Freedom Earned, Equality Denied: Evolving Race Relations in Exeter and Vicinity, 1776–1876 David T

18 Freedom Earned, Equality Denied: Evolving Race Relations in Exeter and Vicinity, 1776–1876 David T. Dixon n September 1798 Joseph Blanchard, foreman of population overwhelmingly supportive of the patriot the jury in Rockingham County Superior Court, cause, Exeter by 1775 was, for all practical purposes, Iannounced the verdict on appeal by Mary “the capital of the state, the seat of government, and Kimball in the case of Scipio Duce v. Mary Kimball. the center of all civil and military activity in New The jury found in favor of Duce and assessed dam- Hampshire.” The town supported the families of ages of $240. The wealthy and respected widow of more than two hundred war volunteers and passed Revolutionary War veteran Major Porter Kimball of tax exemptions in 1784 for those veterans who had Brentwood, a former parish of Exeter, must have not received a bounty for enlistment. By the end of been shocked at this outcome. She knew Scipio Duce the eighteenth century, Exeter had become the focus as her deceased husband’s illiterate slave, now free but of free black society in the state, largely as a result of living in poverty “down east”—in what later became an influx of black Revolutionary War veterans.2 Maine. Her neighbors had owned slaves for well over Archelaus White was a typical example of a black a century. How could anyone justify such a large soldier who settled in Exeter. When the war broke award to a servant who, according to witnesses like out in 1775, Archelaus was a servant of James White Dudley Gilman, had told people that he did not of Plaistow, a rural town on the Massachusetts bor- expect to gain anything from the Kimball estate? The der. With the permission of his master, he enlisted result of Duce v. Kimball suggests the presence in the under Captain Jeremiah Gilman of Plaistow and Exeter area in the late eighteenth century of a sur- fought at Bunker Hill. After a year of service at prisingly favorable environment for blacks.1 Cambridge, White marched to Providence, New The antebellum black population in New London, and then to New York, where he was sta- Hampshire has received little serious attention from tioned on Governor’s Island until the army retreated historians, probably due to its small size—fewer than to New Jersey. He was present at the capture of one thousand individuals in 1790, less than 1 percent General Burgoyne and discharged at Bethlehem, of the state’s population. Massachusetts and New Jersey, at the close of the war. Like many black Connecticut each reported having over five thousand veterans, he was set free after his service. He moved blacks in 1790, and blacks made up more than 6 per- to Exeter and, with the pay and pension he received cent of the population of Rhode Island that year. from his service, he rented a small hut and land for a Most of New Hampshire’s blacks at the advent of the farm from local lawyer Oliver Peabody. When White Revolution lived in Rockingham County, the com- died in 1826, he owned a pig worth ten dollars and mercial and political center of the region. With a a few household goods totaling another $9.19. His widow received his pension of $38.45.3 ERIC C. STOYKOVICH, a native of Dover, is a doctor- Black veterans are known to have settled in Exeter al candidate at the University of Virginia. He is working from as far away as Newburyport, Massachusetts, to under the direction of Dr. Peter S. Onuf and Dr. the south, and Rindge, New Hampshire, to the west. Edmund Russell on a dissertation about agricultural The experience of fighting side by side with black improvement and livestock management in the early men appears to have suggested, to some whites at American republic. least, that people of color had earned a place in soci- Bridge over Troubled Waters 19 ety and deserved the opportunities that hard work understanding of the development of racism in the and education provided. Blacks faced an arduous early republic. Unraveling the tangled roots of racism transition, nevertheless, during the early years of the in early American communities such as Exeter is crit- nineteenth century. The status of slavery after New ical, moreover, to understanding the stubborn and Hampshire’s Declaration of Rights in 1788 was by vexing problems of race relations today.7 no means clear. The process of emancipation in New Hampshire was a gradual one and yet appears to have “As Good a Fellow as Ever Stood” moved more rapidly in Exeter than in most other Once settled in Exeter, veterans who had formerly large towns.4 been slaves took advantage of the town’s public The black population in Exeter more than doubled school system to educate their children. The Pauls, between 1775 and 1790 from thirty-eight to eighty- one of the best-known black families in Exeter, pro- three individuals; only two were still enslaved by the vide an example of the success that publicly educat- end of this period. At this time Exeter boasted the ed Exeter blacks enjoyed throughout the antebellum largest concentration of free blacks in New period. Caesar Paul, freed from slavery by Major Hampshire, despite ranking thirteenth in total popu- John Gilman before 1771, married Love Rollins, a lation. By contrast Portsmouth, the former seat of former slave and daughter of a well-known white British authority and the largest town in the state with Stratham lawyer. Caesar, who received his education nearly three times the population of Exeter, had only in the household of his master while working as his 102 black inhabitants, twenty-six of whom remained body servant, sent three of his sons, Thomas, enslaved. Almost three-quarters of Exeter’s black resi- Nathaniel and Benjamin, to Exeter’s common dents were living in independent households by schools. They all became noted Baptist preachers and 1790, as compared with less than half in Portsmouth. national black leaders.8 At least eleven of the fourteen independent black Perhaps the Pauls’ accomplishments could be households in Exeter in 1790 were headed by a anticipated, considering Caesar’s intimate bonds Revolutionary War veteran or his widow.5 with an important local family. White support for Until recently history has consigned the subject of blacks, however, went well beyond ties of kinship or racial relations in New England to the periphery. New paternalistic obligation. To fully understand the studies, however, are beginning to form a more com- depth of white advocacy for blacks in and near Exeter plete picture of the ongoing struggle of Americans to during the late eighteenth century, one must return come to terms with the “race question.” The story to the story of Scipio Duce. that is emerging from historians tells of confused Scipio had been a servant to Major Porter Kimball Northern whites gradually constructing an ideology since childhood. He quickly established himself as an of racial difference to help them cope with the new exceptional farm hand, able to do more work with a reality of free blacks in their society. According to team of oxen than anyone in the area. He was also a these scholars, the beginnings of modern-day racism man of exceptional character, trusted by his master to may be found even in the same cities and towns where go to market with Kimball’s money and make pur- the abolition movement flourished.6 chases on his behalf. He was well known and highly Fortunately the small black population in and respected by both blacks and whites in Brentwood, around Exeter was concentrated enough to study in Exeter, and the surrounding area. When independ- detail. New insight into the complex nature of racial ence was declared, Major Kimball believed that relations in New England communities in the early- Congress had freed all slaves and was pleased by the to-mid-nineteenth century promises to aid in our news. He often spoke with great admiration and even 20 Historical New Hampshire affection of his favorite servant. He promised Scipio Kimball left his entire estate to his wife and children. that he would give him good wages, a team of oxen, Many of his neighbors were so incensed by his failure and a house and land if he stayed on the farm. Major to honor his commitments to Scipio that they decid- Kimball’s first wife was dead, and there were no chil- ed to sponsor a lawsuit on behalf of the former slave.13 dren to inherit his estate.9 Six respected white residents of Scipio’s former When Samuel Cram attempted to hire Scipio neighborhood, including Deacon Jonathan Veazey from Kimball as a substitute in the army in 1777, the and Captain James Sinklair, met with William major declined. Kimball needed Scipio to manage his Plumer of nearby Epping, a noted lawyer and future affairs as he was about to depart for war duty himself. governor of the state, who agreed to take the case on Scipio ran the farm for several years while the major a contingency basis. Fifteen white men stood as wit- was away and conducted virtually all of his business, nesses for Scipio Duce, as opposed to only four for even purchasing and selling property on Kimball’s Mary Kimball. John Shaw called Scipio “the best behalf. Several of Kimball’s neighbors testified that black man I ever knew.” John Tucke was even more Scipio did a better job of managing business than emphatic, calling Scipio “as good a fellow as ever Kimball did himself.10 stood on the ground.” It was a strong show of respect After Major Kimball’s return from the war, he for their former slave neighbor.

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