Why do runaway ads sometimes specify a jail?

[James B White]

This is hardly a momentous issue, but it's been bugging me. A lot of runaway slave ads will say something like "if placed in any jail so I may get him." But others will specify a particular jail, even when there are more than one in close proximity. Why? What made the owner so particular?

Here's an example, from the Dec. 10, 1861 Richmond Dispatch:

Twenty dollars reward.
--William Foster, a mulatto man, well known as having lived with Messrs. Warwick & Barksdale, and as a famous runaway, is off again, and I will give $20 reward for his apprehension and delivery in Cary street Jail, or to me.
Robert B. Lyne.

There were three or four jails within a few blocks of the Cary Street jail, at least. If I delivered Foster to one of them, would I not get paid? Why did it matter?

Another, from the Jan. 11, 1865 Richmond Dispatch:

One thousand dollars reward.
--Ran away, my man, named John; calls himself John Muse; thirty years of age; black complexion; high forehead, with a small knot, on it resembling a wen; very likely; quick spoken; a carpenter by trade; he is five feet eight or nine inches high. I will give the above reward for his delivery to R. Lumpkin's jail, Richmond, or any other jail so that I can get him. His father lives in King and Queen county, and no doubt he is making his way there.
B. J. Eddins,
Manchester, Virginia.

That's a little more open-ended, but still, there's some reason BJ Eddins preferred that Lumpkin's jail be used, or at least listed it by name.

What's up with specifying jails?

 

[Mary763]

Just some thoughts - maybe they were acquainted with the people who ran that jail, maybe that jail was set up to take care of the payment and any paperwork when slaves were delivered there so if there were multiple jails in the area, was that the "drop off" location? That's an interesting question.

 

[diane]

I don't know the answer to this question except that Forrest often contracted with posses and owners/traders who wanted a place to keep their slaves, whether in route elsewhere or caught. I don't know if this kind of contract was a common practice among traders but it was extra money coming in.

 

[ole]

Mary has a logical explanation. May not be true, but it is logical.

 

[Lnwlf]

I found out tonight that Kentucky has 47[?] counties with jailors, but no jail. It might be that a specified jail was actually a jail while others nearby were simply a jailors house. I am operating on memory here, but I think I read somewhere that that was not an unusual arrangement in the 19th century. Food for investigative thought.

 

[Frederick14Va]

If memory serves correctly the "Cary Street Jail" probably was referring to "Castle Thunder". This and Lumpkins Jail were both designated and utilized for handling slaves.

 

[Mary763]

Mary has a logical explanation. May not be true, but it is logical.

Thanks ole!

 

[diane]

There was also the ability of the person who incarcerated the slave to put a lien on him until a reward and/or lodging payment was forthcoming. Believe that was in the slave codes.

 

[huskerblitz]

I tend to agree with Mar as well. Seems logical to have a local holding station where the slave could be kept secure until pick up, then also the distribution of the reward after pickup.

 

[ForeverFree]

This is hardly a momentous issue, but it's been bugging me. A lot of runaway slave ads will say something like "if placed in any jail so I may get him." But others will specify a particular jail, even when there are more than one in close proximity. Why? What made the owner so particular?

Here's an example, from the Dec. 10, 1861 Richmond Dispatch:

Twenty dollars reward.
--William Foster, a mulatto man, well known as having lived with Messrs. Warwick & Barksdale, and as a famous runaway, is off again, and I will give $20 reward for his apprehension and delivery in Cary street Jail, or to me.
Robert B. Lyne.

There were three or four jails within a few blocks of the Cary Street jail, at least. If I delivered Foster to one of them, would I not get paid? Why did it matter?

Another, from the Jan. 11, 1865 Richmond Dispatch:

One thousand dollars reward.
--Ran away, my man, named John; calls himself John Muse; thirty years of age; black complexion; high forehead, with a small knot, on it resembling a wen; very likely; quick spoken; a carpenter by trade; he is five feet eight or nine inches high. I will give the above reward for his delivery to R. Lumpkin's jail, Richmond, or any other jail so that I can get him. His father lives in King and Queen county, and no doubt he is making his way there.
B. J. Eddins,
Manchester, Virginia.

That's a little more open-ended, but still, there's some reason BJ Eddins preferred that Lumpkin's jail be used, or at least listed it by name.

What's up with specifying jails?

JWB,

I have read that some owners had a business relationship with local jails. For example, some jails were used by owners as a place where disobedient or troublesome slaves could be held (imprisoned, basically) and "corrected" for bad behavior. Since the owners were familiar with specific jails, they preferred to use those place to detain runaway property. I guess.

- Alan

 

[AndyHall]

All of these responses make sense.

 

[huskerblitz]

Check out this book. Seems it will have the answers we all seek. Chapter 8, beginning on or about page 169.

Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation

 

[18thVirginia]

This is hardly a momentous issue, but it's been bugging me. A lot of runaway slave ads will say something like "if placed in any jail so I may get him." But others will specify a particular jail, even when there are more than one in close proximity. Why? What made the owner so particular?

Here's an example, from the Dec. 10, 1861 Richmond Dispatch:

Twenty dollars reward.
--William Foster, a mulatto man, well known as having lived with Messrs. Warwick & Barksdale, and as a famous runaway, is off again, and I will give $20 reward for his apprehension and delivery in Cary street Jail, or to me.
Robert B. Lyne.

There were three or four jails within a few blocks of the Cary Street jail, at least. If I delivered Foster to one of them, would I not get paid? Why did it matter?

Another, from the Jan. 11, 1865 Richmond Dispatch:

One thousand dollars reward.
--Ran away, my man, named John; calls himself John Muse; thirty years of age; black complexion; high forehead, with a small knot, on it resembling a wen; very likely; quick spoken; a carpenter by trade; he is five feet eight or nine inches high. I will give the above reward for his delivery to R. Lumpkin's jail, Richmond, or any other jail so that I can get him. His father lives in King and Queen county, and no doubt he is making his way there.
B. J. Eddins,
Manchester, Virginia.

That's a little more open-ended, but still, there's some reason BJ Eddins preferred that Lumpkin's jail be used, or at least listed it by name.

What's up with specifying jails?

I've read several legal cases in Arkansas about slaves who were security for a loan and when the slave owner defaulted on the loan, the creditors, in this case a group of merchants, seized the slave. Perhaps some of these were slave owners in the same situation and knew that certain jailers would return the slave to them without responding to any liens against the slave. Or maybe get it all done quick enough that creditors didn't have time to step in.

 

[Allie]

Check out this book. Seems it will have the answers we all seek. Chapter 8, beginning on or about page 169.

Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation

View attachment 59097

I could see how it would be important to have your slaves housed with someone trustworthy who wouldn't do them lasting harm through neglect.

 

[James B White]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. I'm wondering if it was something like an owner had an ongoing relationship or just a preference for a particular jail. It would be interesting to see if an owner had more than one runaway over the years and if he always advertised the same jail, and if any records still existed, whether he also bought or sold slaves through that jail. Lack of records would be the main problem.

If memory serves correctly the "Cary Street Jail" probably was referring to "Castle Thunder". This and Lumpkins Jail were both designated and utilized for handling slaves.

Cary Street jail was at the southeast corner of 15th and Cary, a privately owned slave jail that had been there under the same ownership since the 1830s. By 1861 the original owner, Bacon Tait, wasn't actively involved with its management as much and it was under the direct supervision of his longtime employee Sidnum Grady. Tait had actually built Lumpkin's jail originally, but sold it soon and built the Cary Street jail. As you said, both were similar, typical private slave jails for holding and handling slaves as well as making private sales.

Castle Thunder was a pre-war tobacco warehouse converted into a government prison for the war and as far as I know, was for government-accused or sentenced prisoners, and didn't accept runaway slaves being held for their owners.

I found out tonight that Kentucky has 47[?] counties with jailors, but no jail. It might be that a specified jail was actually a jail while others nearby were simply a jailors house. I am operating on memory here, but I think I read somewhere that that was not an unusual arrangement in the 19th century. Food for investigative thought.

In Richmond, at least, the other slave jails were operating jails. They were around the Locust Alley/Wall Street area in Richmond near Lumpkin's, and Tait's sat three or four blocks closer to the river. Stokes jail was there besides Lumpkin's at this time; not sure about others specifically. These were also government civilian jails like the Richmond city jail, Henrico county jail, and wartime jails like Castle Thunder, etc.

Some ads do specify putting a slave in a county jail, which I took to mean that the owner lived near there and there might not even be any other options in a rural area.

Check out this book. Seems it will have the answers we all seek. Chapter 8, beginning on or about page 169.

Runaway Slaves: Rebels on the Plantation

I didn't see an answer there, but maybe I missed it. Do you have a specific page? The page image is talking about slaves who were caught by whites who didn't immediately know their owner, and I can certainly see the convenience of putting them in the nearest jail. But if one learned that a slave belonged to Robert B. Lyne from the first ad, for example, it sounds like one would need to bring him to the Cary street jail or Lyne himself before Lyne would pay.

Now you've raised another question. Say the slave was caught several counties away and put in either a county or private jail. Lyne didn't want to go get him. What then? Who paid the jail fees? I expect the slave would be sold to pay them, and Lyne would get nothing--or would Lyne get the proceeds above the jail fees?

 

[Frederick14Va]

Castle Thunder was a pre-war tobacco warehouse converted into a government prison for the war and as far as I know, was for government-accused or sentenced prisoners, and didn't accept runaway slaves being held for their owners.
?

Based on period accounts and writings, Castle Thunder initially was intended for disloyal folks, Unionists, deserters and various related political prisoners. But its scope of operation soon expanded to include suspected spys, female prisoners, and blacks/slaves..

Can become quickly confusing since there was a cluster of various private jail facilities in that area of Shockoe in Eastern Richmond... near, along or bordering on Main St, Franklin St, Cary St, and Wall St. (now known as N. 15th St, much of which was altered or taken out in construction of I-95 overpass, or state parking lots)

 

[Dave Wilma]

Modern law enforcement entries for wanted persons will often put geographic limits on how far an agency will go to pick up a fugitive mostly for economic reasons. No public official wants to spend thousands of dollars to transport a misdemeanor defendant. The slave holder will travel no farther than the specified jail and pay the jailer room and board for his trouble. Someone apprehending a runaway has to decide if it's worth the 20 dollars.

 

[MRB1863]

Just some thoughts - maybe they were acquainted with the people who ran that jail, maybe that jail was set up to take care of the payment and any paperwork when slaves were delivered there so if there were multiple jails in the area, was that the "drop off" location? That's an interesting question.

Agree regarding a jail set-up to care for payment/paperwork. Makes sense since communication was poor by today's standard. Choosing a certain detainment facility would help the paperwork process and avoid the overhead cost of an extradition, which would reduce the "bounty".

 

[James B White]

Based on period accounts and writings, Castle Thunder initially was intended for disloyal folks, Unionists, deserters and various related political prisoners. But its scope of operation soon expanded to include suspected spys, female prisoners, and blacks/slaves..

Can become quickly confusing since there was a cluster of various private jail facilities in that area of Shockoe in Eastern Richmond... near, along or bordering on Main St, Franklin St, Cary St, and Wall St. (now known as N. 15th St, much of which was altered or taken out in construction of I-95 overpass, or state parking lots)

Okay, but I can't see that anyone in the period would think "Cary Street Jail" referred to anything but Tait's/Grady's jail. The name was used even before the war and before Castle Thunder as a standard nickname. For example, from the Nov. 12, 1860 Richmond Dispatch: "For Sale --A middle aged Negro Woman; will be sold cheap. Apply at Cary street Jail."

Or an example from Jan. 15, 1862, showing that Sidnum Grady was the manager: "For sale --A Woman and Three likely children. The Woman is a good cook and bread-maker. Apply to Mr. Grady, At Cary Street Jail." There's really not much confusion about what Cary Street Jail would refer to.

I haven't seen "Cary Street Jail" used before the early 1850s, though that may just be an artifact of newspaper searches, but it could also be that that was about the time Tait became less active in the management, and some people may have not been confident enough to call it Tait's Jail if they rarely saw Tait around any more, but didn't want to call it Grady's Jail if they knew he was the manager rather than owner, and because it was the only slave jail on Cary Street (that I know of--do you know of any others?), calling it by the street seemed a safe compromise--though of course one sees various combinations of Tait's and Grady's names included too from the 1850s on

 

[huskerblitz]

I didn't see an answer there, but maybe I missed it. Do you have a specific page? The page image is talking about slaves who were caught by whites who didn't immediately know their owner, and I can certainly see the convenience of putting them in the nearest jail. But if one learned that a slave belonged to Robert B. Lyne from the first ad, for example, it sounds like one would need to bring him to the Cary street jail or Lyne himself before Lyne would pay.

Now you've raised another question. Say the slave was caught several counties away and put in either a county or private jail. Lyne didn't want to go get him. What then? Who paid the jail fees? I expect the slave would be sold to pay them, and Lyne would get nothing--or would Lyne get the proceeds above the jail fees?

The whole chapter seemed to lay out different situations on the hunt and return of runaways. Too many to post but if you scroll up it may give you more information. Appears to give info on colonial times through the 1850s.

BTW....Amazon has this book for a pretty good used price. I picked up a copy. Seems like a lot of good info is in it.