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Behind the Seams:
Behind the Seams:

Enslaved Labor in the 18th century Boston Tailoring Trade

By David E. Lazaro, Curator of Textiles, Historic Deerfield

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n late summer of 1741, Boston tailor Richard Billings (1699-1776) inhabitants. Early in the 18th century, businesses were concentrated in
announced in a local paper a reward for the return of a runaway the city’s North End, the earliest area of English settlement there. But
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Ienslaved man known only as Exeter. Labeled a “Negro Man by the middle of the century, businesses and residents were beginning
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Servant,” Exeter was further defined by his captor as “work[ing] well at to move south to the city’s central district. Tailors and other artisans
the Taylor’s Trade …” The ad ran for four weeks in August, and the followed suit, situating them closer to the main wharves, commerce,
reward went up during that month from £5 to £10. Written evidence and customers.
some twenty years later suggests that Exeter was apprehended and Since the late 1630s, enslaved men, women, and children of African
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returned to the tailor, one of four enslaved men held by Richard and descent were a presence in Boston. In the following decade, the
his brother John (1697-1762), who was also a tailor. systematic trade in human lives and the use of their forced labor in the
The Billings brothers themselves represented at least the second colony was established. By the middle of the 18th century, Boston’s
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generation of a successful tailoring dynasty living and working in the estimated Black population hovered around 1,500 individuals, or
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colonial city. Tailors like the Billings thrived in part through their use almost 10% of the city’s population (15,731). The Exchange Tavern
of enslaved men like Exeter who worked side by side with them, directly on King Street (later State Street) and Sun Tavern on Dock Square,
or indirectly, in the trade. The hidden contributions of enslaved men were two prominent areas in Boston where the buying and selling of
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are revealed to us today largely through the written record (wills, human lives at auction took place. Both these sites were located in the
probates, and newspapers), rather than surviving garments. heart of the city’s bustling commercial center, however many other,
Documenting the use of forced labor by Boston’s 18th century tailors smaller-scale such transactions took place all over the city, including
helps reconstruct both the nature of slavery in this branch of the taverns, private residences, businesses, and on board ships.
clothing trades, as well as the experiences of those men held in bondage.
A greater understanding of the contributions of enslaved male tailors Training
contextualizes and deepens an understanding of the profession, its Tailors were some of the earliest artisans to settle in the British
working conditions, and how these men literally and figuratively North American colonies. The presence of tailors in late 17th century
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worked “behind the seams” to make clothes for a white clientele in Boston included Joseph Billings (1668/9-1748). He is the first
colonial Boston. documented generation of the Billings tailoring dynasty, and the father
of Richard Billings, who placed the ad seeking the return of Exeter. The
18th Century Boston and its Enslaved Population: earliest direct evidence of enslaved men working in the Boston tailoring
An Overview trade found thus far dates on January 26, 1712, when Stephen
Boutineau placed an ad declaring “A Negro Man Aged about 16 years
and speaks good English … has learned the Taylor’s Trade, to be
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Sold …”
Enslaved men began their servitude laboring for tailors between the
ages of 12 and 17. Training may have occurred side-by-side with
formal, white apprentices, who began their training at the same age.
Experience in the trade arguably made the sale of these enslaved men
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more profitable. In June 1751 an unnamed, 25-year-old enslaved man
was sold at James Smith’s Sugar House along with “goods” including
candy and molasses. The man was
described as “fit for the Sea, or a
Taylor’s Business;” a descriptor
which may suggest this man had
previously worked on a ship,
perhaps employed making or
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mending sailors’ clothing or sails.
A skilled tailor needed to be
able to work with a variety of
materials and embellishments. The
cut and drape of the individual
Figure 1. John Carwitham and Carington Bowles, A South East View of the
Great Town of Boston in New England in America, London, after 1764. pattern pieces needed to be
Paper, watercolor, ink. Historic Deerfield, Gift of Mr. Joseph V. Reed, 1656. photo: Penny Leveritt.
Figure 2. Shirt (detail), English and
[Figure 1] First settled by the English in 1630, Boston quickly
became the largest populated city in colonial British North America. By American, c.1790. White, plain-weave
linen. Historic Deerfield, Gift of the Cooley Family,
1770, although it had dropped to the third-most-populous city (behind Hartford, Connecticut, direct descendants of Col. Elisha
Philadelphia and New York City), Boston boasted around 15,520 Porter, 2017.30.3. photo: Penny Leveritt.

18 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles