"Wives, Slaves, and Servant Girls: Advertisements for Female Runaways in American Newspapers, 1770–1783" - Signed by the Author, Don N. Hagist

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Paperback (192 pages), brand new and signed by the author, Don N, Hagist. Published by Westholme Publishing in 2016.

A Remarkable Window into the Lives of Overlooked Women in Colonial America

In a time when people could be treated as possessions, the loss of a person—whether enslaved, indentured, or even a wife—often led to public searches much like those for missing property. Enslaved individuals and indentured servants who escaped were frequently pursued by their owners, who placed ads in newspapers offering rewards for their capture. Some women fled abusive marriages, while others left for reasons unknown. During the 18th and 19th centuries, American newspapers published countless notices about runaways, each providing brief but vivid descriptions of the individuals involved and the context of their departure. While it’s hard to assess how successful these ads were in recovering the people they sought, their prevalence shows how much they were relied on. What those posting the ads couldn’t have foreseen was the historical value their words would one day hold. These announcements serve as rare records of everyday people—many of whom would otherwise have been lost to history.

In Wives, Slaves, and Servant Girls: Advertisements for Female Runaways in American Newspapers, 1770–1783, historian Don N. Hagist focuses on a specific Revolutionary-era period to reveal the lives of women who rarely appear in traditional records. The book gathers 400 advertisements in chronological order, each offering an intimate glimpse into the lives of women from many walks of life. These notices include details about their clothing, appearances, origins, skills, and occupations—fragments that, together, offer a unique portrait of a large and often forgotten portion of the colonial population.

About the author: Don N. Hagist is editor of the Journal of the American Revolution and author of a number of books and articles, including Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution and British Soldiers, American War. He lives in Rhode Island.