June 6, 1765

The Pennsylvania Gazette

RUN away, on the 15th of May, from the Subscriber, living in Uwchland Township, Chester County, a native Irish Servant Girl, named Catherine McLoy, about 23 Years of Age, dark brown curled Hair, speaks very much with the Brogue, born near Kilkenny, in Ireland;

had on, when she went away, a Calicoe Bedgown, two quilted Petticoats, the one black, the other yellow, no Shoes nor Stockings.

Whoever takes up and secures said Servant, so that the Owner [1] may have her again, shall have Forty Shillings Reward, and reasonable Charges, paid by ROBERT SMITH

1. Over and over again establishment historians and apologists in general declare that the English words written in the Plantation Era had softer meanings, that owner did not mean owner, that master did not mean master, that property did not mean property. However, every indication from my reading is that written English was far les idiomatic, veiled and politically correct than it is today. Whatever the Lie-minded apologist of today may wish to believe about the American past, Robert Smith, who penned the above advertisement and paid for its placement, wanted the world to know that he was "the Owner" of "said Servant." Note how Servant and Owner are capitalized. Further, when conserving wordage at the end of such advertisements, masters almost always omitted the identity of the runaway, and used only the word servant or slave, in the context of this medium, placing heavier emphasis on the servant's unfree status than any other consideration.

A Partial Exhumation of the American Dream