Thread by @NovaRootedProj

William Moulden was born to Isaac and Mary Moulden in 1818. Under Pennsylvania law, Moulden was indentured to John Rudolph of Radnor Township, PA, until 1846 when he turned 28 years old. 1/9

Pennsylvania’s gradual abolition law was passed in 1780, the “first in the nation” to abolish slavery, but the law didn’t actually free anyone. Instead, the law created a system of indenture-hood. 2/9

It stipulated that all children born to enslaved mothers after March 1, 1780, would be indentured to their mothers’ enslavers until they were 28 years old. 3/9

Rudolph was from Maryland. He purchased property in Philadelphia in 1774, prior to the 1780 gradual abolition act. In 1806, John Rudolph purchased the land on which men like William Moulden would build Belle Air. 4/9

Belle Air encompassed much of Villanova’s main campus. Rudolph’s mansion was located near St. Rita’s Hall. (You may have seen the name Rudolph on one of the West Campus apartment buildings.) 5/9

William Moulden, alongside of other free and unfree laborers, worked on Rudolph’s farm raising cows, pigs, and chickens. Moulden also tended fields growing grain, corn, apples, and peaches. Moulden did not see the proceeds of any of this labor; neither did his parents. 6/9

For nearly twenty years, William Moulden’s unpaid labor helped Rudolph’s farm grow and supported Rudolph’s family. When Rudolph died, his widow Jane Rudolph freed William Moulden. In 1840, at 22 years old, William Moulden became a free man. 7/9

In her manumission statement, Jane Rudolph described William Moulden as "sober, honest, and industrious." These words were intended to dismiss any white concerns that a free Black man would be burden. 8/9

To the contrary, Moulden ran successful businesses over the forty years, the proceeds from which HE donated to the Augustinians, who needed his help in opening their college. 9/9

Jane Rudolph's statement is located at the Augustinian Provincial Archive #slaveryarchive @PennSlaveryProj @WM_LemonProject @RUSlaveryFree