Very Impudent When Drunk or Sober: Delaware Runaways, 1720-1783

This book identifies indentured servants and African-American slaves who fled their Delaware masters and whose apprehension was elicited in colonial/Revolutionary newspapers' ads. These ads included descriptions of runaways and criminals living in Delaware, as well as those born or having contacts there. The ads contained references to the runaway's age, sex, height, place of origin, clothing, occupation, speech, and physical imperfections. In addition, the ads often featured attitudes of the owners and personality traits of the runaway. In all, this book refers to 2,500 runaways and their masters.