Quock Walker

Yesterday, in celebration of Juneteenth, I researched Quock Walker, a former slave who was instrumental in advancing the freedom of slaves in Massachusetts. This Musings from Main shines a light on his contributions to history. We are currently researching Quock Walker's siblings and their potential ties to the area.  Stay tuned...

The Story of Quock Walker

Quock was born into slavery in 1753.  History student Jack Hisle writes that his name "Quock or Kwaku in Akan, means 'boy born on Wednesday,' in Akan. Akan is a language of Ghanaian origin, which is where Quock Walker's parents, Mingo and Dinah, are believed to be from." 

As a baby he was purchased, along with his parents, by James Caldwell, one of the first settlers of the area which would become Barre, MA.  

When Quock was young, sometime before the age of 10, James promised Quock that he would have his freedom when he reached the age of 25. This promise was thrown into jeopardy when in 1763, James died in a tragic accident.  Apparently, a tree fell on him while he was sheltering during a severe thunderstorm.

Dr. Patrick Browne, Executive Director of the Plymouth Antiquarian Society, reveals that, "Ownership of Mingo, Dinah, Quock and two younger siblings passed to James’s widow, Isabel Caldwell. According to later testimony by Quock, the widow Caldwell promised him his freedom at age 21."

Browne continues,"On March 28, 1769, Isabel Caldwell married Nathaniel Jennison. According to Quock, Jennison stated both before and after his marriage to the widow Caldwell that Quock should go free at age 21. Again, fate intervened. In 1774, just months before Quock was to turn 21, Isabel Caldwell Jennison passed away. Ownership of Quock’s family went to Nathaniel Jennison. And he reneged on any promises to grant Quock Walker his freedom."

In the spring of 1781 when Quock was 28 years old, and at the urging of James’ younger brothers, John and Seth Caldwell, he left Jennison’s household and went to work for them as a free man.  According to legal scholar Philip Hamburger, the two younger Caldwells likely grew up with Quock and knew of the promises regarding Quock’s freedom.

A furious Jennison went over to the Caldwell's farm, beat Quock with the handle of a whip, and drug him back to his property where he locked him in a barn. The Caldwells helped to secure Quock's release and afterwards a flurry of lawsuits ensued. 

Quock sued Jennison for assault and battery, and won damages; Jennison sued the Caldwells for enticing Quock (his property) away, and won damages; and finally the Commonwealth brought criminal charges against Jennison for assault and battery.  The findings in the first two cases basically contradicted each other.  

It is the third case that most point to as the most pivotal case on the road to the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts.  In that case the jury found Jennison guilty and fined him 40 shillings.

Chief Justice William Cushing presided over the case in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.  It was his instructions to the jury that were so instrumental to Quock Walker gaining his personal freedom, and by extension, all enslaved persons in Massachusetts gaining their freedom.

"...And upon this ground our Constitution of Government, by which the people of this Commonwealth have solemnly bound themselves, sets out with declaring that all men are born free and equal—and that every subject is entitled to liberty, and to have it guarded by the laws, as well as life and property—and in short is totally repugnant to the idea of being born slaves. This being the case, I think the idea of slavery is inconsistent with our own conduct and Constitution; and there can be no such thing as perpetual servitude of a rational creature, unless his liberty is forfeited by some criminal conduct or given up by personal consent or contract…"

- Chief Justice William Cushing,1783.

Sources used for this Musing are listed below.

- Barre MA History website

- Hisle, Jack, The Quock Walker Case,Mapping the Great Awakening website, Southern Methodist University, retrieved June 20, 2025. 

- African Americans and the End of Slavery in Massachusetts, Massachusetts Historical Society website, retrieved June 20, 2025. 

- Browne, Patrick, Quock Walker and Emancipation in Massachusetts, Historical Digression blog, published January 18, 2015 retrieved June 20, 2025.

- Peddle, Meghan, Quock Walker and the end of Slavery in Massachusetts; online resource website, retrieved June 20, 2025.