“ Without the Smallest Provocation ” Fugitive Slaves from Seneca and Poolesville
by anthony cohen and steve gillick
July 16 , 1831 was a Saturday
and the end of the work week on the farm ; Sunday would be a day of rest . It was the perfect time for an escape .
That evening three men slipped away from the slave quarters on the Montevideo plantation of John Parke Custis Peter . They most likely traveled on foot throughout the night , all of the following day and into the next evening . They had to put as much distance between themselves and their master before he noted their absence on Monday morning .
All three were young men . The eldest , Peter Boman , was about 25 years old ; his brother George was two years younger . The runaway slave notice published in the newspapers described Peter and George as being of a “ very dark complexion .” Both worked as “ common plantation hands ” on the estate . Beverly Davis , who joined the escape , was 20 years old and a house servant at Montevideo . He was a “ dark copper color ” and of a “ slender make .” Peter offered a reward of $ 150 for the capture of the runaways . Their owner asserted — without a hint of irony — that the three had “ absconded at the same time , without the smallest provocation .”
A fourth fugitive , simply listed as “ Davy ” joined the trio that night . Davy was enslaved on Robert Dick ’ s farm just down river from the Montevideo estate . Roughly
25 years of age , Davy ’ s owner described him as “ likely and well made , and of a light black complexion .”
At the time of their flight , one out of every three persons living in Montgomery County was held in bondage . Out of a total population of 19,816 people , the census of 1830 counted 6,447 enslaved men , women and children .
While little is known about the men who fled Montevideo , the historical record has much to say about their master . The extended Peter family had the grim distinction of holding more slaves than any other family in early Montgomery County .
Robert Peter immigrated to Maryland from Scotland during the colonial era . He settled in Georgetown , established himself as a tobacco export merchant and began amassing tracts of land , acquiring 2,500 acres along the Potomac near the mouth of Seneca Creek . Over time he added to his holdings and before his death in 1806 he held 11,626 acres in Montgomery County — and 123 slaves .
Robert Peter ’ s son Thomas married Martha Parke Custis , a granddaughter of Martha Washington . Thomas inherited a good deal of his father ’ s properties in Georgetown and the land around Seneca Creek , including a quarry . Among their children were George Washington Peter and John Parke Custis Peter .
George Washington Peter built a fashionable home he called Montanverde between 1806 and 1812 .
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