Ricardo (Coleman)

I represent Ricardo, an enslaved person in the household of Rev. James Coleman, also known as Santiago Colman to his Spanish parishioners. Rev. Coleman was the priest at the church in Pensacola (the Parish of St. Michael the Archangel), and Vicar-General of West Florida. He also owned a large tract of land on Perdido Bay. I was confirmed in Pensacola on May 7, 1798, by the Bishop of Louisiana and the Floridas, Rev. Luis Peñalver y Cardenas. Because the Bishop visited the area so infrequently, young people and converts of all ages were confirmed whenever the opportunity arose; thus it is not a given that I was a child at the time – especially as I have no parents named in the confirmation record.