In 1790 a Federal Grand Jury,
it it's first session, returned
an
indictment of murder against
James DeWolf for having jettisoned
a female slave from his ship,
after she fell victim to small
pox.
The indictment read; "James
DeWolf, not having the fear
of
God before his eyes, but being
moved and seduced by the instigation
of the Devl...did feloniously,
willfully and of his malice
aforethought,
with his hands clinch and
seize in
and upon the body of said
Negro
woman...and did push, cast
and throw
her from out of said vessel
into the
Sea and waters of the Ocean,
whereupon she then and there
instantly sank, drowned and
died."
James DeWolf was well protected
by his uncle, Simeon
Potter, as well
as by other family members
and
was never arrested.
While there
were other stories of
horror
and inhumane treatment
of slaves,
no other charges wereever
levied against
James DeWolf.
When other slavers, such as
John Brown,
abandoned the slave trade
as
not
being profitable
enough, James
DeWolf continued
and made large
profits. One of
the reasons for this
is that he quickly
learned how
to circumvent the law.
In 1794 Congress forbade Americans
from carrying slaves between
Africa
and Cuba,
and the only
American port
open was Georgia.
As there was no
law to stop the
traffic of slaves
to or from
Georgia, James
brought slaves
openly into that state,
pretended
to sell them to
a Georgian, and
shipped them to Cuba
where the best
prices were obtained.
The DeWolf's owned plantations
in Cuba where the slaves were
kept during
periods
when prices
were low. Once
prices went up,
the DeWolfs
had plenty of
slaves on hand to
take advantage
of the market.
In addition, slaves were
often
smuggled into Rhode Island
by
the DeWolf
ships.
The fledging
U.S. Government
had but a
small navy and
could not patrol
Narragansett Bay
effectively.
It was relatively
easy to get by
the customs officials
at Newport,
and when customs
officials,
such as William Ellery,
made
it a point to pursue DeWolf
vessels, James neutralized
this by having his
own man
appointed as a Customs
Inspector
for Bristol.
Much of the success enjoyed by
James DeWolf was due to his
political
acumen.
While most Rhode
Islanders were
strong supporters of
the Federalist
party, the DeWolf's
favored Thomas
Jefferson and the
Democratic Republicans.
In 1802, over the protest of John
Brown, James DeWolf was elected
to
the General
Assembly as a
representative
from Bristol
Then, as now,
his enemies pounced
upon his past escapades.
John
Brown charged
that the indictment
of James having murdered
his negroes
in the smallpox
to preserve the
other part of his
cargo...will be echoed
through the papers....and
will cause
great clamor against
the town as being
in favor of the Guinea
Trade directly
in the face of the
law.... Despite these
protests however,
James DeWolf
was elected, supported
Jeffersonian
policies, and set up
a Tammany
Society in Bristol. The
Society
became very popular, especially
after James began providing
free beer.
He was able to convince Jefferson
to
set up an independent revenue
district
for Bristol and Warren and
had
Charles Collins, his brother-in-law
who was active in the slave
trade,
appointed as collector. Collins
blatantly cleared all DeWolf
vessels
in the face of protests and
Bristol
and the DeWolfs profitted
in the
'unholy traffic' long after
it was
illegal in Rhode Island.
In 1803, he gave his wife a pair of
slaves as a Christmas present
and they remained in
the DeWolf family for many
years.
Despite her opposition to the
war of 1812,
Rhode Island participated
actively
in one phase of
the conflict--
Privateering.
Eighteen privately
owned Rhode Island
vessels
secured commissions
(letters
of Marque) from the
federal
government to
prey on British
commerce. Five
of these ships
sailed from Providence,
four
rom Newport, and
nine from
Bristol.
JAMES DEWOLF OWNED
SIX OF THE NINE BRISTOL
PRIVATEERS IN WHOLE OR
IN
PART, INCLUDING
THE 120
foot long twelve
gun BRIGANTINE
YANKEE, originally
built in
1808 for the slave trade.
The foreign slave trade was protected
by a provision in the federal
Constitution that
prevented Congress
from outlawing
that traffic prior
to 1808. James
DeWolf, prominent
merchant, shipowner,
and
manufacturer
from Bristol,
preferred the African
trade to that
of China, and did everything
in his
power to continue it.
Prior to 1808 he brought hundreds of
slaves from Africa to Charleston,
and after 1808
he carried
his black cargo
to his sugar
plantations
in cuba.
Foreseeing the future of cotton
manufacturing in New england,
he also
established
the Arkwright
Mills in Coventry,
Rhode Island,
as early as 1812
and owned and
directed them
until his death
twenty five years
later.
In 1821 the Rhode Island General
Assembly, undisturbed by his
unsavory
past, chose
James
DeWolf to be a United
States
Senator.
Following that, James
became Speaker of the House
in the Rhode Island
General
Assembly.
Captain Jim DeWolf at age 51,
was considered one of the
richest
men
in America, second
only to
Charles Carroll
of Carrollton,
Maryland. He
extended his
chief shipping
interest by
ventures into
whaling and
commerce with
China.
On Christmas Eve in 1837, after a
full life as both, lawbreaker
and
lawmaker, he died on his
elegant one thousand acre
Bristol estate.
At the time of his death, he was
one of the most respected
and
honored men in
Bristol, Rhode Island,
and he left a considerable
fortune to
his wife who died
withon two weeks
of her husband.
As a result, much of his money went
to the support of public schools
in
Rhode Island,
which was one of Mrs.
DeWolf's favorite
philanthropic
projects.
In 1842, John Dickerson, believing that
much of the DeWolf gold,
was buried in
the vault with DeWolf, blew
the door
from the tomb and
plundered
the casket.
All he gained were
Captain Jim's gold
teeth, some buttons,
and a name plate.
He sold it to a middle-man
for $6.58.
