Reuben Ruby hack ad, Portland, 1834
Item 11224 info
Maine Historical Society
Free African Americans established lives and businesses in Maine starting in colonial times. Dr. Antonius Lamy, described in a 1672 court document as “Anthony a black man”, may have been Maine’s first doctor, and Reuben Ruby ran a coach service in Portland starting in the 1830s.
Descendants of these entrepreneurial families—now 8th and 9th generation “Mainers”—continue to live in Maine.
This advertisement for Ruby's hack service was found in the 1834 Portland Directory, printed by Arthur Shirley.
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