Morris tribune., 1880-06-24
A SLAVE PRINCESS.
A Story of Slavery in the Last Century.-Sa
rah Wilson's Adventures.
Newport Cor. New York Post.l

Newport Cor. New York Post.
NEWPORT, R. l., May 17.-It was a
common practice in some of the Atlantic
colonies to sell white persons into slav-
cry for limited number of years; but it
was not common to term this sort of ser
vitude slavery, although it was such to
all 1ntents and purposes. The person
sold was called servant, and the inden-
ture that bound him or her during the
period of servitude gave the master COM
plete control over his servant, with the
right to punish him severely for any Of
tense, or to hunt him down if he attemp-
ted to escape from bondage. Some of
the old laws of Virginia unaer this head
were harsh in the extreme, and if they
were rightly enforced, as we may presume
was the case, hard indeed must have
been the lot of any bond servant who
would incurr the displeasure of his mas
ter.
The source from which many servants
of this kind were obtained was the courts
of England, where it was customary
to transport to America prisoners who
had been convicted OF offense not punish
able by death, but who were too great
offenders to be kept at home in overcrow-
ded jails. They were accordingly shipped
to the colonies and were sold for limit
ed number of years, usually seven. An
announcement like that which follows,
which appeared in the Pennsylvania Ca
sette as late as July 90, 1847, was at one
time very common:
Just arrived from Londonderry in the
brig Peggy, Capt. Stewart, number of
fine, healthy men and women servants,
and small boys, whose times are to be
disposed of to the best bidders by the
captain, on board, or by Campbell 6
Kingston, on the wharf.
A convict sent to this country in It'll
created sensation for time, and 30 ex-
traordinary was her career that her name
has found place in HISTORY. It is true
that where it appears In the records of
the times 1t is but mere mention, but
the dozen or twenty lines given to her
in Doran's "Lives of the Queens OF Eng
land, of the House OF Hanover shows
that her adventures in America were the
subject of discussion, perhaps of mirth,
in the drawing-rooms Queen Charlotte.
In that brief outline there are few er-
rors. The story, as have been able to
gather it from different sources, is as
follows:
In August, ITO, woman who had no
business. there found her way, by means
of the private stairs, into the apartments
OF Queen Charlotte. Entering the room
In which the queen and the duchess of
Ancestor were sitting, she took survey
of everything there with the greatest
composure. The queen and the duchess
had the presence of mind to ring the bell,
which brought page, who with diff
Guilty forced the intruder to retire. But
little more was thought of this piece of
presumption, but short time after the
affair the queens apartment were again
entered, and this time cabinet was
broken open and robbed of valuable Jew
els and miniature of the queen. The
thief proved to be woman named Sarah
Wilson, the maid OF the Hon. Miss Ver-
non, sister OF Lady Grosvenor, and who
was probably the same woman who had
i previously entered the apartments. She
was apprehended, tried and condemned
to death, but through the influence of
her mistress the sentence was commuted
to transportation to America, there to be
sold for period of seven years. step
that created some stir in London, for
their were persons who complained that
in this way the gallows had been cheat
ed.
| In It'll Sarah Wilson, sent out in a
convict ship, landed in Maryland, whore
she was exposed for sale, and was bough,
by William Duvall, of Bush Greek, Fred
eric County, to whom she was legally
bound for the stipulated term of years
Duvall took her to his residence, where
she remained in his service, apparently
contented till an opportunity offered tc
make good her escape. From Bush Greek
she found her way into Virginia, anG
! passed through North Carolina, to Soutf
: Carolina, where she felt that she had put
too wide a strip ofcountry between herself
and her master to render return to slav
cry probable. With no fear of arrest tt
!. to haunt her, she assumed the title of th,
, Princess Susanna Caroline Matilda, ani
asserted that she was sister to the queen
The richness of some of her apparel, he
} Jewels, and the miniature of the queer
! lgave color TO her statement, which wa