Slavery in the Lower Hudson Valley - The Journal News

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A Newspaper-in-Education Supplement to The Journal News • LoHud.com How Do We Know What We Know? When you cross the bridge from the visitor center and step into the historic site known as Philipsburg Manor, you learn what life was like on a provisioning plantation in the year 1750. When you enter the gristmill, you’ll hear about Caesar, the enslaved miller, and what his life was like at Philipsburg Manor. But how do museums know what happened “back then?” Certainly there isn’t anyone alive from that time period to tell us what life was like. Uncovering the Story Of Philipsburg Manor Historians use a number of different methods to help them understand what has happened in the past. Most historians start with primary sources to gain an understanding of the past. Historians, working with archeologists and curators, have relied on such things as inventories, rent rolls, ships’ manifests, depositions, newspaper advertisements, artifacts, and archeological evidence to tell today’s story of Philipsburg Manor. Where Did Philipsburg Manor’s Enslaved Community Come From? The provisioning plantation known as Philipsburg Manor had its start in the late 1600s. Colonial records tell us that Frederick Philipse I began buying land along the North, or Hudson, River in the late 1670s. Shipping records tell us that the Philipse family imported large quantities of building materials such as bricks, iron, and window glass from Europe in the early 1680s. Around the same time, the Philipses began importing captive Africans to the sugar-producing island of Barbados and also to New York. One document that tells us something about Frederick Philipse’s involvement in the slave trade is the legal testimony from one of the crew on board a Philipse-owned ship named the Charles. In 1685, Charles Barham was a sailor on board the Charles when it sailed from England to West Africa and then, laden with captive Africans, on to Barbados and finally, New York. The trade in human beings was part of a vast system of transatlantic trade carried on by the Philipses and others between North and South America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. Barham’s deposition states that the captain of the Charles took 146 Africans on board at Sony (known today as M’Pinda Soyo) at the mouth of the Congo River. These individuals probably belonged to the B’Kongo kingdom as this empire was in the midst of a civil war in the 1680s. The captain would have negotiated with a king or military leader for the sale of captives taken as prisoners of war. Forty-one captives did not survive the arduous journey from Africa to the New World, known as the Middle Passage, as only 105 landed in Barbados. Sugar planters in Barbados bought 82 of the 105 survivors. The remaining 23 who were not sold were probably too sick to be of economic value. These individuals sailed for New York City where an additional 14 died. Frederick Philipse’s son Adolph probably marched eight of the nine survivors across Westchester County from Rye to Philipsburg Manor. These eight Africans, likely all B’Kongo, would have marked the first community of enslaved individuals to live and work at Philipsburg Manor. The story of the Charles was not unique. Over the course of almost four hundred years, tens of thousands of ships made similar journeys. In fact, during the 1700s, three out of every four persons coming to the Americas came from Africa. Map it out! Use Barham’s deposition to plot the course of the Charles from England, to Africa, the Caribbean, and New York. Compare the names of ports and empires on an old map with a modern map. Figure it out! What percentage of captive Africans on board the Charles lost their lives during the journey across the Atlantic Ocean? What percentage perished on the trip from Barbados to New York? What do you think were some of the causes of these deaths?
A Newspaper-in-Education Supplement to The Journal News • LoHud.com Who Lived at Philipsburg Manor? How do historians know who and what was at Philipsburg Manor in the past? We know exactly who and what was here in 1750 because when Adolph Philipse died in 1750, a probate inventory was made that listed all the possessions he had owned at Philipsburg Manor and in New York City. The hand-written document is over fifty pages in length. Modern transcript from Adolph Philipse Probate Inventory, 12 Feb. 1749/1750. 18th-century writing is difficult to read. An example appears in the background of the cover. New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. On the very first page of Philipse’s inventory you’ll note the names of twenty-three men, women, and children. These individuals were considered the property of Mr. Philipse. Because the enslaved community living at Philipsburg Manor was listed in Philipse’s probate Excerpt from New York Gazette 09 April 1750 inventory, this valuable primary document not only tells us what was here in 1750, but also who was here. The inventory, however, has its limitations. Although it tells us what (and who) was here in 1750, it does not go into much detail. We know from other pages of the inventory that there was a manor house, a barn and a mill, but we don’t know what these buildings looked like. We know that there were twentythree enslaved persons living and working at Philipsburg Manor, but we don’t know where they all lived or how they may have been related or even who did what work. To learn more about the buildings and individuals who lived and labored here, we needed to look at other sources of information. Dusting Off the News Old newspapers are an excellent source of information. Advertisements to buy, sell, and auction goods fill the pages of colonial newspapers just as they do today. After Adolph Philipse died, the new owner of Philipsburg Manor (Adolph’s nephew, Frederick Philipse II) tried to sell or lease the property. Several advertisements were found in local newspapers that give us additional information about the buildings and the enslaved community that lived here. An advertisement to rent Philipsburg Manor tells us that the mill contained “three Pair of Stones, over shot with Bolting-Cloths, and Screw-Press, and all Things convenient for grinding, bolting and packing Flour.” Another lease advertisement tells us that the mill had “a large Store-House adjoining to the same” and that Philipsburg Manor had “a Negro Man that understands grinding.” These newspaper advertisments help us know more about the design of the mill (three grindstones, an overshot water wheel, and a large store house adjoining the mill) and that one of the enslaved men owned by Philipse was trained in milling. Digging Up the Past After looking over primary sources like inventories and advertisements, historians at Philipsburg Manor also had the opportunity to review archeological records. A large dig took place at Philipsburg Manor in the early 1960s and numerous used and broken millstones were uncovered on the site. Archaeologists also uncovered the outline of the 18thcentury mill when they discovered a series of logs laid over the muddy soil alongside the Pocantico River. This outline provided researchers with the basic dimensions of the mill and helped architects and historians to reconstruct the old mill on its original location. Pieces of the Philipsburg Manor Puzzle Fall into Place By examining several sources, the museum today can provide a more detailed picture of life and labor at Philipsburg Manor. Existing documentation strongly suggests the origins of the first enslaved community here and tells us who lived here in 1750. By excavating the original foundation of the 18thcentury mill and learning that there was a storage shed attached and that the mill had three sets of grinding stones, modern architects and preservationists can design a more accurate reproduction for the site. Historians know that probate inventories generally list most valuable possessions first, and that the skills of 18th-century millers were regarded highly. Therefore, we conclude that the first person listed on the inventory, Caesar, was probably Philipsburg Manor’s miller. Like a jigsaw puzzle, history is made up of many bits and pieces that must be carefully placed together to see the big picture. When there are pieces that are missing (and there often are), historians must use their expertise and knowledge of a certain time period to responsibly imagine that part of the puzzle. b Discuss This! What is the difference between basing history on facts, responsibly imagining, or making it up?
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