Cesar Chelor (born in
Wrentham, Massachusetts
Wrentham ( ) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,178 at the 2020 census.
History
In 1660, five men from Dedham were sent to explore the lakes near George Indian's wigwam and to report back to the ...
)
was an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
woodworker,
toolmaker
Tool and die makers are highly skilled crafters working in the manufacturing industries. Variations on the name include tool maker, toolmaker, die maker, diemaker, mold maker, moldmaker or tool jig and die-maker depending on which area of concent ...
,
plane-maker and was enslaved by the colonial entrepreneur and the earliest documented American plane maker Francis Nicholson (1683-1753). Chelor is the earliest documented African-American plane maker in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.
Background
Chelor's exact birthdate is unknown, however, he is thought to have been born in 1720.
He was owned by Nicholson as early as 1736. In 1741, Chelor was admitted as a member to the Congregational Church in Wrentham Center, when he was supposedly 21. Chelor would become a freeman when Nicholson died in 1753. Along with freedom, Nicholson willed Chelor a workshop, 10 acres of land, tools and materials to continue on independently. Chelor was married to ''Juda Russell'' in 1758, with whom he had shared eight children. In 1784, Chelor died without a will with an estate inventory valued at 77 pounds 2 shillings.
Notes & references
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelor, Cesar
1720 births
1784 deaths
People from Wrentham, Massachusetts
American freedmen
18th-century American slaves