1737
LEWES
JACOB
KOLLACK
SLAVE
IMPORTATION
In
1738 Lewes was a small port of several dozen houses on two streets
which were parallel the Lewes Creek. Saint Peters Episcopal Church
sat on four acres between Market and Mulberry streets, fronting on
Second Street. Adjacent to the church was the 1681 Court House,
constructed of logs at least eight inches thick and topped by a good
strong roof, tight and well covered. Next to the courthouse stood
Phillip Russell's tavern known to be a place that “persons play at
cards” and illegal. Ryves Holt eventually owned the tavern.
Early
18th century English colonies allowed slavery and ships
carrying slaves called at Lewes' colonial port which was in a area
called “Three Lower Counties” on the western shore of Delaware
Bay from Cape Henlopen to the boarder of Pennsylvania, and had a
degree of independent autonomy. Here the Pennsylvania tariff on
slaves was ignored and slaves were here off loaded. They then, as any
other cargo, could be transported by land to Philadelphia without
paying the tariff.
Jacob
Kollack's father in law, a Philadelphia merchant, arranged for a
ship with part of its cargo as slaves, to stop at Lewes and while it
rode at anchor near Lewes, Jacob Kollack, inspected the cargo and
ordered the sixteen slaves of the cargo be taken ashore.
Source:
Michael Morgans Delaware Diary, Delaware Coast Press, 8 February,
2017,
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