Most of what we know about Cato Prince comes from his 1818 Revolutionary War pension application and the 19th century Marblehead Historian, Samuel Roads, Jr. According to these sources, Capt. John Prince purchased the African-born Cato in about 1768. At that time, Cato would have been approximately 12 years of age. According to Roads, John Prince enslaved Cato until 1781. Cato Prince recalled enlisting in the Continental army in December 1780 or very early 1781. He served in Captain Smith’s Company of Colonel Jackson’s Regiment until his honorable discharge at the end of the war in 1783, but not before witnessing Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown. Though he had lost his discharge papers, John Prince, Jacob Angle, and Nathaniel Stacey all vouched for Cato Prince’s service in the army’s 8th Regiment. Jacob Angle testified that he “lived in Marblehead the same place as him [Cato] for a number of years previous to going into the army.”
After the war, Cato Prince married Durander Fowle in Marblehead on September 19, 1784. He appears in the 1800 census living in a household of 5 free People of Color. There is no evidence of Drurander’s death, but Prince may have married Sally Black of Salem on May 6, 1805 in Salem [it is possible this is a different Cato Prince]. In the 1810 and 1820 censuses, Cato Prince is listed as living by himself.
When Prince requested his pension in 1818, he was an older man [both the ages 62 and 70 are mentioned]. The application repeatedly states that “has no family; is infirm and unable to do any kind of work” and “is supported by charity.” Cato Prince’s pension application was approved. The Pension Roll of 1835 records a Cato Prince in Essex County, Massachusetts, who received an annual allowance of $96 until his death on April 24, 1826. No corroborating evidence for this death date has yet been found.
Bibiliography:
1800 United States Census for Marblehead.
1810 United States Census for Marblehead.
1820 United States Census for Marblehead.
Cato Prince. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 15, Roll 1978. Record S. 33,514.
"History and Traditions of Marblehead," Marblehead Messenger, September 16, 1932, pages 281-282, 237-239. https://archive.org/details/historytradition00road_0/page/n5/mode/2up
Jacob Angel, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 15, Roll 1978. Record S. 32,653.
J.S. Robinson, "The Story of Marblehead," Marblehead Messenger, April 12, 1929.
Marblehead, Early Vital Records of Massachusetts: From 1600 to 1850, https://ma-vitalrecords.org/.
Marblehead Vital Records Marriage
1820 Census
1810 Census
1800 Census
Page 10 of Marblehead Messenger, April 12th, 1929
Page 4 of Marblehead Messenger, September 16th, 1932
Pension file
Jacob Angel Pension file in which Cato Prince testifies
Revolutionary War Record
Pension and Death April 24, 1826