Negro Simon's high wage and No Sunday Work

"On top of the list is Negro Simon...."

Quote from Slave Labor in the Capital, page 104

This was perhaps my most exciting find in the National Archives. It is one of the illustrations in the book, on page 104. Other historians have used the information in the payroll, but not correctly. It shows that these slaves were paid for 30 days labor in August and one "Negro" sawyer was paid as much as slave carpenters and white apprentice carpenters, around 2 shillings less an hour than carpenters. The other "Negro" sawyers on the list made the usual "extra wage" of one shilling a day that was theirs to keep.

But some historians use the payment for 30 days of work in a month with 31 days as evidence that the slaves had to have worked on Sundays. That's not the case.

As I explain in my book on page 104, all workers were credited with 2 hours extra pay for each day they worked 14 hours during the long days of late Spring and the summer. So for a 6 day week of 14 hour days, the workers were paid for 7 twelve hour days of work, and, as always, got Sunday off. Below the payroll showing Simon, I put a scan of the carpenters' payroll for June which shows that the foreman Redmond Purcell and the slave Harry were credit as working 30.4 days which means they worked all 26 working days and got 2 hours of extra pay for each long day, or 52 hours or 4 days 4 hours, which they wrote down all totaled as 30.4 days.

That slaves were allowed extra pay for 14 hour days, meager though it was for all but Simon, is a credit to their bosses. But I do worry about highlighting possible generosity. In the book, I wonder if Simon actually worked for a master named Hammersley who the commissioners paid the same sum of money that month for hiring out a sawyer.  I didn't find Simon on any other payrolls.

I'll share another payroll because I am very worried that the claim that these slaves worked on Sundays will continue to be made. The payroll for August 1796 shows that the fraction used in the number of days work reflected the extra two hours credited for fourteen hour days Some of the carpenters including one of the slave carpenters, Harry, were listed as working 31 days and 6 hours. So by working 6 fourteen hour days they earned an extra day's wages. That August had 27 working days so anyone working the full 27 days earned 31 days and 6 hours wages.