White servitude in Maryland.

[mia]

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mobley/WHITESER.TXT

I've long been interested in genealogy and have early Maryland roots. I came across this reading many years ago.

For the punishment and prevention of this wholesale running away very stringent laws were enacted by the General Assembly throughout the period. In March, I64I-2, an act was passed making it felony and punishable with death for a servant to depart secretly from his master or mistress with intent to convey himself out of the province.4 This penalty might be commuted by the proprietor or the governor to servitude not exceeding seven years. Anyone who accompanied or assisted such a fugitive was subject to the same penalty as the fugitive himself.5 This law was super-seded by the act of April, I649-50, which made it felony to assist a
servant in running away, but the servant was required only to serve double the time of his absence and to pay all costs and damages by servitude. The same penalty was imposed upon hired servants, but those who assisted them were not guilty of felony and were required only to pay double damages and costs for the servant's absence.6 It does not appear from a study of the court records that the death penalty, or even servitude for seven years, was ever imposed upon the servant or his accessory, although running away was frequent....