Reading Public Library (1B) - 1754 Slave Census

Our first document is Reading’s 1754 reply to Massachusetts Governor William Shirley’s request for a count of the number of slaves in the colony above sixteen years of age. This document has been digitized and can be found online.

Before we read, I wanted to point out that you will hear use of the term negro. This is terminology that is outdated and no longer used to describe Black persons. We will hear it read now to keep the authenticity of the document.

Reading [December] 2, 1754

In obedience to the within written order.

We the subscribers have taken the

Number of Negro Slaves within the town &

they are as follows. (viz) fourteen males

& six females.

      Brown Emerson

      John Swain

      John Temple \

      David Green

      Thomas [Hinten]

} Assessors for [town] of Reading

As you can see, the assessors’ arithmetic was jotted in the margins like a math equation, noting that Reading’s fourteen males and six females added up to twenty enslaved persons.

Notice the signatures at the bottom of the document. Five white male residents of the town signed their names to this response to the governor’s request. As a census record, this tally of enslaved persons was an official public document. This information about Reading’s enslaved population was not hidden.