Can any Americans today trace their ancestry to the 300,000 white slaves in America under British rule?

Question

In 17th & 18th c. England criminals were sent to the colonies (America) as slaves as a useful alternative to being hung...during this period hanging was the penalty for over 200 crimes ranging from stealing a loaf of bread to murder

Answer 1

A difficult matter to track, here is a fascinating article on the topic though.

Answer 2

If you mean indentured servitude, yes. One of my maternal grandmother's ancestors was a John Macquarrie, who fought for Bonnie Prince Charles at the Battle of Cullodeen (April 16, 1746). After the battle, some Macquarrie and MacDonald supporters of the Jacobean cause were rounded up on Eigg (one of the islands of the Inner Hebrides), taken to Inverness, sentenced to death for treason, and hence transported after their sentences were commuted on a prison ship, the Pamela, to the Americas.

John found himself working as an indentured servant for a term of seven years for a Dutch planter (who also had some Scots' ancestry), a Wilhelm Stout, of New York. After working for five years, John married Stout's daughter, Miranda, and the pair eventually ended up in North Carolina by way of Virginia. From there, their descendants moved to Kentucky, and in some cases, Illinois, Missouri, and (in my ancestors' case), Texas in 1855.

Answer 3

Yes I can, thank you. And to those who think it didn't happen, think again. Only my ancestors were Acadians who were captured by the British without warning and were sent into slavery in the American colony of Connecticut, then sold to someone in Virginia, before being sold again to someone in Charleston. It was in Charleston that they were able to escape their slavery by hopping on a ship and getting safe passage to a Spanish colony in the Caribbean. From there they were able to make their way up to the French colony of Miquelon. It took 14 years for all of that to happen, but they were all reunited on Miquelon where they lived out their lives in peace without any more interference from the Brits.

Answer 4

A really good question, We know about the Afro Caribbean slave trade and all the Prisoners sent to Australia, but never give a thought to those sent to work in America, I look forward to seeing the ( Sensible) answers.

Answer 5

If your what they call Old Money then yes, they have extensive knowledge of their family trees.

Answer 6

white slaves?..lol..never happen