238 Richard Parker, Slave Owner

Richard Parker, Slave Owner

I continue my research on Judge Richard Parker, the judge at John Brown’s trial in 1860. The chapter I am working on now is titled, “Richard Parker, Slave Owner.”

I want to like and respect the person I am writing about, but I cannot. Richard Parker owned slaves, as did most of the landed aristocracy of the locality. Researching the documents about the slaves he owned has made real to me the terrible tragedy of slavery and the seeming indifference of slaveholders to the plight of fellow human beings.

From a modern perspective, it is shocking and tragic to see men, women, and children listed as property along with cattle and ricks of hay in the appraisal of the estate of Parker’s father. Top of list one: Henry, a negro boy, $300. Top of continuation of the list: Ref heifer, $10.

Likewise, Richard Parker shows little empathy for the fate of a fellow human being in a comment on the sale of the slave Henry who would not stop running away: “Was forced to sell Henry on yesterday to Mr. Coons for $600. He had been thrown into jail and I was also told that he would certainly run off, if not sold—a melancholy duty in one having charge of slaves.”

He kept careful records in his journals of the revenues he received from the slaves he rented out to others. Only a few journals survive, but they provide the names and monies received for each. 

Records of the slaves he and his parents owned also show in the United States Census Slave Schedules. From 1840 to 1860, they owned up to 23 slaves.

Records of sales of slaves, show that both parties in the transactions were careful to note that the slave in question was “a slave for life.” His second cousin John Elliott Parker Daingerfield bought Milly from Parker in 1852 and sent him this letter:

"Dear Parker,
Servant Milly arrived safely on yesterday & I have today deposited four hundred & seventy-five ($475) dollars to your credit in the Bank of the Valley at Charlestown--being payment in full for Said Servant.

Enclosed herewith please find certificate of deposit for the above amt. on receipt of which please send me a bill of sale--stating the age--that she is a slave for life & that she is sold as sound and healthy. These precautions are not probably necessary between you & I, but in the event of my death it might be wise to have a bill of sale as above."

The only time that Richard Parker is on record helping slaves gain their freedom is in the case of Bennett Russell and Others vs. Negroes Juliet and Others, and I believe he was merely following the law. Jesse Russell has done excellent research in the Clarke and Frederick county court records as well as other sources to document the story of Juliet in his book, Juliet, from Slavery to Inspiration. (https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Juliet)

Parker represented the slaves that had been owned by John Russell Crafton (an ancestor of Jesse), who died in 1848. (It is unclear when Russell dropped the Crafton surname.) Russell stipulated in his 1839 will that his slaves be freed. 

His son, Bennett Russell, and siblings produced an 1842 Articles of Agreement that retracted the manumission. There is doubt about the authenticity of the articles. Parker represented Juliet in trials in 1849 and 1850 that both ended with a hung jury. By the time the case went to trial again in 1856, Parker had become a judge and could no longer serve as legal counsel in the case. The 1856 verdict was in favor of the heirs, and the slaves were sold.

It is difficult for me to view these documents in their historical context.
Generations of Christian God-fearing slave owners (as well as those engaged in the slave trade) could not acknowledge the hypocrisy of their lives. I can't be too sanctimonious. With many mediums informing us of all the problems and tragedies of our world, how will history judge our response?   

Trish