Description:

African American
Norwich, CT, August 10, 1785
Free African American from Connecticut Sues Slave for £1 Debt
Partially printed DS
[AFRICAN AMERICAN.] Peter Bulkeley, Partially Printed Document Signed, Writ of Attachment against Cato Waterman, August 10, 1785, Norwich, Connecticut. 2 pp., 7.5" x 6.5". General toning.

This writ orders the sheriff or constable to seize enough property of African American Cato Waterman of Norwich, Connecticut, to cover a debt of £1 he owed to free African American Harculus [Hercules?] Tracy. Constable Mundator Tracy (1749-1816) reported that he read the writ to Waterman and took sufficient bail for his appearance in court.

Excerpts
"To the Sheriff of the County of New London or his Deputy, or either of the Constables of the Town of Norwich within said County, Greeting.
"By Authority of the State of Connecticut, you are hereby commanded to attach the Goods or Estate of Cato Negro (alias Cato Waterman of sd Norwich to the Value of One Pounds Lawfull money And for Want thereof, to attach the Body of the said Cato (if he may be found in your Precincts) and him safely keep so that he may be had before... Justice of the Peace for said County at his Dwelling-House in said Norwich on the 16th Day of August Instant at 7 Oclock in the forenoon. Then and there to answer unto Harculus Negro (alias) Harculus Tracy of sd Norwich In a Plea, that to the Plaintiff the Defend render the Sum of One Pounds Lawfull money Which to the Plaintiff he the Defendant justly owes by Book, to Balance Book accounts as by the Plaintiff's Book, ready in Court to be produced, fully appears...."

[Sheriff's Return:] "Norwich August 30th 1785
"Then by virtue of the within Writ I attached the Body of the within Named Defendt and Read the within in his hearing & have taken sufficient Bail for his appearance at Court.
"Test Mundator Tracy Constable"

Historical Background
As slavery waned in Connecticut under the provisions of a 1784 gradual emancipation act, the number of free blacks in the state grew. In 1790, 2,764 enslaved persons remained in Connecticut. The number declined to 951 in 1800, 97 in 1820, 25 in 1830, and 17 in 1840. In 1844, then Governor Roger Sherman Baldwin proposed legislation to end slavery, but the General Assembly did not pass it until it was reintroduced in 1848. That act freed the six remaining slaves in the state.

In 1800, there were approximately 5,330 free blacks in Connecticut. However, many were little better off as free people than they had been in slavery. They could testify in court and own property, but their socioeconomic status remained poor. Although theoretically, free blacks who owned sufficient property could vote, an 1818 state law specifically denied them the right to vote. Only after the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in 1870 could African Americans vote in Connecticut.

Many African Americans in Connecticut lived in cities, where they formed separate communities in poor neighborhoods and held low-paying jobs. Few could afford the property necessary to prosper as farmers; most in rural areas worked as field hands.

Cato Waterman (1745-1813) was enslaved and owned by Timothy Waterman (1717-1795) as late as 1790. In 1798, Timothy Waterman's sister Elizabeth Waterman, in her will, gave Cato a shop and an acre of land during his natural life, provided he improved it.

Peter Bulkeley (1744-1800) was born in Groton, Connecticut, the son of Peter Bulkeley (1712-1798) and Lucy Avery Bulkeley (1722-1754). In 1768, he married Hannah Breed, and they had at least four children.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 7.5" x 6.5"
  • Medium: Partially printed DS

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