What do you notice? What do you wonder? What stood out to me initially about this ad was how the poster of the ad said that his name had been changed. I don't think I had heard of slaves having their names changed before I read this, and it is both fascinating and disturbing. It makes me wonder how many slaves had their names changed and may never have known that the name they were given wasn't their birth name. Another thing that stuck out to me was simply how young he had to have been to not even really know his own mother. From what I thought I knew, children weren't usually separated from their mothers until later on. Hence, it makes me wonder how many children were in fact separated from their mothers and how young children who were separated from their mothers were. It also is a big gap between the time he learned of his real name and mother and the posting of this ad, which makes me wonder how long he really was searching.
Time/Place: This ad was published in 1895, which actually places it about 20 years after reconstruction. That means the ad lies right in the middle of the industrial boom, but also at the same time as Jim Crow laws were rising to prominence in the south. Considering that John Hatter's mother was sold farther south than New York, it makes sense for him to be concerned and want to find her and potentially bring her north. Communication was also expanding in this time, becoming easier to hear from farther away and reach far away places.
Implications/Conclusions: This ad can tell us quite a bit about circumstances around former slaves, and how many of them were learning about themselves and attempting to reach out to their lost families. However, the time between learning of his name and the posting of the ad can be indicative of how long it could take to find family, and a sign that many former slaves likely never reunited with their lost loved ones at all. It also shows how little information former slaves had on their loved ones, and is likely indicative of how many were kept in the dark about their family and even themselves.
In your opinion, what do you think the motivation behind changing slaves names without them knowing was?
Hi Autumn! I also wrote about the significance of the changing names during this time. I believe enslavers benefited from changing the names of enslaved people. By stripping them of a consistent identity and family connection, enslavers turned people into commodities: things to be conveniently relabeled, bought, and sold, rather than human beings with history and tradition.