[Ads-l] More Re: Earliest American Use of the Noun "Black" Referring to a Person

[Shapiro, Fred]

Thanks, Steven, for this outstanding citation.

Fred Shapiro


________________________________
From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Steven Losie <stevenlosie at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Thursday, January 9, 2025 4:13 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: More Re: Earliest American Use of the Noun "Black" Referring to a Person

Hi Fred, this source may be of interest to you. It's a New York publication
from 1744 that uses the noun "black" to refer to a person:

[begin quote]
...it was observed by those more immediately concerned in these Affairs,
and whose Province it was to give close Attention to them, that the
Witnesses both Whites and Blacks, generally kept close to the Text...
[end quote]

[..]

[begin quote]
These two negroes bore the characters of very wicked idle fellows ... they
were two principal ringleaders in it amongst the blacks.
[end quote]

Source: Journal of the Proceedings against the Conspirators, at New-York in
1741
Author: Daniel Horsmanden
Date: 1744
Pages: iii, 59
Publisher: James Parker
Location: New York
Repository: Early English Books Online
Link:
https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fquod.lib.umich.edu%2Fcgi%2Ft%2Ftext%2Ftext-idx%3Fq1%3Dblacks%3Btype%3Dsimple%3Brgn%3Ddiv1%3Bc%3Devans%3Bcc%3Devans%3Bidno%3DN04378.0001.001%3Bview%3Dtext%3Bsubview%3Ddetail%3Bnode%3DN04378.0001.001%3A2&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ca769bbc86a2348a0a9e608dd30f26907%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638720539906852946%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Y%2BhBMWoyvXmXDYy7CAQVcQ7C2klJ%2FfxNSqGRvBp%2BlLk%3D&reserved=0<https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?q1=blacks;type=simple;rgn=div1;c=evans;cc=evans;idno=N04378.0001.001;view=text;subview=detail;node=N04378.0001.001:2>

To confirm, Daniel Horsmanden was the Recorder of the City of New York:
https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffounders.archives.gov%2Fdocuments%2FFranklin%2F01-03-02-0084&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ca769bbc86a2348a0a9e608dd30f26907%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638720539906880572%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=6dHiZB%2F49mawQjRTjaQOH7uvx%2Bv7tjFtYahH0OhMgdQ%3D&reserved=0<https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-03-02-0084>

James Parker was a printer in New York City, whose printing facilities had
been financed via a contract with Benjamin Franklin:
https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffounders.archives.gov%2Fdocuments%2FFranklin%2F01-02-02-0081&data=05%7C02%7Cfred.shapiro%40YALE.EDU%7Ca769bbc86a2348a0a9e608dd30f26907%7Cdd8cbebb21394df8b4114e3e87abeb5c%7C0%7C0%7C638720539906894532%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=NIGdMtWYBQq1hFfC6Nl%2FelsjWGmH6y4FoLFStc1PpKo%3D&reserved=0<https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-02-02-0081>

MCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=RvOxeESX52PhK7MQz5awV3TjYHTCHblQvy6%2FTZ5syzQ%3D&reserved=0<http://www.americandialect.org/>

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