“shall receive a reward of one Cent, but no thanks”
I’m getting the idea you don’t actually want her back David.
(source: The Staunton Eagle, September 4, 1807.)
Oh tell me more about the legal reason!
I will preface this with an “I am not a legal scholar”, but as far as I understand the practice of offering a one cent reward was more or less the 18th/19th century equivalent of reporting your gun stolen.
It was a public acknowledgment that, while the person was still your legal property, you were no longer responsible for their actions.
If you didn’t attempt to find them at all when they ran away they could technically try to argue that you either released them early/were no longer holding them to the terms of their indenture or that they were operating under your authority and you were still legally responsible for their actions.
Placing an ad for the lowest amount of money possible pretty much let the public know that “my servant ran away, I don’t really care, I don’t want them back, but I’m covering my ass legally”.
I’ve seen the ads used for servants/apprentices who are near the end of their service or who seem to be more trouble than they are worth. Especially people with behavioral issues or who have a history or running away.
The “but no thanks” means that her REALLY didn’t want her back.
Published
Mooncustafer 