"fellow" = "A black man"

George Thompson george.thompson at NYU.EDU
Wed Apr 6 18:43:38 UTC 2011 

My impression is that "fellow" had negative implications in the 16th/17th C; implied low social status.  This impression is probably derived from a footnote to a Shakespearean or other Elizabethan play.
I also don't see that a description of a runaway slave as "a black fellow" indicates that "fellow" was reserved for blacks.  The default condition for human beings in the 17th C was white -- as it is now, come to think of it -- and so I wouldn't expect to find a notice for a runaway apprentice or indentured servant to specify "white fellow".

I see from my notes, notices for:
 an Indian Man, about Eighteen Years old, and speaks good English: Had on when he went away, a grey Cloth Jacket, an old Pair of Trowsers, and an Iron Ring about his Neck, and one about his Leg, with a Chain from one to the other;
A Negro Man, lately imported from Africa, his Hair or Wool is curled in Locks, in a very remarkable Manner;
a Negro Man, Scipio, "Who had his Hands pinioned behind him", runs away; described: "his Buttocks pretty well marked with the Lash, speaks pretty good English, though somewhat thick";
A Negro Man named Sam, well Limn’d, round faced, about 30 years of age, but looks younger; French born, but speaks pretty good English; is a good Cook, and was lately bought of Capt. James Delancey;
a Negro Man named JACOB, belonging to Henry Brasier, and formerly known in this City, by the Name of the FU-FU Negro, or MONEY-DIGGER.  He is between 40 and 50 Years of Age. . . .  He speaks both English and Dutch, and was born and brought up in the Jersies;
but:
Jerry, "a negro fellow", "can talk good English, is a sly cunning fellow, and can play well on the violin";
a very valuable Negro Fellow, getting too much Liquor, got into a Canoe in the Harbour, and after paddling about a little, tumbled over, and was drowned;
a very likely lusty Fellow, and cannot speak a Word of English or Dutch, or any other Language but that of his own Country
another Fellow who also address’d the Wench, not being received well, and jealous of Caesar, and having several Negro Friends, it is thought poor Caesar was Way-laid, and Murdered in that manner;
two negro fellows who understand the leather dressing business [for sale]

As for "fellow" by itself, applied to white rascals:
the word is applied to Harry Burch  "a sad Fellow" and "a fellow of Little Stature, tho' of great Roguery, and of a Young Aspect, But in a fair way never to be Old" in the Boston News-Letter of 1705;
and several times in different newspapers to "the noted Vagrant Tom Bell", in the 1740s;
also to
"a Gang of Fellows of no good Aspect";
James Rice, hanged for robbery & murder, "a thick well-set, well-limb'd Fellow, . . . with a Lock behind, which curls handsomely under his Cap" ;
"a Parcel of Fellows" involved in a mugging;
a fellow for Stealing was branded in the only Hand he had;
a stout resolute Fellow with but one Hand, and ‘tis thought to be the same Fellow that was Branded in New-York about 4 Weeks ago;
[and to other rogues].

 I have no instances of "fellow" applied to a respectable person.  When John Pell, nephew of Mr. Pell, Esq., of Pelham Manor, was arrested for robbing his uncle, he wasn't labelled "fellow", but his accomplice, "a Negro fellow", was.

Notices of runaways were often harmful to one's self esteem: [Mary Brown, runaway indentured servant]  She is a so so-sort of a looking Woman, inclinable to Clumsiness, much Pockpitted, which gives her a hard Favour and a frosty Look, wants several of her Teeth, yet speaks good English and Dutch, about 26 or 28 Years old, perhaps 30.

Harry Burch came to Bostpn from Philadelphia and told the editor of the the Boston News-Letter a very sad story, which the editor fell for; he was beside himself when he wised up.  very entertaining.

These are all from the 1760s or before.   Exact references upon request.

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.  Working on a new edition, though.

----- Original Message -----
From: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2011 8:07 pm
Subject: Re: "fellow" = "A black man"
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

> Frankly I'm unpersuaded that this was ever an actual "meaning" of "fellow."
>
> It seems to me that the word may have been used frequently following
> "Negro," etc., but to my way of thinking, "fellow" would not have
> *meant* a
> "black men" unless people were saying such things as,
>
> "I came around the corner and I met a fellow."
> "Really? What would a black man be doing here at Harvard in 1750?"
>
> At best, the connotations of "fellow" in the appropriate era may have
> been a
> little more heavily weighted toward black men than, say, those of "chap,"
> but I'd be hard put to defend *defining* "fellow" as a black man. OED
> offers
> only two citations. Neither of them compels the definition.
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Apr 5, 2011 at 1:46 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: "fellow" = "A black man"
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Might your analysis of advertisements merely reflect the fact that black
> > men
> > were being advertised for sale, and white men weren't?
> >
> > DanG
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 5, 2011 at 1:11 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > > Subject:      Re: "fellow" = "A black man"
> > >
> > >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > At 4/4/2011 05:33 PM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:
> > > >Why would "fellow" in these examples be defined as anything more
> than a
> > > >euphemism for "man" or "person", especially when it is taking modifiers
> > > such
> > > >as "Mulatto" or "Negro"?
> > >
> > > I think my previous message also answers Dan's question.  In EAN,
> > > there is just one advertisement (over its 130-plus-year time span)
> > > where "fellow" takes the modifier "white".  There are thousands where
> > > it takes the modifier "Negro", "mulatto", or "black".  (Admittedly,
> > > when no modifier/description was present, the presumption was
> > > "white", so "fellow" without a modifier would refer to a white --
> but
> > > necessarily of the unesteemed lower classes (see OED, 10 a, b, c):
> a
> > > white of the middling classes was a "man" or a "woman".)
> > >
> > > (For "white fellow", I have -- I think properly -- excluded
> > > quotations where "fellow" is itself a modifier, as in "white fellow
> > > citizens".  These are instances (as the OED says) of "attrib. and
> > > Comb. C1. appositively (quasi-adj.)", specifically "c. (with n. of
> > > relative signification.) Denoting a person or thing that stands in
> > > the designated relation to the same object as another; Also
> > > <fellow-citizen n.".)
> > >
> > > A little more research in EAN -- advertisements with:
> > >      British fellow  --   0
> > >      English fellow --   0 (eliminating the 1 false positive)
> > >      Irish fellow     --   1 (eliminating the 2 false positives;
> > > more frequent is "Irishman" -- 1,340 hits)
> > >      yellow fellow  --   I did not attempt to count among the 278
> > > hits.  Some persons are called a "Negro" and then physically
> > > described as a "yellow fellow".  "Brown fellow" also appears (but
> in
> > > only one ad, 5 appearances) to describe skin color.
> > >
> > > Joel
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > >DanG
> > > >
> > > >On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 5:13 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > > > -----------------------
> > > > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > > > Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > > > > Subject:      "fellow" = "A black man"; also "secesh' noun & adj.
> > 1862;
> > > and
> > > > >              "nub" 1728
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > >
> > > > > The 1989 OED's earliest citation for "fellow" = "A black man.
> U.S.
> > > > > Obs." (sense 10.d) is from a 1753 advertisement:  "Run away a
> Mulatto
> > > > > Fellow named Anthony. Whoever takes up said Fellow shall have
> Three
> > > > > Pounds Reward."
> > > > >
> > > > > There are many citations in Early American Newspapers, both earlier
> > > > > than 1753 and near the 1860 date of the OED's only other quotation,
> > > > > from Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms.
> > > > >
> > > > > 1)  The earliest (EAN Search finds) is:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1716 -- Boston News-Letter; Date: From Monday November 12, to
> Monday
> > > > > November 19, 1716; Issue: 657; Page: [2]; Col. 2.
> > > > >
> > > > > A Likely young Negro Fellow, who has been Five Years in the Country,
> > > > > to be Sold ... and to be seen at Mr. Robert Howard Merchant, his
> > > > > House in Clark's Square Boston.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > 2)  The following, like the OED quotation, uses both "Negro fellow"
> > > > > and "fellow" unqualified:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1728 -- New-England Weekly Journal [Boston]; Date: 12-09-1728;
> Issue:
> > > > > XC; Page: [4]; Col. 2.
> > > > >
> > > > > Ran-away ... a Negro Fellow named Primus, about 25 years of
> Age, a
> > > > > tall likely Fellow, speaks good English, & can read well, has
> a Scar
> > > > > on his right Cheek & a nub on the second joynt of his Thumbs.
> > > > >
> > > > > [Scar on right cheek and nub (OED 2.a. "A small knob or lump"?
>  Or
> > > > > perhaps more likely 2.b. "A stump, stub, or remnant; something
> cut
> > > > > off short or imperfectly grown", although this sense is dated
> from
> > > > > a1834?) on both thumbs -- perhaps signs of mutilation for past
> > > > > transgressions?]
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > 3)  "Mulatto Fellow" appears earliest in:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1733 -- American Weekly Mercury [Philadelphia]; Date: From Thursday,
> > > > > July 5, to Thursday July 12, 1733; Issue: 706; Page: [4].
> > > > >
> > > > > RUN away ... from the Plantation of William Byrd, Esq; at the
> Falls
> > > > > of James River, in Virginia, a Mulatto Fellow ... Whoever shall
> > > > > return him ether to the said William Byrd, Esq; at Westover aforesaid
> > > > > or to his Overseer, Mr. George Booker, at the Falls of James River,
> > > > > shall have Ten Pounds Reward, and reasonable Charges.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > 4)  "negro fellow" appears latest in:
> > > > >
> > > > > New-Hampshire Patriot [Concord]; Date: 12-09-1839; Volume: VI;
> Issue:
> > > > > 271; Page: [2].
> > > > >
> > > > > Horrid Murder.---As one of our citizens, Mr. Fullenwider, on Tuesday,
> > > > > was at his plantation, at the High Shoals of the Catawba, he noticed
> > > > > a negro fellow on a horse, fording the river. ... Loncolnton N.C.
> > > Banner.
> > > > >
> > > > > {Our "citizen" is a Mister; our "negro" is a fellow, later in
> the
> > > > > article referred to only as "Abner".]
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > 5)  "mulatto fellow" appears latest in:
> > > > >
> > > > > Barre [Massachusetts] Gazette; Date: 05-09-1862; Volume: 28; Issue:
> > > > > 42; Page: [1];
> > > > >
> > > > > Let me kiss him for his mother---A secesh anecdote.---As the
> last of
> > > > > the rebel prisoners were entering the jail on Tuesday, a big mulatto
> > > > > fellow from a neighboring slaughter house, who was making his
> way
> > > > > through the crowd of spectators, was somewhat jostled in the
> > > undertaking.
> > > > >
> > > > > [This fellow is later in the article referred to only as a
> > > > > "darkey".  For those curious, "secesh" (here A.b, "Secession",
> > > > > equidates the OED's earliest quotation.  Later the article
> refers to
> > > > > "The secesh dame", which is one year later than the OED's earliest
> > > > > quote for "secesh" as an adj.]
> > > > >
> > > > > Joel
> > > > >
> > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> > > >
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> >
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>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
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