In May 1848, a 14-year-old black youth named Levi Stevenson [alias Stevens] pled guilty to a crime in Baltimore and was sentenced to serve William Bird for a term of eight years. In the following months, Stevenson ran away twice from Bird's farm to Baltimore, each time enticing "another servant" to go with him. Bird claims that Stevenson is "turbulent and vicious" and is "well acquainted with the road to Baltimore ... and can readily escape" and he could "induce and entice all the negroes he may know to run off with him." He asks the court to extend Stevenson's term of service to compensate him for his expenses and for authorization to sell Stevenson inside or outside the state.
Result: Granted.
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Repository: Maryland State Archives, Annapolis, Maryland
