Page 63 - Foy

look forward to one day being a freeman. A slave had no such hope except in

extremely rare instances.

We are going to find that the some of the FOYs owned many slaves, but not while
they lived in Baltimore County. We will also find, in at least one case, a FOY freed
some of his slaves.

A servant (as opposed to a slave) could be anyone; a college graduate, a professor,
a prisoner of war, a convict, a kidnaped person. Servants were anyone who wished
to better himself or wished adventure but who could not afford the cost of passage to
the new world. In such cases that person’s passage was paid for or assisted in return
for a certain number of years of labor. Usually four or five years was required for an
adult; more for a minor. This arrangement was called an indenture or contract.

Servants learned farming as they worked for their master. They were fed, clothed and
housed. In the end they were freemen and were entitled by law to fifty acres of land,
a complete suit of clothes, an axe, two hoes, and three barrels of corn.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE COLONIAL PERIOD

Despite the county’s frontier nature local government was relatively complex
showing strong English influence. A court system was established. Members of the
court were variously known as commissioners, justices, and justices of the peace.
These court members were appointed by the governor and held their position at his
pleasure.

Crime was a serious matter in colonial days. Punishment for many crimes would be
considered harsh by today’s standards. Stealing hogs could result in the guilty party
being branded with the letter “H”. Having an illegitimate child cost Ann Hanny
forty-five lashes on her bare back. More than one man had a hole bored through his
tongue for swearing against the King. A shoplifter could be twice stood in the pillory
and twice whipped.

The courts regulated many of the trades ( or businesses) in their areas. For example,
of later interest to the FOYs, there were regulations for owning and running an “Inn”.
Inns were allowed to open through the granting of an “ordinary license” by the court.

Ch. 5 Pg. 7