Sheldon, John Jr.

title
first name
John
last name
Sheldon
gender
male
birth, death year
1710, 1793
role
enslaver
race
white
location(s)
Deerfield, MA  

Bio

John Sheldon (1710-1793) lived in Deerfield, Massachusetts in the house and on the land handed down to him by his father, John Sheldon, Jr. (1681-1713). He owned a lot of land and was active in town affairs.

Zadock Hawks (1731-1821) was a shoemaker in Deerfield, Massachusetts. There are several entries in his account book over a six-year period between 1777 and 1783 charging John Sheldon (1710-1793) of Deerfield for making and mending shoes for "Chloe". Sheldon had no daughter or grandchildren by that name. Chloe may have been a servant in the Sheldon household, or possibly an enslaved African American although additional documentation is currently lacking that might shed light on Chloe's identity or status. A series of Massachusetts court rulings in the early 1780s determined that slavery was unconstitutional under the new state constitution ratified in 1780, which would have affected Chloe's status by the date of the last entry in Zadock Hawks's account book in 1783.

Enslaved persons:

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