The Maryland Gazette provides an invaluable window into what Annapolis was like 250 years ago. News articles and public letters tell us what people learned, thought, worried, and argued about in 1771, but advertisements give us glimpses into the details and dynamics of everyday life. Sometimes these notices reveal attractive aspects of the past, and sometimes they expose the very worst of colonial society. Three adjacent ads from the June 6, 1771 newspaper illustrate this fact with stark clarity.
The first notice was placed by William Eddis, secretary of the Maryland Jockey Club, informing its genteel members of an upcoming meeting at Anne Middleton’s tavern on June 20th. The stewards of the club (now the oldest active sporting organization in the United States) were Governor Robert Eden and Colonel Horatio Sharpe, the man Eden had replaced in office in 1769. Dinner would be on the table at 2 o’clock, and gentlemen should inform Eddis of their plans to attend what would surely be an enjoyable event.
The second ad provides a much darker view. Placed by merchants James Dick and Anthony Stewart of Annapolis and Londontown and Judson Coolidge of Prince George’s County, this notice informed readers of the recent arrival from Africa of the ship Mary carrying a “Small Parcel of about One Hundred choice Slaves, consisting of Men, Women, Boys, and Girls.” These captives would be sold at Selby’s Landing on the Patuxent River on June 10th “for Bills of Exchange or Current Money.” For Dick, Stewart, and Coolidge, their trade in human misery represented an opportunity to turn a handsome profit.
The third listing notified potential customers that Colin Campbell had a “Large and compleat Assortment of European and East-India Goods, suitable to the different Seasons” available on “reasonable Terms” at his store near St. Anne’s Church. There was no mention that these goods from London and Glasgow had been approved by the local Committee of Inspection, so apparently import restrictions dating back to the summer of 1769 were no longer a concern and business was getting back to normal.
Nathan Hammond, whose store was located in Shiplap House on Pinkney Street, and Robert Buchanan, whose business was one door down from the Maryland Coffee-House on Church (now Main) Street, ran similar ads for the latest imported products. No doubt many consumers were excited about their restored buying options.
You can read the June 6, 1771 issue of the Maryland Gazette starting here: https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc4800/sc4872/001281/html/m1281-1295.html
Glenn E. Campbell
HA Senior Historian
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