Mingo and Dinah were both African slaves and the parents of Quock. The slave family was purchased by James Caldwell of Rutland District (Barre), Massachusetts in 1754. According to court documents a bill of sale was exchanged for the purchase [1]. During this time slaves were both transported to New England straight from Africa and were also sold north from southern colonies. New England became a dumping ground for unwanted slaves, or slaves that could not fetch high prices in economies more reliant on their labor [2].  As early as 1624, slaves labored for Massachusetts families, Africans, and Native Americans both played roles in the slave culture. In 1641, the “Massachusetts Bodies of Liberties” outlined the liberties of the people of the colony. According to the original text, “There shall never be any bond slaverie, villinage or Captivitie amongst us unles it be lawfull Captives taken in just warres, and such strangers as willingly selle themselves or are sold to us”[3]. However, in 1670, the liberties were revised to include that children born of slave women were themselves slaves. It is possible then, by the time Quock was born in 1754 he could have been a third-generation slave. Mingo and Dinah’s heritage is unknown, though “Kwaku” is a traditional Ghanaian name for a boy born on a Wednesday. This naming method suggests that Mingo or Dinah may have had Ghanaian ancestry.

            Mingo would have been tasked with aiding James in the running of his farm and estate. Unlike the large plantations of the south, northern agricultural needs and lifestyle called for a much closer relationship between slave and Master. Mingo and Dinah would have resided within the Caldwell home, or in very close proximity of it. Clearing tracts of the sixteen-hundred-acre Caldwell estate would have been a huge undertaking. Trees, stumps, and rocks would need to be removed to make workable fields. The Caldwell estate is in a particularly rocky part of Massachusetts, huge ledges loom directly over the Caldwell homestead. Splitting rocks was a laborious job aided by using “feathers and wedges”. This system of rock splitting is an ancient one and involved driving a wedge into a rock’s weak point. A forged wedge was found during a dig at the Caldwell estate and is added as part of this project website’s artifacts. Other daily tasks likely included caring for animals, planting and harvesting, removing, and cutting wood. Wood would then be sued for heating, smoking meats, and building structures for animals and homes.

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Dinah would have worked alongside of Isabel Caldwell. As the first inhabitants of the remote western corner of Rutland, life would have been quite isolating. The Caldwell and slave children would have likely been permitted to engage and play with one another. Perhaps making the daring climb up the ledges or fishing and swimming in the nearby Ware River. It is likely that Dinah, Quock, and his five siblings were taught English as children. It is known that Mingo had a fair grasp on the language. This would have certainly helped Quock communicate with the Caldwell family and perhaps aided him later during his trials. Dinah, only nineteen when she was purchased by James Caldwell, spent the entirety of her adult life working for Isabel. Through the hot summers and cold snow filled winters, Dinah was expected to rear her own children and that of her master’s family. She would have been required to mend clothing, make candles, care for animals, cook, preserve and process foods. Additionally, she may have been needed to aid Isabel during childbirth and she certainly had to prepare for the births of her own children.

            When James Caldwell was struck by a tree which caused his death, it was reported that a “Negro” broke his thigh bone during the incident. Despite there being very few male slaves in the town, the injured person was unlikely Mingo. Mingo escaped the Caldwell farm less than two years later, and a femur break in the 1760’s was a serious ordeal. A broken bone of that nature would likely leave a person crippled for life. Yet, at the end of May 1765 Mingo ran away from the Caldwell estate taking with him nothing but the clothes on his back. Described as short[4], Mingo measured about five feet five inches tall. Isabel estimated his age to be about thirty years, however considering he was purchased in 1754 with a child it is more likely he was close to forty. No mention was made of a limp, in fact is seems he was full of “spritely” energy. Escaping in late spring was a smart choice for Mingo. Considering the severity of New England winters and the heat of the late summers it was essential for Mingo to reach his destination during the early summer months. It is unknown where Mingo was headed or if he reached his destination.  Further details on Dinah are also unknown, no death or burial records survive to mark her life.

 

[1] Legal notes by William Cushing about the Quock Walker case, 1783, Massachusetts Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/630.

[2] William Piersen, Black Yankees (Amherst: University of Amherst Press, 1988), 4.

[3] Old South Leaflets (Boston: Directors of the Old South Work, n.d. [c. 1900], 7: 261-280.

[4] The Boston News-Letter, [June 13, 1765], page 2.