1829 inventory of the property in Charles Carnan Ridgely’s estate
NPS
Enslaved people were considered chattel - or property - and were often valued according to their age, gender, or skill level. For example, those with specialized skills such as carriage driving, blacksmithing, cooking, and animal husbandry were more valuable. Evidence showing how enslavers placed a dollar amount on human beings comes from their purchase price, their value in estate records, and the rewards offered for the return of “runaways.” These were people seeking their own freedom.
This page from an 1829 inventory of the property in Charles Carnan Ridgely’s estate shows that enslaved human beings were listed and valued in the same way as livestock and furniture.
Newspaper ad for Rebecca Posey
Baltimore Sun, August 26, 1852
In 1852, when 15-year-old Rebecca Posey sought her freedom alone, a reward of $100 was offered for her return. It was very unusual for a single woman, much less one so young, to flee on her own. Further, her father was head waiter Mark Posey, who held the highest-status job in the Hampton household. Documents show Rebecca living in Baltimore City in the mid-1860s, so it appears she was never captured and returned to Hampton, unlike her father, who unsuccessfully attempted to escape in 1863.
