Liss

Liss was born into slavery on Long Island, New York around the year 1763 and lived in lower Manhattan from 1779 - 1785. She was enslaved by two brothers, Samuel Townsend, of Oyster Bay, New York, and Dr. James Townsend, of Jericho, New York. During the American Revolution, a British commander, Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe billeted in the household of Samuel Townsend where Liss was enslaved. Simcoe believed slavery was morally wrong.

Col. Simcoe helped Liss escape, but she was soon re-enslaved in Manhattan by another British man whose name is not known.
While in Manhattan, Liss had contact with Samuel’s son Robert Townsend who was operating as the lead New York City spy for General George Washington as “Culper, Jr.” of the Culper Spy Ring. Shortly after Liss arrived in Manhattan, a Culper letter referred to a new operative using the code for “lady”—the number 355. The letter infers 355 had a unique means of conveying sensitive information without arousing suspicion, pointing to the possibility that Liss could have been the agent. 

When her British enslaver planned to evacuate in the summer of 1782, Liss appealed to Robert to repurchase her, motivated in part because she was three months pregnant. Robert agreed and purchased Liss.

She was living in Robert's apartment at Hanover Square, when she gave birth to a mixed-race boy named Harry in February of 1783.

In the summer of 1783 Liss and six-month-old Harry were sold to a widow named Ann Sharwin with the verbal understanding that she would not take Liss and Harry out of Manhattan without first contacting Robert.

However, when the woman remarried a wealthy widower named Alexander Robertson a year later Liss was sold to Charleston, South Carolina, in January 1785 and separated from two-year-old Harry, who remained enslaved in the Robertson household in Hanover Square.
Arriving in Charleston January 25, 1785. Liss was re-enslaved for 2 years by Richard Palmes, who had been involved in the Boston Massacre of 1770, had served as a Continental Marine, and was once a bodyguard for future U.S. president John Adams.

In early 1787 Robert, who had since joined the New York Manumission Society and moved to Peck Slip, discovered what had happened to Liss. He confronted Alexander Robertson, obtained details of Liss’s enslavement by Palmes, and repurchased 4-year-old Harry back. He brought Harry to Oyster Bay to his parents’ home. He then wrote letters to Charleston merchants, requesting their assistance in re-purchasing Liss and bringing her back to New York.
Despite several complications, including a 1786 New York law prohibiting the sale of slaves across state lines, it appears Liss was smuggled back to Oyster Bay in the early summer of 1787.
In November 1789 Liss was a member of the Baptist Church of Oyster Bay listed as “Elizabeth, a Black woman.” She may also be the person listed as “Free Elizabeth,” recorded in the 1790 Census employed at a manor called “Fort Neck House” in what is now Massapequa, New York.

Thirteen years later Liss was manumitted in Oyster Bay on September 3, 1803. 

Again in 1806 the Oyster Bay Baptist Church record lists her as a member with the word “dead” added later, indicating that Liss was part of the congregation for the remainder of her life.
Despite suffering deception, violence, and separation from her child, Liss never stopped seeking her own freedom. Her assertion of her own will, her intrepid petitions to control her fate, the denials of her basic humanity, and her ultimate triumph in the face of repeated tragedy and injustice make her a symbol of enduring bravery.