by Joseph Lee Boyle (Author)
Runaway servants were not an uncommon phenomenon in the 18th century. From the genealogist's standpoint, this presents a methodological problem, since it was in the runaway's best interest to conceal his/her identity after making a successful getaway. Even if the runaway kept the same name, it is quite likely that the link to his original residence in America and to his country of origin was lost--unless his/her identity was uncovered in the thousands of, often very detailed, runaway ads placed in colonial newspapers by the disgruntled "owners." And this is precisely where this book about New Jersey runaways comes in. Since New Jersey had no newspapers at this time, Mr. Boyle assembled this list of New Jersey runaways for the period 1720-1766 from advertisements in no fewer than thirty papers published from New England south through Maryland. For this compilation the author has listed only white male and female runaways; however, for those ads where white and black runaways are listed together, blacks are so identified in the index at the back of the volume.