Had on and took with him : runaway indentured servant clothing in Virginia, 1774-1778

Abstract

The clothing of 18th century runaway indentured servants and convicts is described in detail in advertisements seeking their apprehension and return. As such the descriptions offer unique glimpses of a class of material culture, namely clothing, as it was used in everyday life by a segment of the colonial population for which there are few comparable documentary sources. This study uses a variety of data and contemporary writings to look at the clothing of servants and convicts as described in the Virginia Gazette between 1774 and 1778. Extant clothing and archaeological finds are used to create a technological background. Documents, including diaries, merchant records, and plantation journals were among the many sources used to help create the social context. Two-hundred and one runaway descriptions are then examined and analyzed, providing the basis for a selection of graphic illustrations depicting the runaway's attire. The importance of interpreting archaeologically retrieved artifacts from both etic and emic perspectives is also stressed. Material culture studies must analyze data not only from a current perspective, but must endeavor to conceptually place it back into its systemic context, and experience it from the point of view of those who originally used it. To neglect this facet of object analysis is to study the present more than the past, for artificially imposed classifications are reflective of the observer, not the observed. Finally, archaeological, historical, and material culture studies must be made attractive and appropriate for the general public as well as colleagues. Without community involvement, the potential for meaningful dissemination of information is lost. As wardens of a shared cultural heritage, it is the responsibility of all persons conducting research within these fields to see that the findings are suitably prepared and presented to all.