Matthew Ashby was born in

York County, Virginia York County (formerly Charles River County) is a List of cities and counties in Virginia#List of counties, county in the eastern part of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, located in the Tidewater (region), Tidewater. As o ...

, in about 1727. He is a notable and rare example of the successful escape from

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and indentured servitude. The son of an enslaved Black person and a white indentured servant, he was born free under Virginia law, which at the time gave children the legal status of their mothers. Ashby worked around the

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

area as a

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and

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

. He was also known to deliver messages for the state, working for Governor Botetourt. Although he was indentured by law until the age of 31, he managed to acquire many things well out of the realm of the average enslaved person or servant, including a

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

watch, candle-making supplies, tea boards, and books. Matthew married Ann, a woman enslaved by the

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsperson and tradesperson who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of maso ...

, Samuel Spurr. They had two children, John and Mary, who attended the Bray school affiliated with the College of William and Mary. Ms. Anne Wager taught the children the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...

as well as other subjects. Matthew used his free status to buy his children and wife from Spurr at the cost of £150. Despite owning his children and wife, Ashby still had to petition the government for their freedom. Standing before the council, Ashby proclaimed that his wife had been faithful and diligent in all her wifely duties and that his children deserved their freedom. The council deliberated and found that they agreed with his proposal, and his family was granted their freedom in 1769. Two years later, Ashby died of a

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

, leaving his family alone; however, he had successfully freed them from slavery and amassed a sizable estate with monetary value well above the average indentured servant or enslaved person.

References

* Alkalimat, Abdul (2004). ''The African American Experience in Cyberspace''. Pluto Press. .
Matthew Ashby biographyRepresentation
at

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashby, Matthew 1720s births 1771 deaths American indentured servants People from York County, Virginia 18th-century American slaves People from colonial Virginia