DELVE INTO QUOCK'S WORLD.
After two years of trials, Quock won his freedom from when Justice William Cushing said that there could be no perpetual servitude of a rational being. Quock's trials were unique in that they are commonly attributed with brining and end to slavery in Massachusetts. However, there is much more to Quock's story.
LEARN ABOUT HIS FAMILY. EXPLORE MAPS & HISTORIC SITES. VIEW ARTIFACTS AND HISTORIC DOCUMENTS.
DELVE INTO QUOCK'S WORLD.
LEARN ABOUT HIS FAMILY. EXPLORE MAPS & HISTORIC SITES. VIEW ARTIFACTS AND HISTORIC DOCUMENTS.
THE FACTS.
Quock Walker was a slave born in 1754. As a child he was purchased, along with his parents by the Caldwell family in what is now Barre, Massachusetts.
Throughout his life, he was promised manumission (freedom) by the age of twenty-five. Unfortunately, his mistresses new husband, Nathaniel Jennison did not agree. This dispute ultimately led to "The Quock Walker Cases" 1781-1783.
Ultimately, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in Quock's favor and he won is freedom. Quock's case was not unlike that of many other slaves who sued for their freedom in the 1700's.
What sets his story apart are the words of Justice William Cushing who wrote, "...there can be no such thing as perpetual servitude of a rational creature." in the notes of Quock's trial. This statement, creates what many historians believe to be a critical turning point in the end of slavery in the Bay State. However, many factors played a role including the "free and equal" clause of the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution.
After the trials, Quock lived the rest of his days as a free man in his hometown of Barre. Within this resource bank lies artifacts and documents that record and highlight his life, the lives of his family and of his masters.