A considerable portion, if not the majority of workers, in the  
ironworks of Virginia and Maryland were African slaves. This has  
been covered in detail in the works of Kathleen Bruce, Ronald Lewis,  
Charles Dew, and more recently by John Bezis-Selfa.

There is also evidence of widespread use of slaves in the rest of the  
mid-Atlantic. Bining (1939:99-102) wrote:

Negroes were used in the ironworks from the early establishment of  
the Pennsylvania industry.  In 1727 the shortage of labor was so  
acute that the ironmasters in the colony petitioned the Assembly for  
permission to import Negroes free of duty to labor at their works...  
A bill permitting Negroes imported into the colony for the express  
purpose of laboring at ironworks to enter duty free failed by the  
deciding vote of the Speaker.  Two years later, however, the duty of  
£5 on each Negro brought into the Province was reduced to £2... While  
Negro slaves and freed Negroes usually worked at menial tasks, at  
many ironworks they were skilled workmen.

Acrelius reported the use of slaves in PA (1750-56).

Pierce (1957:133) wrote that Batsto "was not operated by slave labor,  
as were some North Jersey ironworks of the time". The use of slaves  
at Tinton Falls (17C) in Monmouth County, NJ effected the  
demographics of the county for over a century (Hodges 1997). What  
other evidence is there that NJ and NY ironworks did or did not use  
slaves?

Hammersmith (Saugus) used transported Scottish rebels. Is there any  
evidence that the other New England ironworks used slaves or  
transportees?

James Brothers, RPA
[log in to unmask]