Located among the odds and ends of Accomack County court records is this 1758 advertisement from Landon Carter of Richmond County for his runaway slave Will.  Landon Carter was one of the sons of Robert “King” Carter of Lancaster County and a rich man himself.  The advertisement is typical of runaway ads in that it seeks to provide as much information as possible about Will in order to facilitate his recapture:  looks, personality, friends and family, residence(s), and conjecture as to possible destination.  The ads are always interesting for what questions they provoke:  What was this “ill-Behaviour” that caused Will to be moved five counties north from Williamsburg to Richmond County?  What characteristics did he possess that would cause his owner to call him “sensible for a slave” (presumably a compliment)?  Were Will and Sarah particularly close, so much so that after his escape he risked fetching her so that she, too, could be free of slavery and the Carters?  Did Will, Sarah and Peter make good their getaway?

 (Citation: Accomack County, Free Negro & Slave Records Box 1, Barcode 1138011.)

 -Sarah Nerney, Senior Local Records Archivist