Kaela Bleho, Newport Historical Society
Arthur Tikey, also known as Arthur Flagg,[1] was a ropemaker by trade, a father to eight children[2] by his wife Flora, a dedicated member of the Sabbatarian Church, a property owner, and a highly involved member of Newport’s
Free African Union Society (later the African Benevolent Society), the first Black-run mutual-aid society in the United States.
Like many people enslaved in 18th century Newport, Arthur’s first appearance in the documentary record omits his name; the 1762 estate inventory for Ebenezer Flagg lists “In the yard and stable… 3 Negro Men (total value obscured).”[3] What we know of Arthur’s life before this point is based on extrapolation from later records. He was born around 1733,[4] though no records have been uncovered that reveal where he was born,[5] or how he came to be sold into slavery and forcibly transported across the Middle Passage. He may have arrived in America by 1754; a March 17, 1810 entry in the diary of Stephen Gould, an acquaintance of Arthur’s,[6] states he had been in the country about 56 years at the time of his death at 77.[7]
In Newport, Arthur was enslaved by the Flagg family. Ebenezer Flagg (1710-1762) and his wife Mary (Ward) Flagg (1713-1781) profited from a rope-making business (Collins & Flagg, later Collins, Flagg and Engs), among other interests; this is likely where Arthur learned his craft.[8] At the time of Ebenezer’s death in 1762, he was highly in debt, and his estate was quickly liquidated by his widow Mary, including a house on Queen Street [now Charles Street], where Flagg likely lived while he was enslaved.[9] This house later became the Pitt’s Head Tavern. Ebenezer’s obituary notes his “Conduct as a Husband, a Parent, and a Master, was truly amiable and praise-worthy.”[10] We will never know if Arthur would have supported such a claim. Ebenezer does not appear to have freed Arthur, or the other two men he enslaved, at the time of his death.[11] On February 9 1763, less than six months after Ebenezer’s death, “Artur Flagg” and “Florah Burroughs” were married by Rev. Thurston of the Second Congregational Church.[12]
Arthur next appears in the documentary records is in 1771, when “Arthur a negro man servant of the widow Mary Flaggs” was baptized into the Sabbatarian Church.[13] During this period, “servant” and “slave” were interchangeable. He became highly involved in the church and remained a life-long member, often appearing in the minutes alongside Scipio Tanner (enslaved by John Tanner, church deacon), both of whom regularly voted on church business. His children Peggy, Violet, Rosanna, Phoebe, and Arthur Flagg Jr. were baptized into the church, as was his wife Flora.[14] Church records hint at tensions within the family, as Arthur and Flora’s daughter Violet is repeatedly censured for intoxication, and is expelled from communion and eventually the church.[15] Following Arthur’s death in 1810, Violet was placed under the guardianship of Stephen Gould,[16] who wrote in his journal that he “reluctantly submitted to the Appointment of guardian of Violet Flagg a black Woman, but hope to be found faithful in the discharge of my trust.”[17]
The 1774 census record for the household of Mary Flagg contained a total of five people, including one unidentified Black male above the age of 16, assumed to be enslaved (
ev02123; 1774 Census, p. 6). The names recorded adjacent to Mary's on the census [Hall and Stevens] indicate the property was on Thames near Cross Street [then called Triangle Street]. It is not known when Arthur came to be free, but by early 1789 he was a member of the Free African Union Society,[18] indicating he would have been a free man at this point. It is possible he was freed following the death of Mary Ward Flagg in 1781, though no will or documentation could be found to support this. An entry in Stephen Gould’s diary states that Arthur “had purchased his own time of his Master [Bought his own freedom], his Wife & several of his Children.”[19] It is entirely possible that Arthur purchased his freedom from Mary Flagg prior to her death. He also came to own the property on Thames Street that was previously owned by Mary, which Arthur sold to FAUS member Cupid Brown in 1793;[20] whether he purchased this property from Mary or was deeded it at the time of her death is unknown. To certify the land transaction, Arthur signed his name with an “X”; this could indicate Arthur was illiterate, though if he was, it certainly didn’t hamper his leadership roles in the FAUS (see below) or his acumen as a tradesperson and landowner.[21] Despite the sale to Cupid, the property had returned to Flagg's ownership by the time of his death.[22]
The 1782 Census shows nine Black people living in the "Elisabeth Flagg House" presumed to be Arthur Flagg living in a house previously owned my Mary Flagg and inherited by her daughter Elizabeth. Those registered in the census likely include his wife Flora Flagg and their children Violet, Arthur Jr., Solomon Nuba Tikey, Rosanna, Peggy, Phoebe, and Abraham. Their daughter Nancy (c.1784-6 Oct 1801) was not yet born at the time of this census. The 1790 census U.S. Census of Rhode Island lists a total of nine free Black people in the household of Arthur Flagg: likely Arthur, Flora, Violet, Arthur Jr., Rosanna, Nancy, Peggy, Phoebe, and Abraham. Their son Solomon Nuba Tikey (c.1780-6 August 1785) had passed away by this time. By 1800, Arthur’s household consisted of five other free people (it is possible three of his living children had married or started their own households by this point). By this time, the family likely lived in a house bounded by Thames Street and Cross street [In the vicinity of 19-27 Thames Street], a property that is deeded to several of Arthur and Flora’s children in his 1804 will and described as “the house where I now live.”[22][23] Arthur and his family owned several properties around Newport; Arthur’s will also references a house and lot in the Point. In addition to this, in 1807, Arthur purchased lot 108 from the Proprietors of Easton’s Point, bounded westerly by Third Street and southerly on Poplar Street (present-day 43 Poplar Street).[24] This property was eventually sold out of the Flagg family by Mary Jane Benson, Arthur’s granddaughter, in 1864.[25]
During this time, Arthur was highly involved in the Free African Union Society and its later iteration the African Benevolent Society, serving at different points as judge and treasurer, and in 1808, president.[26] Arthur hosted meetings at his house,[27] and helped found a free evening school for Black men, women, and children. Arthur Flagg Jr. also became a member of the society in 1794,[28] and in 1808 worked as an evening instructor at the African Benevolent Society’s school alongside Newport Gardner,[29] eventually becoming vice president in 1811.[30]
Arthur Tikey passed away on March 16, 1810 at age 77; his death is noted in the Sabbatarian meeting minutes[31] and in the African Benevolent Society records.[32]
Stephen Gould’s emotional account of the funeral proceedings speak to how beloved Arthur was by the community:
“Attended the funeral of Arthur Flagg—[a Director of that Society]. And who would presume to say that Africans does not possess the feelings & affections as strong as those of White people, when they view the solemnity of their funerals, and in particular the tears that was shed at the grave of this goodly old man, my very heart was rent to see how much affected his children were at parting with him, & was not lessened to see his poor old country Man & brother in the Church [that he belonged to] Sipeo Tanner shed tears over the grave of his brother—Arthur was a man of uncommon respectability, had purchased his own time of his Master [Bought his own freedom], his Wife & several of his Children & besides that had by his industry & prudence acquired considerable property, & died Much above want after having supported a large family very reputably—Such a Character is respectable as the Cholor of their Skin be as it may.”[33]
His loss was a blow to the African Benevolent Society, an organization he had been involved in for over two decades. Newport Gardner wrote a touching tribute to his friend in his first president’s address, delivered the year following Arthur’s death:
“I expect to serve you in this office with equal satisfaction to the member whose death we have all deeply and sensibly felt. When I consider his firm and unshaken resolution to leave nothing undone that ought to be done for the interest and welfare of the Society and for the Africans in General - not only the present generation but also those that are not yet to be born - by attending to all the meetings of this society both civil and religious so that no weather could prevent his tottering age from giving his attendance to both far and near - together with his meekness sincerity and exemplary behaviour among us could not fail to leave a lasting impression in my mind, and I trust the mind of every member of the society. But alas when I consider my unworthy self to take the place of such a one, I shrink.”[34]
His tombstone in the God’s Little Acre burying ground, situated besides that of his wife Flora, bears the epitaph: “The sweetest remembrance of the just/ shall flourish while they sleep in dust.”
[1] Flagg was the surname of Arthur’s enslavers, Ebenezer Flagg and Mary Flagg.
[2] Violet (c. 1765-August 1852), Arthur Jr. (c. 1772-18 Jun 18, 1827), Rosanna (Flagg) Taylor (c.1772-18 May 1847), Solomon Nuba Tikey (c.1780-6 August 1785), Nancy (c.1784-6 Oct 1801), Peggy (not known), Phoebe (Flagg) Benson (not known), and Abraham (d. December 17, 1809).
[3] NHS Town Council Vol.13, page 186.
[4] Arthur’s tombstone at God’s Little Acre marks his death at 77 years of age in 1810.
[5] The name of one of Arthur’s sons, Solomon Nuba Tikey (buried at God’s Little Acre), may be in reference to the Nuba people indigenous to Sudan.
[6] Stephen Gould (1781-1838) was a Quaker Merchant and watchmaker; he served as a director of the Board of the African Benevolent Society school (1808) and would have known Arthur in that capacity.
[7] Gould family papers, #2033. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
[8] Arthur’s will, registered May 17, 1804, identifies him as a ropemaker (Newport Town Council Probate Records, Vol 4, pages 685-686) as does a 1793 land transaction (
NHS Vol.1674B, p. 175-176).
[9] On November 14, 1763, Mary Flagg petitioned for permission to sell real estate to settle debts (Gleanings from Newport Court Files, Fiske, 1998, no. 961). She later placed a number of ads in the Newport Mercury listing property for sale (February 12, 1764-April 2, 1764). George Rome also placed ads in the Newport Mercury calling for all debts relating to businesses Collins and Flagg and Collins, Flagg and Engs to be settled immediately (January 2, 1764-1768).
[10] Newport Mercury, September 7, 1762.
[11] Research has revealed one of these three men was likely Pompey Flagg, who was enslaved by Ebenezer’s father John Flagg in Boston, and was bequeathed to Ebenezer at John’s death in 1732. Family records of the descendants of Gershom Flagg (1907), p. 22; https://archive.org/details/familyrecordsofd00flag/.
[12] NHS Box 104, Folder 2.
[13] Janet Thorngate, Baptists in Early North America, Volume III: Newport, Rhode Island, Seventh Day Baptists (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2017), p. 162.
[14] “Pegge” baptized April 15, 1782, Violet baptized November 16, 1786, Rosanna baptized May 7, 1796, Phoebe baptized May 7, 1796, Arthur Flagg Jr. baptized December 7, 1806, and Flora baptized November 27, 1776.
[15] Janet Thorngate, Baptists in Early North America, Volume III: Newport, Rhode Island, Seventh Day Baptists (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2017), p. 202, 204, 206-207.
[16] Newport Probate Vol. 4, p. 687.
[17] Gould family papers, #2033. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
[18]
NHS Vol.1674B, p. 44.
[19] Wiggins, “Paul and Stephen, unlikely friends,” 2001, p. 20-21.
[20]
NHS Vol.1674B, p. 175-176.
[21] Arthur’s May 17, 1804, will is also signed with an “X”. Newport Town Council Probate Records, Vol 4, pages 685-686.
[22] Newport Probate Records Vol. 4, p. 685-686.
[23] The house was sold out of the family by Eliza Flagg to Gabrial Gardiner in 1858 for $900 (Newport Land Evidence Vol. 34, p. 353-354).
[24] Newport Land Evidence Vol.10, p. 283.
[25] Newport Land Evidence Vol.37, p. 630.
[26] NHS
Vol.1674A, p. 10.
[27] NHS
Vol.1674B, p. 213-214.
[28] NHS
Vol.1674B, p. 215.
[29] NHS
Vol.1674A, p. 15.
[30] NHS
Vol.1674A, p. 60-61.
[31] Janet Thorngate, Baptists in Early North America, Volume III: Newport, Rhode Island, Seventh Day Baptists (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2017), p. 213.
[32] NHS
Vol.1674B, p. 40.
[33] Wiggins, “Paul and Stephen, unlikely friends,” 2001, p. 20-21.
[34] NHS
Vol.1674A, p. 55.