Onesimus

Onesimus

Hinsdale, NH

Two enslaved persons of color resided in the household of Lydia (Williams) Jones of Hinsdale, New Hampshire in 1790.  Jones was the widow of Hon. Daniel Jones (d.1786, Hinsdale, NH) and the daughter of Major Elijah Williams (d.1771, Deerfield, MA).  The two individuals of color may have moved into New Hampshire from the Deerfield, MA area.

In 1787, when Lydia’s husband Daniel died in Hinsdale, his will indicated that he wanted to free his servant Onesimus for his years of faithful service.  Jones adds that if Onesimus agrees to stay and serve his wife Lydia, Jones would make sure that all of his necessities are paid for and that he would be taken care of in his old age.  It is possible that Onesimus remained in the service of Lydia Jones beyond his freedom, although the 1790 census lists two enslaved individuals, not a free person of color.

Research into the Williams family of Deerfield, MA, provides further information about Onesimus.  Documentation indicates that he may have originally been enslaved to Lydia’s father, Major Elijah Williams, a storekeeper known to have served enslaved and free persons of color.  Maj. Williams was also known to have two enslaved persons in his household in the 1760s, Onesimus and Kedar.  Onesimus was baptized by Rev. Ashley in Deerfield in 1766.  

Major Elijah Williams died in 1771.  It’s possible that either one or both of the enslaved members of the household ended up in Williams’ daughter and son-in-law’s household in Hinsdale, NH.

SOURCE MATERIALS

New Hampshire Early Town Records, Hinsdale, 1773- Familysearch.org

New Hampshire Vital Records, Births, 1760- Ancestry.com

New Hampshire Wills and Probate Records, 1786- Ancestry.com

Romer, Robert H. Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts. Levellers Press, 2009, page 110.