On October 23, 1819, Edward V. Allen of Plattsburgh placed an advertisement in the Plattsburgh Republican seeking the return of an indentured “negro boy” named Sire Mingo. Approximately fourteen years old, Sire was described as wearing a grey roundabout coat, grey pantaloons, new coarse shoes, and a black felt hat when he left. He was also reported to have taken two bundles of clothing with him.
Allen’s notice warned the public against harboring Sire under “the severest penalties of the law” and offered a reward of six cents for his return or for information leading to his capture. As was common in such advertisements, Allen specified that no additional expenses related to Sire’s recovery would be paid.
Published in the October 30, 1819 edition of the Plattsburgh Republican, the notice reflects the legal and social realities of indentured servitude and racial hierarchy in early 19th-century New York. While the outcome of Sire Mingo’s escape remains unknown, the advertisement preserves a rare record of a young person’s attempt to seek freedom within a system that sought to control his labor and movement.