Daniel Arms, Jr. was a farmer, as evidenced by the account book kept by himself and then his son, Aaron. He spent his entire life in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and held the offices of selectman/townsman and town meeting moderator. He enslaved Titus (born 1740, baptized 1762.) Arms purchased Titus from Samuel Smith of Hatfield, Massachusetts, around 1757. Arms frequently hired out Titus to other members of the Arms family and other residents. was caught stealing (along with other enslaved African Americans) for which he was publicly flogged in the early 1760s. This event may be connected with Titus' confession on May 31, 1767 to the Deerfield Church for "the Sin of Stealing, Lying & diobedience to his Master." Arms sold Titus in 1771 to Jonathan Taylor in Charlemont, Massachusetts, for 20 shillings.In the mid 18th-century the common value of an adult enslaved man in this part of Massachusetts was about £100. It is possible that Arms sold Titus to Taylor for such a minimal fee because of the trouble in which he was involved, or because Taylor was Daniel's stepbrother.
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