The Society for Negroes Unsettled
The Society for Negroes Unsettled
In 1810, a group of New Paltz enslavers joined together to form the "Society of Negroes Unsettled". This group of twelve men appointed four among them to search for enslaved Africans that had run away from the group. They were to be paid $14 a day for travel within sixty miles from home and $16 a day for travel further than sixty miles from home. It was also agreed that every enslaver would reward the capture a sum of $30 when the slave was delivered to his or her enslaver or brought to the Ulster County Goal (jail). Each subscriber was also asked for an advance of $5.00 to be paid to the bounty hunters about to embark on this manhunt.