James Massey (b. circa
1837 - d.?)
MSA SC 5496-8099
Fled from slavery, Queen Anne's County, Maryland 1857.
Biography:
James Massey successfully escaped from Queen Anne's County in 1857 when he was about 20 years old. Massey and another man, Perry Trusty, fled their Maryland master after his repeated threats to sell them to Georgia became too much to bear.1 Trusty also described having seen their master's son murder a fellow servant, only to be found not guilty by the county court.2 The fugitives decided to make away for Canada by way of Philadelphia, a route that likely utilized Underground Railroad contacts or directions from other Eastern Shore blacks. James was welcomed by William Still, an active abolitionist, who recorded the details of enslavement and subsequent escape. James Pippin, recorded as "Pittman" in Still's account, was a "crabid, grey-headed man," who drank very hard.3,4 Massey was legitimately concerned about being sold south because he had seen it happen to his own brother. Though there is no offiial documentation of the sale, such transactions often occurred privately so as not to damage the public image of the slave holder. Even the institution's most ardent defenders would rarely admit to knowingly breaking up African-American families by selling members to the Deep South, a fairly common practice by this time.
James was clearly torn about the decision as he was forced to leave behind his free black wife, Henrietta, in Maryland. They had just been married the previous Christmas. In a letter to his wife dated April 24, 1857, Massey confirms that he was able to reach St. Catharine's, Canada, where many fugitive slaves had settled in recent years.5 While Perry Trusty is listed in that new country's Census, James Massey was never similarly recorded.6 While it is possible that he changed his name, Massey may have also succombed to the harsh winters and limited economic opportunities of Canada. The 1857 letter was written very soon after his arrival, and therefore does not provide any specific clues about his situation. It is more indicative of the strong relationship that James had with Henrietta, and his hope that she would leave Maryland to join him or "that we shall meet in heven." In some ways, the letter was an apology for his abrupt departure. Massey says, "I was persuaded by another man go part with it grived mutch, you must not think that I did not care for you."7
This was not an uncommon sentiment as Eastern Shore slaves often had to make such difficult decisions quickly, not informing family and friends for fear of the punishment that might unfairly be placed on them. In fact, a fellow slave who ultimately fled from James Pippin, Ann M. Green, stated that " since the boys ran away, last spring, he was harder than ever."8 James Massey's story shows how slave flight could be a double edged sword. Massey may have experienced freedom for a short while, but there is no evidence that he was able to reconnect with his family or that he established any viable existence during his time in Canada.
Footnotes -
2. QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (Minutes, Rough) 1856-1857, State of Maryland vs. John Pippin.
3. Ancestry.com, 1850, US Census, Queen Anne's County, MD, District 2, p. 12.
4. Still, p. 143.
5. Ibid.
6. Ancestry.com, 1871 Census of Canada, Lincoln, Grantham, Ontario, p. 22.
7. Still, pp. 143-144.
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