county.

Mr. Thomas L. Burrows, a very gentlemanly republican, has a petition in circulation I understand for the Manassas post office.  It is signed by a number of republicans, and the most prominent business men of the place and vicinity.  Under the head of republicans in the petition there is one name that sorter surprises me.  I'll not call it, but if I can I'll send you a copy of the petition.  I hope Mr. Burrows will get the position, because he is a fair man, and the people want him to have it, but the idea, just the idea, of one man who signed the petition under the first heading, calling himself a republican.  When did he become one?  Why din't he say he was one when he ran for office lasts?  He'll be ashamed to say it when he runs again, which he is sure to do, for he will die if out of office.  The black republicans say that Pinn's appointment is a "political necessity."  The blacks will leave the radicals here "with the bag to hold" if Pinn is not appointed postmaster.

TYRONE.
PRINCE WM. CO., June 5, 1869

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Alexandria Gazette - September 19, 1871

MANASSAS, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY. -- The funeral services of old Aunt Esther Britt, aged seventy-five years, formerly the slave of the late Rev. Robert C. Leachman, a distinguished minister of the Old School Baptist Church, well known in Washington and Alexandria, took place here last week.  The funeral sermon was preached by Charles Mason, formerly a slave, who belonged to the estate of the late John McCree, of this county.  The church was crowded, a large number of the audience being white.