Esther travels with Seelah in the Book of Negroes. Neither woman has a last name listed - so they have been given the name of their former owner - Miles or Mills Wilkinson. They both ran at the same time - three years ago. In reality this was probably 1779 not 1780 as there was no real opportunity of defection to the British lines in 1780. They also claim to hail from Norfolk but Mills Wilkinson was more associated with Nansemond than Norfolk - though he had wide connections. Both women do not appear in any other lists or musters and it is unclear what happened to them. Esther is probably the grandmother or mother of Seelah.
John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1732 – 25 February 1809), was the colonial governor of Virginia at the outbreak of the American Revolution.
At the end of spring 1781, General Cornwallis and his army entered Virginia.
In November 1782 a provisional peace treaty was hammered out between the British and the Americans in Paris.
In April 1783 the first evacuation fleet left for Nova Scotia. A week later the British Commander, Sir Guy Carleton, sailed up the Hudson River to Orangetown for a conference with General Washington to discuss the evacuation. As the victorious commander, Washington opened the meeting by reiterating the resolution of Congress regarding “the delivery of all Negroes and other property.”
Vessel Names and their Commanders | Where Bound | Names | Age | Description | Names of the Person in whose Possession they now are | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clinton Master: Lt. Trounce |
Annapolis | Esther [Wilkinson] | 60 | Stout Wench | Formerly Slave to Mills Wilkinson, Nansemond. Left 3 years ago. |