Another Name in the Deeds: Uncovering Canongo’s Story

While digging into historic documents for the Jack and Acton Parker-Harris Pottery Project, the City's Archaeology Program came across a reference to another Black resident in the property deeds.

Prior to Isaac Parker purchasing the property and starting the pottery in 1715, a 1693 deed described the property as occupied by an "elderly man named John Taylor" and "a Negro man named Canongo." When occupants are listed in deeds, they typically refer to renters.

This reference raised big questions: Who was Canongo? What was his connection to John Taylor? Was he enslaved?

It is possible that Canongo was a free man, based on how he is described in the record. The deed states that the property was under the "...occupation of John Taylor, and of a Negro man named Canongo…". Typically, references to rental occupants only name the head of the household, even if more than one person lived in the house as a renter. The "and" may be important here, as Canongo and John Taylor are both described in similar language. If Canongo was enslaved by John, or possibly even enslaved by the owners of the property (implying Canongo was part of the property transfer), we would expect John to be listed as the sole occupant. Listing both men suggests they were both independently renting portions of the property.

Enslaved individuals were rarely listed separately in this way, which leaves room for interpretation. Without additional documentation, we can't say for certain what Canongo's legal status was. While the wording suggests that he was free, enslaved Black people outnumbered free Black people in the Boston area at the time, making a free status unusual but not impossible.

Some secondary sources state that Canongo was sold by Nicholace Trerice to E. Johnson, the parties in the 1693 deed. However, if that deed is the only source for this claim, our interpretation does not align with it including the sale of Canongo in the transaction.

It's possible John Taylor, a shipwright, was renting the property to work on boats as the site included a wharf and dock. According to documents, Taylor owned and mortgaged property elsewhere, owned a ship, and had a family of seven children, so this site may not have been his primary residence. It is possible that Canongo worked at or near the dock and/or this property functioned as rental housing for workers in maritime-related trades. If Canongo was connected to the property as an enslaved person, it is possible that John's rental included the labor of Canongo, who also lived on the property.

By January 1699, a mast-maker named Richard Paine purchased the property. Neither Canongo nor John Taylor is mentioned in the deed.

This brief mention of Canongo is a reminder that even when records are limited, they still provide access to information on real people and real lives. We hope that our new analysis of the artifact collection at the pottery site-which includes some 17th century deposits-may reveal more about the life of Canongo.

It is somewhat of an ethical question: Should a Black person in pre-1783 Boston, who is not explicitly stated to be free, be assumed enslaved unless proven otherwise? Assuming enslavement would implicate his potential enslavers and ensure they do not "get away with it," but it could also negate a free status that Canongo or his family may have worked hard to achieve. These are the complexities we are grappling with as we interpret these histories.

The bottom line is that Canongo's presence shows that Black Charlestown residents living at the property existed across the17th and 18th centuries and includes more people than just Jack and Acton. Canongo's story isn't yet fully known, but it is there, and it matters.

This article was prepared by Lauryn Sharp, Project Archeologist.

• Published by: Archaeology