John Palmer’s (~1724-1750) 1750 probate estate inventory contains an entry for “Negro Boy Prince,” valued at 46-13-4. When Palmer died, his estate was insolvent. In order to liquidate property to pay his creditors, the estate’s administrators, Jacob Fowle and Palmer’s widow, Susannah, placed an advertisement in a Boston newspaper to sell two of Palmer’s enslaved individuals: “to be sold…a likely Negro Man, about 25 years old, and a fine Negro Boy, about 14” [The Boston Gazette, October 30, 1750]. Though not identified by name, we can match the descriptions with Palmer’s inventory to conclude the “Negro Boy” was Prince. The “Man” refers to Tom, identified as a “Negro Man” in Palmer’s inventory. In April 1816, the Salem Vital Records and Essex Register newspaper announced the marriage of Prince Palmer and Mary Ann Black in Salem. It is possible this is the same man as Palmer’s young enslaved male or a relative.

Bibliography:

Essex Register (Salem), April 24, 1816.

John Palmer, Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881 Volume: Essex Cases 20000-21999, Page(s): 20435:19, Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) https://app.americanancestors.org/DB515/i/13789/20435-co19/30384519. 20435.

Salem, Early Vital Records of Massachusetts: From 1600 to 1850, https://ma-vitalrecords.org/.

Boston Gazette, November 13, 1750

Boston Gazette, October 30, 1750 2

Columbian Centinel, May 4, 1816

Essex Register, April 24 1816

John Palmer probate inventory

Salem Vital Records Marriages Prince Palmer marries Mary Ann Black