CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
Abraham Skipwith was the first Black man documented as a property owner in Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward district. Skipwith became a wealthy landowner after emancipating himself in the years following the American Revolution. His story illustrates how enslaved people, as property, were at the mercy of enslavers and the political and judicial systems of the state. It also shows that some enslaved people were able to succeed despite laws designed to keep them in slavery.
Skipwith was enslaved by the Yorktown customs official Jacqelin Ambler. From the 1770s through the Revolution, he served Ambler as Ambler achieved powerful government positions as a member of the Council of State and then as treasurer of the Commonwealth. Skipwith may have moved with Ambler to Richmond, or he may have remained behind to oversee Ambler’s business concerns. Ambler sold Skipwith to Thomas Bentley, a western trader and merchant, in 1782.
Abraham Skipwith learned to read and write—how is unknown—and may well have transacted business for Bentley in Virginia. Bentley wrote a document to manumit, or free, Skipwith, but it is not known if he wanted to reward Skipwith for his service or some other reason. Bentley failed to execute the manumission papers before he died in 1785. As a result Skipwith became part of Bentley’s estate, and ended up enslaved by merchants Thomas Keene and James Warington.
In 1789, Skipwith emancipated himself with a payment of £40 to Keene and Warington, a considerable sum of money. It is not known how he earned the money, but enslaved people in urban areas sometimes had the opportunity to make money outside of the hours they worked for their enslavers. Skipwith earned enough money by 1793 to purchase several lots of land in Richmond, and the following year he purchased the freedom of his wife and granddaughter.
In 1793, Skipwith purchased a large tract of land in what would later be known as Jackson Ward. He built a home that is now known as one of Richmond’s oldest surviving structures. He amassed wealth during his lifetime and may be the first Black Virginian to have a legally executed will. When he died in 1797, he left the land, house, a horse and buggy, a gun, and household items to his descendants. He also left money to buy the freedom of future descendants.
Details about Skipwith’s life are few, but evidence suggests that he was politically connected and savvy enough to know that Virginia passed a law in 1782 that enabled owners to free their enslaved people without having to ask permission to do so from the General Assembly. He clearly took the opportunity to seek freedom, finding allies among well-connected white people who supported his efforts.
In 1785, Abraham Skipwith submitted this petition to the General Assembly requesting his freedom as promised by Thomas Bentley. The petition was referred to the Committee for Courts of Justice, but his request was not granted. Skipwith also included letters from white men who attested to the fact that Bentley had planned to set Skipwith free. These documents suggest that Skipwith knew how to navigate the political system. It also shows, however, that until Abraham Skipwith earned the money to free himself, he remained legally and materially a possession because the manumission papers were never executed.
Citation: Petition of Abraham, November 22, 1785, Williamsburg, Legislative Petitions of the General Assembly, 1776-1865, Accession 36121, Library of Virginia (the petition and all of the supporting documents are available online in the Legislative Petitions Digital Collection).
Skipwith was enslaved by the Yorktown customs official Jacqelin Ambler. From the 1770s through the Revolution, he served Ambler as Ambler achieved powerful government positions as a member of the Council of State and then as treasurer of the Commonwealth. Skipwith may have moved with Ambler to Richmond, or he may have remained behind to oversee Ambler’s business concerns. Ambler sold Skipwith to Thomas Bentley, a western trader and merchant, in 1782.
Abraham Skipwith learned to read and write—how is unknown—and may well have transacted business for Bentley in Virginia. Bentley wrote a document to manumit, or free, Skipwith, but it is not known if he wanted to reward Skipwith for his service or some other reason. Bentley failed to execute the manumission papers before he died in 1785. As a result Skipwith became part of Bentley’s estate, and ended up enslaved by merchants Thomas Keene and James Warington.
In 1789, Skipwith emancipated himself with a payment of £40 to Keene and Warington, a considerable sum of money. It is not known how he earned the money, but enslaved people in urban areas sometimes had the opportunity to make money outside of the hours they worked for their enslavers. Skipwith earned enough money by 1793 to purchase several lots of land in Richmond, and the following year he purchased the freedom of his wife and granddaughter.
In 1793, Skipwith purchased a large tract of land in what would later be known as Jackson Ward. He built a home that is now known as one of Richmond’s oldest surviving structures. He amassed wealth during his lifetime and may be the first Black Virginian to have a legally executed will. When he died in 1797, he left the land, house, a horse and buggy, a gun, and household items to his descendants. He also left money to buy the freedom of future descendants.
Details about Skipwith’s life are few, but evidence suggests that he was politically connected and savvy enough to know that Virginia passed a law in 1782 that enabled owners to free their enslaved people without having to ask permission to do so from the General Assembly. He clearly took the opportunity to seek freedom, finding allies among well-connected white people who supported his efforts.
In 1785, Abraham Skipwith submitted this petition to the General Assembly requesting his freedom as promised by Thomas Bentley. The petition was referred to the Committee for Courts of Justice, but his request was not granted. Skipwith also included letters from white men who attested to the fact that Bentley had planned to set Skipwith free. These documents suggest that Skipwith knew how to navigate the political system. It also shows, however, that until Abraham Skipwith earned the money to free himself, he remained legally and materially a possession because the manumission papers were never executed.
Citation: Petition of Abraham, November 22, 1785, Williamsburg, Legislative Petitions of the General Assembly, 1776-1865, Accession 36121, Library of Virginia (the petition and all of the supporting documents are available online in the Legislative Petitions Digital Collection).
Standards
USI.5, VUS.3, GOVT.2
Suggested Questions
Pre-Activity
Take a look: Look at the words and phrases in the petition. What tone does the petition take? Why do you think Abraham Skipwith takes this tone? Consider what he is trying to do, and consider his audience.
Post-Activities
Take a Stand: Imagine that Skipwith took the estate to court to try to gain his freedom and hired you as his lawyer. How would you argue that he deserved to be manumitted? Given that two witnesses wrote in support of Bentley’s original manumission document, what questions would you ask them when you called them to the stand in support of Skipwith?
Food for Thought: Bentley originally signed the manumission for Skipwith during the American Revolution. What kinds of ideas circulating during this period may have influenced both enslavers’ and enslaved people’s ideas about freedom and enslavement? Do you think it influenced Bentley and Skipwith? Why or why not?
Take a look: Look at the words and phrases in the petition. What tone does the petition take? Why do you think Abraham Skipwith takes this tone? Consider what he is trying to do, and consider his audience.
Post-Activities
Take a Stand: Imagine that Skipwith took the estate to court to try to gain his freedom and hired you as his lawyer. How would you argue that he deserved to be manumitted? Given that two witnesses wrote in support of Bentley’s original manumission document, what questions would you ask them when you called them to the stand in support of Skipwith?
Food for Thought: Bentley originally signed the manumission for Skipwith during the American Revolution. What kinds of ideas circulating during this period may have influenced both enslavers’ and enslaved people’s ideas about freedom and enslavement? Do you think it influenced Bentley and Skipwith? Why or why not?