HUH? Slave quarters in New York

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Muley Gil

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I just read an article on MSN lifestyle about a house on Long Island in Sussex County, New York that has been empty for 40 years. The story was in slide form and the caption with slide # 2 stated that the 9 acre farmstead dated to 1701, while the house was built in 1860.

Most of the slides showed what was left of the house and the furnishings, clothes, etc. that remained. However, slide # 27 shows a picture of a long upper floor hallway. Part of the caption reads, "This wing of the house was used to accommodate slaves before the abolition of slavery in 1865, thereafter it served as the servants' quarters."

I scratched my head on that one and did a little checking. The State of New York abolished slavery on July 4th, 1827. :eek:

The writer of this story was Daniel Coughlin, under the Love Money logo.
 
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Here in Florida-and I suspect in other areas as well-slavery continued despite any law passage. There were slaves here until the 1930's so it is told.
 
Muley Gil said:
I scratched my head on that one and did a little checking. The State of New York abolished slavery on July 4th, 1827. :eek:

The writer of this story was Daniel Coughlin, under the Love Money logo.
Click to expand...

I think your head scratching is justified, slaves in Long Island NY in a house built in 1860? Laughable, me thinks Mr. Coughlin lacks critical thinking skills. The underground railroad claims are another good one. These stories are pretty common in the North East. Lots of old houses here, and lots of people claiming their house has an "Underground Railroad" connection with only hearsay and the dying words of Great Uncle 2 times removed Charlie as proof.
 
Thanks for an opportunity to delve into the interesting history of Suffolk county. Didn't find a clear answer about the dates, but some interesting history nonetheless. The home is the Marion Carll Farm in Commack.

The photos you mention:
Step inside this abandoned old house untouched for 40 years

A Carll family history:
carll family

According to the article, Silas Carll directed that his servant "Bill" be set free six months after his death in 1808. Seems like Bill was the the last slave on the farm.
 
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It's a very sad part of the history of mankind. It still exists today. Lincoln only freed the slaves in the states that had left the Union. Slavery was not originally a race or geographic issue. I'll shut-up now in hopes of preventing a ding.
 
Slavery by a different name..

...was called indentured servitude. This was quite common in England for centuries. Not paying your debts lead to imprisonment. How can one pay their debts if in prison, you might ask? There were two ways: 1. Friends and relatives just might pay up if they can; and 2. The debtor signs an indenture contract and is transported to the colonies to provide labor. This was very common particularly because many colonists were gentlemen who would NOT do manual labor. Jamestown had a starvation problem because most wouldn't work to grow food.

When the demand for labor exceeded the indentured supply, African slaves became the answer.

PS I find many examples of major mistakes on internet sites. Under-educated experts don't care if they mess up.
 
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bigwheelzip said:
Another historical surprise to me was about forty years after the Dutch brought the first slaves to Virginia, the British under Oliver Cromwell took Scottish POW's from the third English Civil War, and sent them to New England as slaves.

How Scottish POWS Were Sold as Slave Labor in New England - New England Historical Society
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Yes, 3 brothers and 1 sister of my ancestor fought at Culodden, on the Scots side. They were captured and sent in white slavery to the colonies. Long story, but they lied and cheated their way to steal property from the English, and become slaveholders themselves.
 
SUFFOLK, not SUSSEX. Sussex is in England. Sussex is the Eastern-most of the two counties that comprise Long Island (Nassau is the one closest to NYC)
 
S&WIowegan said:
Slavery by a different name ...was called indentured servitude. This was quite common in England for centuries....
Click to expand...

In respect to the American colonies, this is a bit of an oversimplification. I’m sure this isn’t your intention, but it trivializes the brutal conditions of the slave trade which brought actual slaves here.

The great majority of indentured servants who came to the colonies entered into indenture voluntarily to pay for the costly trip across the Atlantic. Contrary to popular myth, it wasn’t the poor “huddled masses” who immigrated in the 17th and 18th century; you had to have money to afford the trip. For those who didn’t, an indenture contract, often held by the ship’s captain and then sold upon arrival in the New World, was the only way to make the trip.

While some certainly were bamboozled with false promises by recruiting agents in Europe, that was still a far cry from being chained and stacked like cordwood belowdecks.

The rights of indentured servants were seriously restricted for the duration of the contract, but once it was completed, they were free citizens and in some colonies entitled to release payments and even land grants.

So, really no comparison to the slave ships of the Middle Passage and the human commodity as which actual slaves were treated once landed.
 
The slave trade is alive and well in USA today. What do you think all that human trafficking is that you keep hearing about? Every major city in USA has brothels staffed by slaves. Mostly from south of the border. Parts of Africa still have public slave markets.
 
If one looks at the thing dispassionately one will conclude that the world was, is and will no doubt continue to be an ugly place. One can just continue to do one's best and strive to at least take care of their little sphere of influence no matter how small and try not to throw rocks until their house is in order. Study history -do not cover it up or try to change what has already happened as this is the only way we can try to avoid repeating it-don't try to change it-don't try to excuse it, don't try to throw money at it to fix it just accept it and move on trying not to make the same mistakes all over again.
 
Until the thirteenth amendment went into effect it was illegal to help slaves escape in any way. Stops on the underground railroad kept runaways in dark, hidden areas where they were less likely to be found. If they were in a house it was typically in rooms with secret entrances because if they were found the homeowner were in violation of federal law.

Lincoln didn't really free anyone with the "Emancipation Proclamation". It was a political move to stop England from aiding the Confederacy, which worked. If you read the whole thing it excluded slavery in any areas of the Confederacy that were under Union control at the time, as they were again under the law of the U.S. Constitution which permitted slavery. As for the areas that were still under control of the Confederacy there was never anything that said states couldn't secede up to that time and they all pretty much took it as a given "right".
 
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