Joseph S. Donovan

Joseph S. Donovan
Joseph S. Donovan shipped 93 people from Baltimore to J. M. Wilson in New Orleans on the John C. Calhoun in October 1850; the ship's owner charged Donovan $12 to send enslaved people over 12, $6 each for children under 12 years old, "infants no charge" (University of Maine Digital Commons)
Born(1800-04-20)April 20, 1800
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
DiedApril 15, 1860(1860-04-15) (aged 59)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Other namesJ. S. Donovan
Occupation(s)Slave trader, slave jailor

Joseph S. Donovan (April 20, 1800 – April 15, 1861) was an American slave trader known for his slave jails in Baltimore, Maryland. Donovan was a major participant in the interregional slave trade, building shipments of enslaved people from the Upper South and delivering them to the Deep South where they would be used, for the most part, on cotton and sugar plantations. As one Baltimore historical researcher and tour guide summarized, "the change from raising tobacco to wheat in the region caused a surplus of labor, whereas the South needed more labor due to the invention of the cotton gin".[1] Donovan, in company with Austin Woolfolk, Bernard M. Campbell, and Hope H. Slatter, have been described as one of the "tycoons of the slave trade" in the Upper South, "responsible for the forced departures of approximately 9000 captives from Baltimore to New Orleans."[2]

  1. ^ Ricks, Molly (December 17, 2019). "Volunteer Spotlight: Richard Messick - Baltimore Heritage". Baltimore Heritage - Preserving and promoting Baltimore's historic buildings and neighborhoods. Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  2. ^ Williams, Jennie K. (April 2, 2020). "Trouble the water: The Baltimore to New Orleans coastwise slave trade, 1820–1860". Slavery & Abolition. 41 (2): 275–303. doi:10.1080/0144039X.2019.1660509. ISSN 0144-039X.