| 8. | Peter Crabb was born in 1787 in Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA (son of Father Unknown Crabb and Mother Enslaved Crabb). Other Events:
- Residence: 1850, Lykens, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA
- Residence: 1860, Gratz, Dauphin, Pennsylvania, USA; Race: Mulatto Birth Place: Pennsylvania Home in 1860: Gratz, Dauphin, Pennsylvania Post Office: Gratz Dwelling Number: 768 Family Number: 804 Occupation: Blacksmith Personal Estate Value: 100
Notes:
Peter Crabb (1787-1860). Notes and sources.
(1)
Name:Peter Crabb
[Peter Crall] Home in 1830 (City, County, State):Gratztown, Dauphin, PennsylvaniaFree White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19:1Free Colored Persons - Males - Under 10:2Free Colored Persons - Males - 10 thru 23:1Free Colored Persons - Males - 36 thru 54:1Free Colored Persons - Females - Under 10:1Free Colored Persons - Females - 24 thru 35:1Free White Persons - Under 20:1Total Free White Persons:1Total Free Colored Persons:6Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):7
Source: Census of 1830. Ancestry.com.
(2)
If Peter Crabb were born to an enslaved woman in Pennsylvania in 1787, he would have been manumitted (freed) by an 1780 Pennsylvania law which is described in a Wikipedia article:
An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, passed by the Pennsylvania legislature on 1 March 1780, was one of the first attempts by a government in the Western Hemisphere to begin an abolition of slavery.
The Act prohibited further importation of slaves into the state, required Pennsylvania slaveholders to annually register their slaves (with forfeiture for noncompliance, and manumission for the enslaved), and established that all children born in Pennsylvania were free persons regardless of the condition or race of their parents.
Those enslaved in Pennsylvania before the 1780 law went into effect remained enslaved for life. Another act of the Pennsylvania legislature freed them in 1847.
Pennsylvania's "gradual abolition"; rather than Massachusetts's 1783 "instant abolition"; became a model for freeing slaves in other Northern states.
The 1780 Act prohibited further importation of slaves into Pennsylvania, but it also respected the property rights of PA slaveholders by not freeing slaves already held in the state. It changed the legal status of future children born to enslaved PA mothers from "slave" to "indentured servant," but required those children to work for the mother's master until age 28. To verify that no additional slaves were imported, the Act created a registry of all slaves in the state. Slaveholders who failed to register their slaves annually, or who did it improperly, lost their slaves to manumission....
An Amendment, created to explain and to close loopholes in the 1780 Act, was passed in the Pennsylvania legislature on 29 March 1788. The Amendment prohibited a PA slaveholder from transporting a pregnant enslaved woman out-of-state so her child would be born enslaved; and from separating husbands from wives, and children from parents. It required a PA slaveholder to register within six months the birth of a child to an enslaved mother. It prohibited all Pennsylvanians from participating in, building or equipping ships for, or providing material support to the Slave Trade.[3]
The 1780 Act had allowed a non-resident slaveholder visiting Pennsylvania to hold slaves in the state for up to six months. But a loophole was soon identified and exploited: if the non-resident slaveholder took his slaves out of Pennsylvania before the 6-month deadline, it would void his slaves' residency. The 1788 Amendment prohibited this rotation of slaves in and out-of-state to subvert PA law.
According to the above law of 1780, Peter Crabb, who was born in 1787, was an indentured servant (not a slave) until he reached the age of 28, or about 1815. The 1788 Amendment, required a PA slaveholder to register the birth of a child to an enslaved mother within 6 months of that birth. However, if Peter Crabb was born in 1787, one year before the Amerndment, he probably would not appear on any registry.
Peter Crabb first appears by name in the Census of 1830 for Gratz. The breakdown of white and "colored" is given in #1 above. He has not yet been located in a Census for 1820.
In A Comprehensive History of the Town of Gratz Pennsylvania, page 340, it is stated: "On 7 April 1824, Joshua Osman sold the same lot to Peter Crabb and his wife Mary Magdalena." This is the first known record that documents the appearance of Peter Crabb in Gratz. It is clear from the Census of 1830 and subsequent censuses that Peter Crabb was "colored" or "black" and that he was a free person.
Source: Research of Norman Gasbarro. Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Act_for_the_Gradual_Abolition_of_Slavery
(3)
A 1790 census for Northumberland Co. shows a "Peter Grabb," with one white male over 16 and 2 white females living in his household. There is nothing noted in the column for "Free Negroes" or the column for "Slaves."
The Peter Crabb who was born about 1787 could not have been the same as the one living in Northumberland Co. in 1790, because of age and race.
Source: Year: 1790; Census Place: Northumberland, Pennsylvania; Series: M637; Roll: 9; Page: 68; Image: 292; Family History Library Film: 0568149.
(4)
Note that in the census below, Peter Crabb would be considered as part of the "Number of All Other Free Person" (Total of 2) and his mother would have been counted in the "Number of Slaves" (Total of 3). See Gradual Manumission Law of 1880 (above, #2).
Name:William CrabbHome in 1790 (City, County, State):Harrisburgh, Dauphin, PennsylvaniaFree White Persons - Males - Under 16:3Free White Persons - Males - 16 and over:3Free White Persons - Females:3Number of All Other Free Persons:2Number of Slaves :3Number of Household Members:14
Source: Census of 1890 for Harrisburg, Dauphin Co., Pennsylvania.
Comments
Rachael Williams: "Is it possible that 'Peter Grabb' in the 1790 census, was the father of Peter Crabb, who was born in 1787 to an Enslaved mother, who most likely belonged to his relative William?"
Peter married Mary Crabb. Mary was born in 1806 in Pennsylvania, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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