Image from 'The Boston Gazette,' available online through the Library of Congress. Please click the image to visit their webpage.
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Although little is known about Letitia, she notably resisted slavery in 18th-century Boston by escaping from the man who enslaved her. Letitia was probably born in the 1720s, though it is unclear whether she was born in Boston or brought here from western African or the Caribbean during the height of the colonial slave trade in New England. As a young girl, Letitia was enslaved by a member of King's Chapel named James Gordon. Letitia most likely labored in the Gordon household, doing domestic work during her enslavement. Gordon enslaved at least eight people during his lifetime, many of whom were baptized at King's Chapel. In the late 1730s, Letitia was sold to a man named John Wass. In 1739, Letitia escaped from bondage, taking her fate into her own hands. The man who enslaved her placed the following advertisement in the Boston Gazette in March 1739: "Absconded from her Master John Wass of Boston, a Negro Girl, named Letitia former bought of Mr. James Gordon. Whoever will take up the said Negro, and bring her to said Wass at the South End of Boston, shall be satisfied for their Trouble." It is unclear if Letitia was captured and returned to slavery, but her name does not appear in John Wass's 1741 will, providing hope that she may have successfully secured her freedom.
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