A continuing pattern of servants teaming up to make their break for freedom seems to predict American prison breaks of the modern age.

James Monk and Samuel Turner seem to have stolen the same boat.

James Wood and Henry Sherwood seem to have escaped from Charles Ridgely on the same day, with Henry blamed for the missing clothes.

Likewise, previously escaped George Eccland, iron collar around his neck, seems to have fled from Christopher Lowndes’ Bladensburg plantation with the aid of John Frances. There are six other possible escaped pairs with listings on the same day but without master’s listed, making confirmation unlikely. [2]

It should be of particular interest to white slavery deniers that the single black man on this list had a notation that he was a servant, where moderns believe that the term servant was only applied to whites. It is also notable that less than 1 in 30 escaped servants in Maryland in the 1740s and 50s were negroes. Indeed, it seems that African slaves were still too expensive for the Maryland market. The fact that a man would have a sir name of negro, attached to such a common name as Joe, does indicate that negro servants were not common. [1]

Maples, John MG, 31 July 1751

Craft, James MG, 7 Aug. 1751

Unidentified MG, 16 Oct. 1751 [1]

Sherlock, Ralph MG, 20 Nov. 1751

Cranwell, Joseph MG, 27 Nov. 1751

Negro Joe servant MG, 12 Mar. 1752

Day, Henry MG, 19 Mar. 1752

Ferrill, Francis MG, 9 Apr. 1752

Nailles, John MG, 9 Apr. 1752

Monk, James, stole boat MG, 30 Apr. 1752

Turner, Samuel, stole boat MG, 30 Apr. 1752

Cockland, Michael MG, 14 May 1752

M’Coy, Robert MG, 28 May 1752

Ray, Thomas, stole clothes MG, 4 June 1752

Steer, George, stole boat MG, 4 June 1752

James, Samuel, Annapolis James Steuart MG, 2 July 1752 [2]

Hollingshoo, Michael als. Holsboo, Patapsco Iron Works, Charles Carroll, stole horse MG, 9 July 1752 [3]

Kilburn, Reuben, Baltimore Town, James Cary MG, 9 July 1752

Wood, James, Baltimore Charles Ridgely MG, 16 July 1752

Sherwood, Henry, Baltimore Charles Ridgely, stole clothes MG, 16 July 1752

Jebb, John MG, 23 July 1752

Robertson, Thomas MG, 23 July 1752

Eccland, George, Bladensburg, Christopher Lowndes, iron collar MG, 30 July 1752

Frances, John, Bladensburg, Christopher Lowndes MG, 30 July 1752

Barrett, Richard MG, 27 Aug. 1752

Selvan, William MG, 27 Aug. 1752

Cooke, John MG, 14 Sept. 1752

Kervan, Michael MG, 14 Sept. 1752

Hughes, William MG, 28 Sept. 1752

Fitzgerald, John MG, 26 Oct. 1752

1. Once again we have an unidentified runaway. Runaways who were not white were identified as negro. One should take pause at the fact, that in Maryland, a mere 20 years before American Independence, that negro slaves were unusual, and when one discussed an escaped person it was assumed that they were white unless otherwise noted. As a final note, the practice of giving a person a last name indicating their race does more than demonstrate that their race was not the normal human commodity, but also that their kind was held in lower esteem. Joe Negro therefore stands out as an example that most Maryland slaves were white and that blacks were regarded as subhumans. Ironically, in Baltimore City supermarkets in the 2000s, when two employees have the same first name they are often referred to by other staff as "Black Joe" and "White Joe," and with women of the same race by feminine features, such as my favorite, "Fine Tannika" and "Big Titty Tannika." When my head cashier, in 2009, asked me if I wanted one or the other, I found myself ethically unable to reply in kind. It seems that the semantic subtext of our lives persists far beyond the narrative truths extolled by our official record keepers.

2. George Steer and Thomas Ray seem to have used division of labor in a joint escape, steeling clothes and a boat, although this is supposition.

3. It appears that even after the passing of Master Tasker, that the Patapsco Iron Works remained a hellish abode.