Gabe (or Gabriel) was an enslaved worker at Tuckahoe during the Randolph period. He was listed as a carpenter by trade and described as a “stout, clean limbed fellow, about 6 feet 2 inches high” and dressed in “died woollen cloth”. He had previously belonged to Colonel Charles Carter. On December 10, 1779 he ran away from Tuckahoe and Thomas Mann Randolph put out an ad in the newspaper offering a reward for his capture. Gabe allegedly stole a horse belonging to the overseer to make his escape. Randolph promised $20 for his return plus an extra $5 for the horse and saddle. Reruns of this ad were still running in 1784 meaning that he had evaded capture for a number of years.
A document in 1790 lists out the enslaved workers at Tuckahoe along with their occupations. A man named Gabriel is listed as the carpenter. It is believed this is the same man and that at some point he had been caught and returned to Tuckahoe. When Thomas Mann Randolph died in 1793, his estate including the enslaved workers was sold off. Gabriel’s name does not appear to be on the list indicating that he had possibly been sold prior to this date or that he had died.
