The story behind Massachusetts’ Emancipation Day, July 8

Quock Walker: his name comes to us from a court decision of 243 years ago. In 1783, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found his enslaver, Nathaniel Jennison, guilty of assault on Quock and of false imprisonment. Supreme Court Justice William Cushing, in his instructions to the jury, wrote an eloquent explanation of how once, the laws of Massachusetts had condoned slavery, however, a “different idea has taken place with the people of America, more favorable to the natural rights of mankind, and to that natural, innate desire of Liberty...” 

Justice Cushing’s instructions to the jury included the statement that the new Constitution of Government “declares that all men are born free and equal…and that being the case…. the idea of slavery is inconsistent with our own conduct and Constitution.” This court decision signaled the “soft” end of slavery in Massachusetts. The hard proof was the first United States census in 1790, which counted no slaves in this state. 

The Barre man who suffered the assault and false imprisonment was born enslaved about August 1753. Nine-month-old Quock and his parents, Mingo and Dinah, were purchased by James Caldwell of Rutland District (now called Barre) in May 1754. As was common with slaves at that time, the family had no surname. Caldwell must have seen something special in the baby who came to live in his home, and who grew up with Caldwell’s children. James Caldwell promised that he would set Quock free when he turned 25 years of age.

Let’s move forward to 1763. Quock was turning ten years old. The Caldwell family included James, his wife Isabel, four young children, and one “on the way.” It was July 18 and Quock’s enslaver, James Caldwell, was working outside when a sudden windstorm blew a tree onto him, killing him. James Caldwell’s sudden death would transform the lives of the Caldwells and their enslaved family. Quock’s quest for personal freedom started in earnest with James Caldwell’s death.

James Caldwell, in his 52nd year, had not filed a will nor had he documented his promise to free Quock when he turned 25. Caldwell was a wealthy man with a large estate consisting of 1,125 acres, a farm, sawmill, cider mill, and substantial personal property, including the enslaved family. In the absence of a will, Massachusetts followed the laws of “Intestacy.”  

This is why Quock’s quest became difficult. In 1763, a married woman could not own real estate. Upon a man’s death, if he left no will, his widow was protected by her “Dower,” or a limited interest in her late husband’s estate. This was one-third of both his real and his personal property. The children of her husband received the other two-thirds; they would also receive the widow’s Dower when she died. The widow did not inherit this Dower, nor did she own it outright. She could live on the “Widow’s Third” of the real estate and use the income to support her family. The Dower was the widow’s to use, but not hers to give away.

From 1763 to 1769, Isabel worked alone to bring up five children (one born after James’ death), to support the enslaved family, and to run the large estate. She had to live on her Dower, which was set off by the Probate Court. The children were all minors and had guardians appointed by the Probate Court to protect their individual shares of the two-thirds that were granted through the intestacy laws. In March 1769, Isabel married Nathaniel Jennison, a Barre bachelor. She must have hoped that her burden of responsibility would be relieved. Instead, Jennison’s actions infringed on the rights of her children and of Quock.

Now it is 1774. According to testimony given during the Quock Walker trials, Isabel agreed to uphold her husband’s promise to free Quock. In fact, she vowed to free him sooner, when he turned 21 years of age. That was August 1774. But Isabel did not live long enough to free Quock. It is highly unusual that a wealthy and prominent widow died without any record of her death or burial. However, Isabel simply vanished. No one at the ensuing Quock Walker trials could remember just when or how she died but they thought it was late 1773.

Nathaniel Jennison remarried in August 1774, the month when Quock turned 21. The failure of Jennison to report Isabel’s death to the Probate Court meant that her Dower did not pass to her children, as required by law. Nathaniel Jennison claimed that he inherited Quock through his marriage to Isabel, a claim that would have been disproven if it had gone through Probate Court.

To further complicate the situation, in August 1774, two protectors of the Caldwell family fled Massachusetts due to their Loyalist sympathies. Col. John Murray of Rutland was guardian of the children’s interests, and when he ran from the angry mob one August night, the children lost their protector. Another Loyalist who fled was John Chandler, Probate Court Judge, a friend of the Caldwell family and another who should have protected the Caldwell children and their property. Had the children received their property in 1774, it is possible that they would have honored the promises of their mother and their father to free Quock when he was 21 (in 1774) or 25 (in 1778). They did not wrest their rightful property from Jennison’s grasp until the 1790s.

Let’s move forward to April 1781. Quock complained to John Caldwell, brother of his late enslaver James Caldwell, that he was now 28 years old and he should be free. John Caldwell told him that in fact the new state Constitution made him a free man, and he invited Quock to work for him for wages. Quock accepted that invitation.

Jennison noticed that Quock was missing and knew he would find him at John Caldwell’s. With several other men, Jennison captured Quock, pinned him down, beat him, and threw him in a shed for several hours until John Caldwell rescued him. With John Caldwell’s assistance, Quock filed a complaint against Jennison for assault on April 30, 1781. For the first time, Quock used a surname—Walker—and claimed that he was a free man. He was represented by Levi Lincoln Sr., a prominent Worcester lawyer, who argued that the 1780 state Constitution made Quock a free man. The jury found Jennison guilty and awarded Quock Walker £50 in damages. Jennison appealed but lost.

Jennison sued John Caldwell and his son Seth, claiming they knew that Quock was his property and seduced him away. Jennison won that suit and was awarded £25 in damages, but the Caldwells appealed that decision and won.

Quock Walker’s claim against Jennison triggered an indictment by the Commonwealth for assault on and false imprisonment of Quock Walker. This was the opportunity for Massachusetts Attorney General Robert Treat Paine to assert that Nathaniel Jennison had assaulted and imprisoned a free man, despite Jennison’s protestations that he owned Quock by his marriage to James Caldwell’s widow Isabel. The jury did not buy Jennison’s defense and found him guilty of the charges. And as described at the beginning of this story, it provided Chief Justice Cushing the opportunity to render his opinion that slavery was not compatible with the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution.

Quock Walker successfully completed his quest for personal freedom, and in doing so, he helped raise other enslaved people in the Commonwealth to free status. 

Lucy Allen is a historian and a member of the Barre Historical Society. She offers talks on historical people, places and events throughout the year at various locations. Her most recent event was the June 17 guided hike to the Prince Walker (Quock’s brother) burial ground and homesite. 

Find out more at the Society’s website barremahistoricalsociety.org or its Facebook page.