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African-American woodworker From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cesar Chelor (born in Wrentham, Massachusetts)[1][2] was an African-American woodworker, toolmaker, plane-maker and was enslaved by the colonial entrepreneur and the earliest documented American plane maker[3] Francis Nicholson (1683-1753).[4][5][6][7] Chelor is the earliest documented African-American plane maker in North America.[8][9][10]
Chelor's exact birthdate is unknown; however, he is thought to have been born in about 1720.[11][8] He was owned by Nicholson as early as 1736. In 1741, Chelor was admitted to the Congregational Church in Wrentham Center when he was supposedly 21. Chelor would become a freeman when Nicholson died in 1753.[12][13] Along with freedom, Nicholson willed Chelor a workshop, 10 acres of land, tools and materials to continue independently. Chelor was married to Juda Russell in 1758, with whom he had shared eight[lower-alpha 1] children. In 1784, Chelor died without a will with an estate inventory valued at 77 pounds 2 shillings.[15][16][11][1]
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