Lafayette Moore, one of my 2nd great-grandfathers married Willamina Rossiter, my 2nd great-grandmother, on 27 Oct 1867 in Noble, OH. The tale of the Rossiter ancestors and their relationship to slavery is another one that I want to tell. The Rossiter family was from Pennsylvania. Specifically, they were from Philadelphia and then Chester, PA. According to the Northeast Slavery Records Index, none of them owned slaves at the time of the 1780 Gradual Abolition Act survey. It is possible they owned slaves before that time. Only one story related to slave ownership along this ancestral line survives and it is a story of a reluctant slave owner who thoughtfully freed his slave.
Willimina's great grandfather, Samuel Charlestown Rossiter, married Mary Stephens on 7 March 1780. Mary's father, Abijah Stephens, owned a slave named Phineas. Abijah was an active Quaker in the community of Valley Forge, PA.
Quakers at the start of the American Revolution took actions to end slavery among their numbers. On July 28, 1776, Abijah Stephens, signed the manumission of Phineas to be effective when he reached the age of twenty-one. While free, Phineas continued to reside and probably work with or for Abijah for a time. Abijah's grandson, Henry Woodman, recounts in his The History of Valley Forge,
"Neither can I close this account without introducing to the notice of my readers, one, who at the time of the visit of the Hessians, rendered himself of some notoriety. I allude to a black man, a slave of my grandfather, named Phineas, generally called "Phin," for be it known that at the time slavery existed in Pennsylvania, and Friends, of whom my grandfather was one, as well as others, held them in unconditional servitude. Phin, seeing the Hessians coming, ran into the house, took down a long gun, which is still in possession of some of the family, and hastily seizing some of the ammunition, ran some distance to a sinking hole or cave, where he hid himself for several days, coming home at night for food; and, as he said, determined to defend himself from the enemy. The place of his retreat was afterwards called by my father, "Phin's Fort," a name it still retains and may possibly for some years to come."
Mr. Woodman did not have the details of when Phineas was freed, but even his story reveals that Phineas was either free or he had considerable liberty for a slave.
We don't know the circumstances of how or when Abijah obtained Phineas as his slave. Did he inherit or purchase him? Given Abijah's religious convictions and his and his wife, Pricilla's behaviors during the encampment of the Colonial army at Valley Forge we conclude that he and his wife were full of compassion for their fellowman. Abijah and Pricilla had a large tract of farmland, and they had only daughters until their only son, Stephen, was born in 1765. Phineas was 10 years older than Stephen.
The records don't tell us what happened to Phineas. He remained nearby the Stephens until 1783 when he was recorded as being taxed in Upper Merion. After that he disappears. Consequently, no relationships can be further traced to see if there remained a continuing bond with the Stephens family.
Questions: Did Abijah simply envisioned Phineas as someone who could help him accomplish his labors? Did he obtain him as a young boy and then he and Pricilla began to see him as a child of their own? Was freeing Phineas purely obedience to the pressures of his Quaker community? Did Abijah inspire and lead the movement within his fellowship?
Conclusion: This is a story of a family who had a change in conviction over time. They participated in slavery and along the way they recognized the wrongness of it. They did something about their moral convictions. It is also a story some of us would like to romanticize and then claim it was some sort of benevolent enslavement. Is it possible that Abijah and Pricilla always behaved in a benevolent manner toward Phineas? Sure. But they would tell you the very nature of the institution was never benevolent.
Note: Willimina's maternal side consisted of Bennetts and Slushers. Insufficient records have been found on them to establish any slave ownership connections. The Bennetts were from Harford, MD, but little is known about their ancestry. While from Maryland, they were in Ohio by at least 1840. The Slushers (or Schlossers) moved from Lancaster, PA to Frederick, VA, and then to Washington, PA during the later part of the 18th century.
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