Prince

Bio

In 1741, Dr. Thomas Wells hired out Prince to clear land for Joseph Barnard. Two years later, Dr. Wells sold "his Negro fellow" to Barnard for £160. In 1745, Barnard paid Wells's widow Sarah for "princes Bcos [bedclothes], Bedsted and Cord and a Blankit."

Barnard earned money by hiring Prince out to work for others. In 1744, Barnard bought him a coat, breeches, and other items. He also paid for Dr. Thomas Williams to treat Prince after a fall he took in the spring of 1749. Prince was a musician, as evidenced by a 1743 entry in Elijah Williams's daybook noting that he paid cash for a violin. When he escaped the fall of 1749, he took the violin with him, among other things. Joseph Barnard placed a notice in the Boston Post-Boy offering a reward for Prince's capture but by July of 1750, he was once again in Deerfield under Barnard's control. Two years later, Barnard paid carpenter James Crouch for making Prince's coffin.