82:, he suggested that she be left in prison for 15 to 20 days to change her mind: "Little minds cannot bear attentions & to Persons of that Class they should rather be granted than offered." To his biographer Walter Stahr, this reaction indicates that "however much disliked slavery in the abstract, he could not understand why one of
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While Sarah's letters initially praised "Abbe"'s "attention & proofs of fidelity" and her "usefulness", she was isolated in Paris, with few friends or opportunities to make any, and separated from her loved ones in
America. In the summer of 1783, she suffered from toothache and rheumatism. By
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The Jay household enslaved
Abigail since at least 1776; she was one of at least 17 people Jay enslaved. In 1779, she was the only enslaved person Jay and his family took on their trip to Paris. When Jay left for London in 1783, his family and Abigail remained in Paris. His wife
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to
Abigail: Sarah Jay to John Jay, 6 November 1783, 2 JPM 635–36; John Jay to William Temple Franklin, 11 November 1783, 2 JPM 639; Sarah Jay to John Jay, 18 November 1783, 2 JPM 643; John Jay to Sarah Jay, 23 November 1783, 2 JPM 647;
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to the jail, probably to cover her meals. Still sick, she was cared for by Sarah Jay, but died about two weeks after her release from prison. No grave, records, or signs of her life remain.
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to John Jay, 7 December 1783, 2 JPM 658–59; John Jay to Sarah Jay, 26 December 1783, 2 JPM 669–70. "2 JPM" refers to the book these letters are published in: Richard B. Morris, ed.,
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then, it appears that she felt unsettled; Sarah suggested that an "English washerwoman" might have enticed
Abigail with the promise of wages in exchange for her work.
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her upon our return to
America, provided she behaved properly in the meantime." He wished for her to be "punished, though not vigorously". On the advice of
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Jay reacted with pique to
Abigail's escape attempt, writing that he could not "conceive a motive" for it, given that, he wrote, he "had promised to
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regularly wrote to him about the household's affairs, and it is from this correspondence that almost all that is known about
Abigail is drawn.
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In
October 1783, Abigail left Jay's home, intending not to return. At Sarah Jay's request, the
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Stahr cites the following primary sources for the correspondence pertaining,
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While imprisoned, Abigail fell ill and asked to be allowed back to the Jays.
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searched for
Abigail and found her in the English washerwoman's company. By
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John Jay: The
Winning of the Peace. Unpublished Papers, 1780–1784,
139:"Enslaved to a Founding Father, She Sought Freedom in France"
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67:, the women's wing of the city jail, the
30:woman enslaved by the American statesman
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253:18th-century African-American people
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197:Stahr, Walter (2012). "Chapter 8".
93:arranged her release by paying 60
38:to secure America's independence.
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203:. New York: Diversion Books.
22:(died December 1783), called
248:18th-century American slaves
238:18th-century American women
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16:Slave of John Jay, d. 1783
200:John Jay: Founding Father
86:slaves would run away."
182:Harper & Row, 1980.
63:, she was detained in
143:The New York Times
210:978-1-938120-51-0
80:Benjamin Franklin
69:Hôtel de la Force
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36:Treaty of Paris
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171:inter alia,
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103:References
219:828922149
151:0362-4331
32:John Jay
76:manumit
26:was an
20:Abigail
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96:livres
44:Sarah
24:Abby,
215:OCLC
205:ISBN
147:ISSN
84:his
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