Bob

The following letters are the personal correspondence between Edward Hand and his wife Katherine, who he affectionately called Kitty.  At the time these letters were written, Edward and Katherine Hand were renting a house from Mr. Joseph Simon, a businessman who owned many properties in Lancaster. 

Kitty visited Edward several times throughout the war and therefore, some of the letters make references to her location, on the road, away from Lancaster.  Edward Hand wrote to Kitty as often as he was able.  His letters often reassured her of his safety, asked after their children and family, and discussed practical matters, such as clothing, purchases, travel, etc.    

These letters mention Robert, who was approximately eleven years old at the time he was purchased by Edward Hand in Long Island, New York, in June of 1776.  In his early letters, Edward Hand refers to Robert by his given name. After he employs Robert Wilson, he begins to call him “the Boy,” “Boy Bob,” and later just “Bob.” In 1780, when he is registered by Edward Hand in accordance with the Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, he is called “Bob, 14 years.” Robert Wilson was a free white man who acted as a personal courier for Hand during the Revolutionary War.  Bob is mentioned in personal correspondence through 1781.

In a letter dated December 5, 1776, he references "Robert" a well-trusted enslaved man who carried cash and valuables between Hand's locations during the war to Kitty in Lancaster. In 1776, Hand wrote about "the purchase of Negroes" for Kitty and also refers again to Robert and a servant named William who was in need of a pass for traveling. In 1778, he wrote that he was in the market for a "strong healthy new Negro man from 18-25 [years of age]. There is a reference to "Sue" in 1780 and another mention of Robert in 1781. (Rock Ford Manuscript collection)