Dick Jasper was described as a "labouring man" in the list of enslaved people at Mount Vernon that George Washington compiled in 1786.1 Six years later in 1792, Jasper was listed as a carter, a worker who drove an animal-powered cart. Jasper was married to Charity, and together the couple had five children who survived past birth. As Charity was enslaved directly by Washington so were their children. Dick was also enslaved by Washington, meaning that him and his entire family were freed by Martha Washington in 1802 under the terms of Washington's will.2 Dick and his son Morris, who was born sometime between 1799 and 1802, were among those formerly enslaved by Washington family who returned to Mount Vernon in 1835 to work on the New Tomb.3
Notes:
1. "[Diary entry: 18 February 1786]," Founders Online, National Archives.
2."George Washington’s Last Will and Testament, 9 July 1799," Founders Online, National Archives.
3. "Washington’s Slave List, June 1799," Founders Online, National Archives, Morris is not listed in the 1799 Census of the Enslaved at Mount Vernon; Alexandria Gazette, 11 October 1835.
Bibliography:
Thompson, Mary V. “The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret”: George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon. Charlottesville and London: University of Virginia Press, 2019.
Schoelwer, Susan P., ed. Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington's Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon, VA: Mount Vernon Ladies Association, 2016.
