Nancy

Born: ca. 1782 – Ebenezer, GA
Last record:  ca. 1816 (43 years)
Family Members:  Father (Sam), Mother (Mary), Sister (Peggy)

Nancy was born into bondage in 1782 and owned by the Keiffer Family, one of the original German speaking Salzburger families in Ebenezer, Georgia. Before entering the Davenport home, the death of and debt of Nancy’s owners placed her life in a constant state of uncertainty of whether she would be sold away. She had five different owners before 1812. In 1812, Nancy’s owner, George Rentz sold Nancy to Isaiah Davenport to pay off money he owed. When Nancy arrived at the Davenport’s house at the age of thirty, it was the first time she was forced to live outside of the Salzburger community, and adapt to a vastly different way of life. Her sale to the Davenports also meant separation from her parents, Sam and Mary, her sister Peggy, and in all likelihood, her children. This helps to explain why two months after her sale to Isaiah Davenport, Nancy ran away.

Isaiah posted runaway slave advertisements in Savannah newspapers for at least a year. Nancy’s ability to stay uncaptured for so long indicates her intelligence in being able to avoid her captors for a significant amount of time. Her prolonged escape as well as her practice of impersonating her sister Peggy to hide from authorities points to Nancy’s fearless and bold personality. Nancy’s strength of character was in contrast to her small stature. We know from the runaway advertisements that she was only 4’10.” She also had a large scar on her neck, perhaps from physical punishment or a serious injury while working. It is not known exactly when or how Nancy returned to the Davenport home, but a ship manifest indicates Isaiah sent her to New York City in 1816. There is no record of her return. Having avoided capture for at least a year, it is plausible that the Davenports considered Nancy a major flight risk and that Nancy’s voyage to New York City coincided with her sale to a new owner.

Nancy’s lived experiences illustrate the uncertainties faced by enslaved individuals in their daily lives as a result of the ever-looming prospect of sale to another owner. The death or financial hardship of a slave owner could mean the abrupt uprooting of an enslaved individual’s life, and the painful separation from family. But multiple owners could also mean a high degree of mobility and the opportunity to interact with more of the enslaved and free community. By living in Ebenezer and various locations throughout Savannah, Nancy had the ability to build a network, which in all likelihood helped to sustain her during the extensive time she ran away to seek freedom. Nancy’s experience also provides yet another example of resistance to enslavement and the fight for her own freedom, despite the potential consequences.