The Value of a Person

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.

Click to learn more about the Posey Family

 

Learn More

Who Lived Here Exhibit

Learn about the people that made Hampton what it is today.

Individual lives in focus

Learn about how each person was still a unique individual with their own story and experience.

Buildings on the Home Farm

Learn about the buildings on the home farm side of Hampton. From the overseer's house, quarters of the enslaved, to the dairy.

Chattel Slavery at Hampton

From the colonial period through 1864, the Ridgelys enslaved over 500 people. Enslaved people, from young children to the elderly

Enslaved People

Hampton was the second largest plantation in Maryland. Learn about the struggle, hardships, and lives of the enslaved.

Forms of Control

From physical to mental abuse for the youngest ages to the oldest. Learn about the harsh truths and forms of control.