"Man By the Name of Wilson"

 It is a wonder that so much information can be teased out about a man's life from one small advertisement.

$50 REWARD FOR WILSON.- Absconded from the subscriber, in the month of April, 1836 man by the name of Wilson. From information received, it appears that Wilson was raised in the county of New Kent, about 8 miles below the C.H., by a gentleman named Ratcliffe, and by him sold to a gentleman named Taylor, living 13 miles above Williamsburg, on whose farm he had a wife and several children. Mr. Taylor sold him to Mr. Slater, living near the New Kent and James City line, who, in consequence of removing to Alabama, left him, and when retaken was sold to John M. Gregory, Esq. of Williamsburg, Va., and afterwards purchased by his present owner, from Thomas McCargo & Co., of Richmond. Nothing was heard of him until last November,(1837) when I was informed he had been taken and put in New Kent jail, but afterwords made his escape, by burning out, and has not since been heard of. Wilson is about 5 feet 6 inches high, slender made, bushy head, dark yellow colour, pleasing countenance, and about 36 years old. The above reward will be paid for his apprehension, and placed in any jail in the State or United States, so that I obtain him again.  

ALEX  CUNNINGHAM 

Cunninghams's Store, N.C. Nov. 1838 59-w6w

 -Richmond Enquirer, December 14, 1838




Some notes

A) I wonder if the Ratcliffe named is the owner of the tavern of the same name that was in the Quinton area.

B) John M. Gregory, was soon to be Lieutenant Governor, and was Acting Governor of Virginia from March 1842 until 5 January 1843. He was later a judge.

C) Yet another burning of New Kent's jail.

D) Thomas McCargo was a slave trader based out of Richmond.  He gained a measure of notoriety in November 1841 when while transporting slaves down the coast on the brig Creole, the slaves rose up, took control of the ship and sailed it into Nassau, the Bahamas leading to an international incident.

E) Rather shockingly(at least to me) I had no trouble discovering more about the advertiser.

"Alexander Cuningham of Petersburg, Va (1776 -1849) was the owner of Cunningham Store in Person County. His father was also named Alexander Cuningham and was from Edinburgh, Scotland. He ran a wholesale merchandise business in Petersburg, Va with his brother Richard. and speculated in land in many states.
. . .
In 1814 He married Mary (Patsey) Wilson (1792-1886) daughter of John Wilson who built Dans Hill near Danville, Va. In the early 1820's he opened Cunningham's Store along the border with Halifax County, Va and Person County, NC.
. . .
 Alexander and his son John Wilson Cuningham (born Petersburg, Va 1820- 1887) built up the plantation to include 8000 acres and became one of the wealthiest planters in the area. He owned at one time 193 slaves. The Cuningham home called Waverly still exists on Cuningham Road in Person County along with the cemetery where Alexander Cuningham and 7 generations are buried." 

F) As for Wilson, well I would say the man did not want to be found