Henry May (1816-?)

Name

Henry May (1816-?)

Date of Birth

1816

State Assigned Gender

Male

Hometown or Region

Bardstown, Kentucky

Freedom Status

Transition

Occupation

Dining Servant

Biography

His Fugitive Slave Advertisement is one of the most famous in American History.

Henry May was born around 1816 in an unknown location. He was in the company of his prescriber William Burke in 1837 when he escaped his plantation in Bardstown, KY, and fled to Louisville. His early life before his escape is shrouded in mystery, however, he is heralded by William Burke as a “First class dining room servant.” From Burke's description of May, it is easy to discern that May was a very skilled worker known for his dashing appearance and taste in new clothes. Henry May took up work in a tavern in Louisville which could have been the newly built Gault House hotel. However, in 1838 his former prescriber flushed him out by intensifying his search and giving a large reward of $150 dollars. It is unknown exactly where May fled, however, he could have gone to Cincinnati via steamship as this was a popular method of transportation at the time. This is a likely form of travel as the skilled work that May was proficient in was often employed upon these ships. Another factor that points toward this means of travel was the popularity of steamships in Louisville at the time. While nothing is known about the later life of Henry May, he was never returned to William Burke in Bardstown, KY which can be discerned from the census from 1840 and 1850. May is an important case concerning runaway slaves because he represents the individual preservation that self-emancipators at the time had to emulate.

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Student Researcher

Strom Huber