Sye (also known as Siphax) was an enslaved worker at Tuckahoe during the Randolph period. Sometime in 1778 he ran away and Thomas Mann Randolph put out an ad in the newspaper offering a reward of $50 for his return. The ad stated that he was mulatto and described him as “about five feet ten inches high, well made and clean limbed, stutters a little when speaking in a hurry, and is about twenty years old.” Apparently this man had been apprehended at some point but then escaped capture once again along the James River.
Tax records for Thomas Mann Randolph have been found for as early as 1782 where 193 enslaved workers are listed by name. The name “Cyphax” is listed here and does not look to be repeated. If this was indeed the same man it would suggest that he was recaptured at some point after his escape and continued to work in slavery under Mr. Randolph. After Randolph’s death, his estate including the enslaved workers was sold in 1794. The name of Cyphax (or any variation thereof) is not mentioned. It is possible he had been sold prior to this, that he had passed away, or that he had once more attempted to escape.
