In this advertisement, published in the Virginia Gazette April 13, 1769, John Mayo seeks Tom, an enslaved man who Mayo claims self-emancipated into the Great Dismal Swamp. This is just one of the many newspaper advertisements that appeared in the late 1760s searching for enslaved people who had self-emancipated into the Great Dismal Swap, engaging in petit marronage. This is the second advertisement that Mayo placed for Tom’s return.
This advertisement, dated January 28, 1768, in the Virginia Gazette, recounts the details of Tom, an enslaved man who emancipated himself by fleeing his enslaver William Meredith. While the intention of the advertisement was to help capture Meredith’s property, it also shows that enslaved laborers made use of access to potential routes to freedom that were offered by working on the water. The Virginia Gazette was the official newspaper of Virginia, printed in Williamsburg from 1736 until 1780.
On December 18, 1779, in the Virginia Gazette, the College of William and Mary announced cost-saving measures to be enacted at the college as a result of depreciating funds.
In this article from its December 14, 1769, issue, the Virginia Gazette describes women‘s efforts to protest taxes on goods imported from England by not wearing clothing that was either imported or made of imported materials.
In this selection of advertisements, published on page 3 of the Virginia Gazette on September 8, 1774, subscribers make various announcements to the paper’s readers.
This pseudonymous letter, published in the Virginia Gazette on November 30, 1775, is addressed to Winkfield, a man enslaved by the College of William and Mary.
This advertisement in the Virginia Gazette, published on November 28, 1777, announces the sale of enslaved men and women by the College of William and Mary.
