There exists among the Negro's descendants a tradition that this slave with the aid of his master worked out his purchase price and obtained his liberty. It may have been that John Slocum purchased the Negro with this end in view. At any rate a grand-daughter relates how on a rainy morning when all, including Cuffe, were seated at the breakfast table, a justice of the peace appeared with papers of emancipation.[2] Having received his liberty at an unexpected moment, Cuffe knew not what to do. Seeing his bewilderment, the gracious squire and the quondam master gave him temporary employment and, when he was ready to leave, advised him to lead a steady life, take good care of his money, and get him a home. With this advice, two suits of clothes, and freedom, the manumitted slave went happily away.
Now it happened that about this time there came to Dartmouth an Indian girl called Ruth Moses. In due time the town clerk recorded: "Intention of marriage between Cuffe Slocum and Ruth Moses both of Dartmouth, was entered 3 January 1745."[3] The rest of the story is told by the minister of Dartmouth in these words: "July ye 7, 1746, Cuffe Slocum a Negro man and Ruth Moses an Indian woman both of Dartmouth were married by me Philip Taber."[4] These two records tell us all we know of the courtship and marriage of Cuffe Slocum.
Probably the newly-weds made their home in Chilsmark, Dukes County. The deed to some land which they bought in 1766 from David Brownell of Dartmouth refers to Cuffe Slocum of Chilsmark. The land was a farm of one hundred and twenty acres and sold for six hundred and fifty Spanish milled dollars. As indicated in the deed, the boundary was: "Northerly on the Country Road, Westerly on Land belonging to Jonathan Sowle, Southerly on Land Enos Gifford gave to his Daughter Rachel Wilbur, Easterly partly on said Gifford and partly on Philip Allen, or according to the Deed I had of Solomon Southwick."[5]
All of the children, except the youngest, were born previous to this purchase. There were six girls and four boys. The youngest boy and the seventh child born January 17, 1759, was Paul. Tradition holds that he was born on Cuttyhunk, one of the Elizabeth Islands, about nine miles from the main, and Cuffe himself says that he was born in the only house on the island.
About 1778, on the initiative of Paul, it is said, all of the children, except the youngest, dropped the slave name of Slocum. For their surname they used the given name of their father. In this way the Cuffe family came to be, and in this way we are introduced to its best known representative, Paul.
John, an older brother of Paul, made this memorandum which is preserved with the family papers: "My honored good old father Cuffe Slocum deceased in the month called March 1772—and our honored good old mother Ruth Slocum deceased the sixth day of January 1787 at 8 o'clock in the morning." The father left the farm jointly to Paul and his brother John. Later the brothers agreed to divide it between themselves. It was unproductive land and, no doubt, this fact caused the brothers to venture into commercial pursuits. The care of the family fell for the most part on them, for the older children had homes of their own.
At thirteen Paul was barely able to read and write. He kept at his studies, being assisted occasionally by a private tutor, and gave considerable time to the subject of navigation. On taking his first lesson in this subject he said it "was all black as midnight"; at the end of the second lesson he saw "a little gleam of light"; after the third lesson he had more light. Finally, it was all plain to him. He told a certain Professor Griscom: "There were always three things that I paid attention to—latitude, lead, and lookout."
A Sea Captain
When about sixteen Paul secured employment as a common seaman on a vessel bound for the Gulf of Mexico on a whaling voyage. His next trip took him to the West Indies. On a third voyage, the Revolutionary War having broken out, he was captured by the British and held in New York for three months. On his release he repaired to Westport to engage in agricultural pursuits until the times were more propitious for life on the sea. In the meantime he carried on the study of arithmetic and navigation.
Having equipped himself for a life at sea both by study and service as a common seaman, Paul, aided by his brother David, built, at the age of twenty, an open boat to trade with the Connecticut people. But the hazard of the sea and the refugee pirates were too much for David. He left his younger brother and went to the farm, whereupon Paul had for the time being to give up the venture. Soon, however, he was at sea again but lost everything. The undaunted youth, nevertheless, would not give up. He made a boat himself from keel to gunwale, and in it he started to consult his brother concerning future undertaking. On the way he was discovered by the pirates who seized him and his vessel. He was lucky to reach home.