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Summary: All “rational Creatures” should be “in a State of Freedom…from every kind of Bondage, Servitude, or dependance.” Written during the Gaspee affair. Two years later, seeking to eliminate the institution of slavery in Rhode Island, he introduced a bill banning the importation of slaves into the state. Stephen Hopkins, Rhode Island Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Autograph Document Signed (twice in text and once at bottom with wax seal), Providence, October 28, 1772, manumitting Saint Jago Hopkins. Also signed by William Barker as witness. 1 p. Inventory# 21073 On Hold
Transcript: (Text of the document is in quotation; text in hand of Hopkins is italicized) “Know all men by these presents that, I Stephen Hopkins of Providence in the County of Providence Esquire, taking into Consideration the State and Circumstances of a certain Negro Man Named Saint Jago, who hath lived with me in the Quality of a Servant, or Slave, from his infancy till now; that he is about Thirty Three years old. And calling to mind that, he has always been a very Honest and faithful servant, and that he is duly qualified to provide for, and take care of himself, in a State of Freedom. But, principally, and most of all finding, that the merciful and beneficent goodness of Almighty God; by the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord: hath by the blessed Spirit taught all, who honestly obey its Divine Dictates, that, the keeping any of his rational Creatures in Bondage, who are capable of taking care of, and providing for themselves in a State of Freedom: is, altogather inconsistent with his Holy and Righteous Will. For these reasons; the last of which is only prevalent, I the said Stephen Hopkins do, Manumit, set Free, and discharge, the said Saint Jago: and by these presents do, freely, fully, and absolutely, for my self, my Heirs, Executors, Administrators, and assigns, manumit, set free, and discharge, him the said Saint Jago: from every kind of Bondage, Servitude, or dependance what-soever. In Witness whereof, I have unto set my Hand and Seal, the 28. th Day of the Tenth Month called October Anno Dom 1772. Signed Sealed and duly executed in presence of W m Barker Step Hopkins [seal]” Historical Background: July 1772 did much to launch Rhode Island into the mounting conflict between the colonies and Great Britain. It was at this time that a group of Rhode Islanders, including many influential merchants angered by Britain’s infringements on their trade, burnt HMS Gaspee. Hopkins, at the time Chief Justice of the colony, was at the head of the dispute, and managed to stymie British officials in their pursuit of the arsons – his refusal to comply with British demands resulted in none of the 40 or so men ever being tried. It was against this momentous backdrop, when thoughts of independence were pervasive, that Stephen Hopkins penned this document of emancipation. Two years later, in 1774, he successfully spearheaded and brought forward a bill in the RI General Assembly which prohibited the importation of slaves into the colony. A decade later, in February 1784, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed “An Act Authorizing the Manumission of Negroes, Mulattoes, and Others, and for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery.” It stipulated that no persons born in Rhode Island on or after March 1, 1784 were to “servants for life, or slaves.” “There are no records of manumissions in the Providence Town Council records in the years leading up to 1784,… [U]ntil the passage of the act…the council had no role in manumissions. It is clear from the stories told by African Americans examined by the town council to determine the place of their legal settlement that before 1784 many slaves were simply told by their masters that they were free or given a piece of paper declaring their emancipation.” (Roots) Thus, it is believed that this was Saint Jago Hopkins’s own copy of his freedom papers and descended in his family. Although it is commonly held that Hopkins freed all of his slaves in 1773, this document shows that at least one was in 1772, and it is known that two, Primus and Bonner, Jr. were freed as late as 1788 by Hopkins’ will. (Roots) “Combined with the law of 1774 [propounded by Hopkins] that prevented the importation of slaves into the Colony, the 1784 act assured that slavery [in Rhode Island] would eventually die of attrition.” Saint Hopkins (also written as “St. Jago” and “Sant”) (c.1739-1812). Saint was most likely born in Rhode Island, as the manumission reads: “[he] hath lived with me in the Quality of a … Slave, from his infancy…” In 1762, during the French and Indian War, still owned by Stephen Hopkins, he is listed as serving on the privateer Blackbird. In 1778 he is recorded as having married Rose King. The 1790 census shows him still in Providence, with a household of 6 freepersons [for whites the census categorizes by age and gender; for “Negroes” it is not specific]. In 1812, his son Samuel, settling his deceased father’s estate, printed a notice in the Providence Gazette, to any debtors or creditors. The notice simply describes Saint as a “black Man” “late of the Town of Providence.” His will mentions [second] wife Abigail, sons Samuel and Amos, and daughters Rosannah, Elizabeth, and Sally. It is quite possible that some of his descendants still live in the south-eastern New England area. Stephen Hopkins (1707-1785), signer of the Declaration of Independence. Born in Scituate, RI, he was brought up as a farmer there, with little formal education. Hopkins entered into politics while in his twenties, serving in the General Assembly, and in 1739 – about when Saint Jago was born into slavery – he became Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1742 he moved permanently to Providence and setup business as a merchant and ship builder. He continued to serve in politics and was a delegate from Rhode Island to the convention that met at Albany in 1754 for the purposes of concerting a plan of military and political union of the colonies and arranging an alliance with the Indians, in view of the impending war with France. He was one of the committee that drafted a plan of colonial union, which was accepted by the convention, but objected to in the various colonies and in Great Britain. In 1762, Hopkins helped found the Providence Gazette newspaper. He acted as first chancellor of Rhode Island College (later Brown University), founded in 1764 at Warren, and 6 years later he and the Brown brothers were instrumental in relocating it to Providence, where he served as chancellor until 1785. In 1756, he was elected governor of the colony, and held that office, with the exception of one year, until 1764. During this time, he had a controversy with William Pitt, Prime Minister of England, in relation to the illegal molasses trade with the French colonies. He was one of the earliest and most strenuous champions of colonial rights against the encroachments of the English parliament. In 1765 he wrote a pamphlet entitled The Grievances of the American Colonies Candidly Examined, which criticized parliamentary taxation and recommended colonial home rule. In the 1770s, he served in the General Assembly, on the Committee of Correspondence, and as RI Chief Justice, in which position he successfully stymied British officials in their pursuit of the burners of the Gaspee. In 1774, he successfully brought forward a bill in the assembly which prohibited the importation of slaves into the colony. In the 1770s, Hopkins served a number of terms in the Continental Congress, during which time he signed the Declaration of Independence for Rhode Island, and actively participated on a number of committees, notably the Naval Committee, and that which prepared the Articles of Confederation. There is little doubt that his Quaker faith, as he describes in this document, was the main driving force behind his emancipating his slaves, as well as his act ending the importation of slaves into the state. Although a Quaker, he is known to have professed such secular religious views, as to be called an ‘infidel’ by his political enemies. William Barker (1731-1798). Like Hopkins, Barker was a Providence Quaker. Both were married at the Smithfield Quaker Meeting in the 1750s. Barker was for many years a Providence chairmaker and wood turner. Five of his account books survive at the Rhode Island Historical Society, and show many entries for work he did for Hopkins. Rarity: There are no known comparable sale records for documents from Signers of the Declaration of Independence emancipating their slaves. This piece is also notable for having been signed thrice by Hopkins – 2 of which are his rare full signature – and sealed. Archival treatment by J. Franklin Mowery of the Folger Library.
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