Jacob Jonah of Natick Forced into Slavery

In 1787, Jacob Jonah of Natick was penniless, homeless, and in debt.  Jonah, with husband and wife Lennon and Beck Buckland, were convicted of theft and forced into slavery. Jonah could not read or write, but was required to put his mark on the affidavit pictured here. The Bucklands suffered the same fate. Court documents described all three as "Negro" or "Molatto.” Jonathan Greeley, also of Natick, and Ammi Sawyer Dodge of Weston paid thirty pounds for Jonah and an unknown sum for the Bucklands. John Jones, who served many roles in eighteenth-century Natick, signed the affidavit as justice of the peace. These two documents from the collections of the Natick Historical Society reveal that an impoverished person of color could be forced into slavery as punishment for minor crimes in Massachusetts after slavery was abolished.

The final line of the second document reads: “Upon this transaction several Blacks being much disturbed and we apprehensive that false Reports and accounts might be raised aboute the affaer, we were desired in this manner to represent the True State of this affair.”  This line is revealing. This document, signed by many of Natick’s most prominent English settler men, acknowledged that these actions toward Jonah and the Bucklands were upsetting, particularly to the Black community. But the signers doubled down and attempted to justify their actions by sharing the “truth.” However, the “truth,” as written in the document, is more than upsetting. Jonah and the Bucklands allegedly committed theft due to their economic position- they lived in extreme poverty. People of color living in eighteenth-century Natick and New England faced limited employment options and often found themselves unemployed and in debt. The documents describe that Jonah was so poor that he was homeless and barely had any clothes. If Jonah committed the alleged crime, he likely did so to ensure his immediate survival. 

The larger historical context of these documents is striking as well. The word “slave” is not used, but in reality, Jonah and the Bucklands were sold into lifelong enslavement. In 1783, two enslaved Black people, Elizabeth Freeman and Qwok Walker sued for their freedom in court cases that effectively made slavery illegal in Massachusetts. In 1787, those who enslaved Jonah really did not have much legal ground to stand on, and they took advantage of the poverty experienced by Jonah and the Bucklands to create a legal loophole. 

The tragic experiences of Jacob Jonah and Lennon and Beck Buckland demonstrate the harsh conditions under which eighteenth-century people of color in Natick lived. It also raises questions of legality and agency in regard to enslavement and punishment in the early American Republic. It is necessary for twenty-first-century Natick residents to reflect on this difficult history, as it informs us of the origins of our criminal justice system and the various lived experiences of historic residents of Natick. 

Revised by Gail Coughlin, July 2022

Additional Sources

Massachusetts Historical Society. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1875-1876. Boston: The Massachusetts Historical Society, 1876.