1855-05-20 An enslaved person Jim escapes from Henry Shaw
“1855-05-20 An Enslaved Person Jim Escapes from Henry Shaw”. n.d, WashU & Slavery, accessed February 11, 2026, https://digitalexhibits.library.wustl.edu/s/washu-slavery/item/59751
- Title
- 1855-05-20 An enslaved person Jim escapes from Henry Shaw
- Description
- On May 25, 1855, the Missouri Republican published an advertisement issued by Henry Shaw, offering a $300 reward for the return of Jim, an enslaved person owned by Shaw who had apparently escaped on May 20, 1855. The newspaper contains physical descriptions of Jim.
- Action Status
- Unknown
- Date
- May 20, 1855
- Date Certainty
- Approximate
- Location
- "The subscriber's country residence," presumably Henry Shaw's Tower Grove house
- Source
-
©2017 Missouri Botanical Garden
http://www.mobot.org - Relation
-
Henry Shaw
- Primary Participant
- James (Jim) Kennerly
- Primary Participant Description
- Mulatto boy, aged about twenty, about five(?) feet six inches tall: rather stout made, mild spoken, intelligent, and called himself Jim Kennerly, according to the ad
- Freedom Status
- Transition
- Enslaver
-
Henry Shaw
- Age
- about 20
- Sex
- Male
“1855-05-20 An Enslaved Person Jim Escapes from Henry Shaw”. n.d, WashU & Slavery, accessed February 11, 2026, https://digitalexhibits.library.wustl.edu/s/washu-slavery/item/59751