Buccau, Quamino

Source:

 African American National Biography

Buccau, Quamino

(Feb. 1762–c. 1850),

a devout Methodist, was born near New Brunswick, New Jersey, one of five children of slave parents. Buccau's life would have been lost forever if not for Memoir of Quamino Buccau, a Pious Methodist, (1851) published by William J. Allinson, an abolitionist member of a prestigious Burlington, New Jersey, Quaker family and a member of the Burlington County Antislavery Society. The two men, both Burlington residents from different races and backgrounds, shared a profound commitment to the doctrine of Christian love and charity. In an era of racial discord, the force of their mutual esteem is clearly evidenced throughout the pages of Allinson's tract about the humble, old black man whom he characterized as “lowly in heart” (Allinson, 8).

Buccau was someone with keen insight, never complaining about his predicament. For instance, he knew that his name was of African origin, that to retain it was a privilege, and thus wore it with pride. There were many slaveholders who upon possession immediately stripped the enslaved of African names as a means of asserting authority.

According to John C. Inscoe, “A wide variety of names like Quamino, Musso, Cush, …appear on early slave lists, but none of these survived for long” (532). In 1772 at age nine, Buccau leased Quamino to Abraham and Elcie Schenk “for a term of years” (4). In the eyes of a child, the difference between “leased” or “sold” was of no importance; all that mattered was the confusion of being taken from home by strangers. Later, as a house servant, Quamino was transported out of state, moving with the Schenk family to the northern part of New York. Not until nine years later, in 1781, did his owner send someone to bring the eighteen-year-old Quamino back to New Jersey. Slave parents protected their children by coaching them on how to survive adverse conditions through obedience. As a result Quamino was dutiful with a “kindly heart” and took pride in being a “good boy” (6). Still, the conditions under which he lived were better than most, and there were no physical, emotional, nor psychological mistreatment. However, “Whilst in this situation, he was compelled to witness every public execution, with the idea that a salutary lesson would thus be impressed, and, unhappily, the opportunities were by no means rare” (5). The message was clear—stay in line or suffer the consequences. Quamino could not hide the compassion he felt for what he witnessed firsthand.

Christianity came to Quamino forcefully in a spiritual experience one day during a walk home through the woods. His religious experience was intense and set in motion a lifelong commitment to Christianity and serving others. One Sabbath when returning home, a road appeared before him that led up into the mountains with horses following. Quamino was so overwhelmed that he considered the strange happening a message from God, and thereafter he became a devout believer. In 1788, at age twenty-six, he married Sarah, a slave woman with a small son working in another household. Secure in the doctrine of Christian love, the couple survived the hardships of separations and infrequent visits that often challenged the longevity of slave unions. Together they had one son. His old slave master Buccau died, but not before stipulating in his will that Quamino and his siblings could select another slaveholder from the Buccau family or neighboring households. During slavery, it was rare for last wills and testaments to give victims of oppression a voice in ownership after the master's death; rare, too, that the heirs would adhere to the departed's wishes so obediently. Quamino chose the eldest son of Buccau's offspring to be his owner, but the arrangement was short-lived and troubled. After a short time his master beat him without cause, and it so offended Quamino that he refused to work for him. Subsequently, in 1792, shortly after his marriage, Quamino was sold away from the Buccau household for the first time, to the Smock family. Now married but living apart from his wife, Quamino learned that she had been sold to slaveholders who mistreated her. The distraught husband immediately sought help from his new master, and soon after, arrangements were made for Sarah to join the Smock household. The couple would live together for the next fifty years. Quamino and Sarah were later sold to Dr. John Griffith of Boundbrook, New Jersey, a longtime member of the New Jersey Abolition Society. Upon Griffith's death his estate was administered by his son, William J. Griffith, a lawyer of some prominence and respectability. In the disposition of his father's last will and testament, the young Griffith made the decision to free Quamino and Sarah. On 25 September 1806 William J. Griffith processed documents that freed the couple. For many years, devout in their Christian beliefs, Quamino and Sarah worshiped at the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church but also regularly attended Society of Friends religious services. This was understandable, as the two religions were closely aligned in principle, and Burlington County had a large Society of Friends population. William J. Allinson was a pharmacist in Burlington, New Jersey, interested in the preservation of history and a close friend of abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Allinson met Quamino when he visited his shop and also at the meeting house.

Sarah died in 1842 after fifty-four years of marriage. Before Quamino's death eight years later, the generosity of many Quaker neighbors and friends was clearly evidenced in the attention paid to him as a lonely widower. There were visits from many religious men of distinction, both Quaker and Methodist, who came by to visit the elderly, blind, and humble old man to share scriptures and words of comfort. Quamino died at the age of eighty-eight.

Quamino Buccau lived as a devout Methodist with principles that William J. Allinson, a noted abolitionist, deemed worthy of record. He once remarked to friends that, “I don't know much about freedom, but I wouldn't be a slave ag'in, not if you'd give me the best farm in the Jarsies.” As a kind and sensitive gentleman, Quamino had a strong sense of humility with Christian beliefs that neutralized the hostility of being enslaved.

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