The Royall House and Slave Quarters
Medford, Massachusetts

Colonial Era African Americans Who Lived at or May Have Visited The Royall House

Forten/Fortune Howard

Royall family slave owned by Isaac Sr. who became a freeman. He was listed as one of the 14 charter members along with Prince Hall of the world's first lodge of black Freemasonary founded in Boston in 1775. Examination of Royall family business ledgers indicate that Forten was a skilled and trusted servant of Isaac Sr. In 1724, he accompanied the young Isaac Jr. on a trip from Antigua to Boston. Forten may have been a personal servant to Isaac Jr. while he lived with his uncle Jacob in Dorchester and pursued a privately tutored course of study. Descendents: Grandson, Peter Malcolm Howard was a prosperous barber in Boston and had a shop at 82 Cambridge Street that became an Underground Railroad station where fugitives from slavery found refuge. Several historical sources mention Peter as a "black person of prominence in the West End of Boston before the Civil War." Great grandson Peter James Howard served as a private in Company C of the Fifth Cavalry during the Civil War. Great grandson Dr. Edwin Clarence Joseph Turpin Howard was a member of the first class of African Americans to graduate from Harvard Medical School in 1876. Several descendents of Forten Howard currently live in Lexington, Mass.

Prince Hall

Slave owned by William Hall of Boston who was eventually freed by his master. Prince Hall was a leather dresser, laborer, soldier and in later life a much sought after cook and caterer. A Medford resident for a time, Hall eventually moved to Boston and became a well-known and respected black leader. He founded the world's first black lodge of Freemansonary and served as its first grand master. The Lodge was later renamed the Prince Hall Lodge. Hall was a crusader for many black community causes including: the enlistment of blacks in the revolutionary army, the protest against slavery and the discrimination of Boston blacks, and the movement for quality education for black children. Many scholars believe Hall, or one of his followers, may have written and assisted Royall Family slave Belinda in her petitioning of the Massachusetts Legislature.

Belinda

Illiterate Royall family slave owned by Isaac Jr. who successfully petitioned the Massachusetts Legislature in 1783 for her freedom and the freedom of her daughter. She was also successful in being granted a small pension from rentals and revenues derived from the Royall family Ten Hills Plantation operations as restitution for her 40 years of servitude to the Royall family. Scholars speculate that Prince Hall or his son Primus Hall or the "African Muse", Phillis Wheatley, may have actually written the petition for Belinda.

Primus Hall

Son of Prince Hall and Delia Hall and slave of Ezra Trask until age of 21. Primus listed various occupations during his life including farmer, truckman and master soap boiler. At nineteen, he enlisted with Revolutionary forces and served as a soldier and body servant of Col. Pickering of Mass. in the Campaign against General Burgoyne and the Campaign on Rhode Island. Like his father, he was an active member of the African Lodge of Freemasons in Boston. In 1798, a portion of the black community in Boston founded the first school for children with two white Harvard students as instructors. Primus's home served as the first schoolhouse for this important venture.

William Lee

Slave bought by George Washington in 1768 from William and Mary Lee. When Washington took command of the Continental Army, William accompanied him to Massachusetts and continuously served as Washington's trusted servant and orderly during the entire war. William most likely accompanied Washington to various councils of war held with Generals Stark and Lee at the Royall House. William returned to Mount Vernon after the war with Washington and served the Washington household for the next twenty years. William is included in the Washington family portrait painted by Edward Savage in 1796 and in John Trumbull's wartime portrait of Washington in 1780.

Phillis Wheatley

Purchased in 1761 by a prosperous Boston tailor John Wheatley for his wife Susannah. Her new owners quickly discovered that the sickly little slave girl was a literary prodigy. Her book "Poems on Various Subject Religious and Moral," published in 1772, quickly made her an internationally recognized author. Scholars speculate that Phillis may have also assisted in the drafting of Belinda's petition.

Other Slaves Who Lived at the Royall House

Little is written about the lives of slaves at the Royall House. Census and probate records have preserved the names of 63 men, women, and children enslaved by the Royalls. For a list of names and tenure of these 63 individuals see Slave Tenure at the Royall House.

Copyright 2004-2008, The Royall House Association