William Gardner (former slave)
William Gardner (born Billey, 1759 - unknown) was a slave born into the family of James Madison in Montpelier, Virginia to a man likely named Tony. He was given to the young Madison by his father as a companion when Madison was a child. Named Billey, Gardner was with Madison from 1780 to 1783 in Philadelphia for the Continental Congress. Madison considered selling Gardner to buy philosophy books in 1782, the same year that Gardner attempted to run away. As Gardner had previously attempted to runaway, opposed returning to Montpelier, had been actively exposed to ideas about liberty and populations of free black people, and whose servitude was legally questionable, Madison opted to sell Gardner into indentured servitude for a seven-year term. Upon the end of his term, Gardner became a merchant's agent who worked for notable American colonial figures including Madison and Thomas Jefferson. As a free man, Gardner married Henrietta and started a family. His wife worked as a launderer. Gardner's route to freedom highlighted a problem among American Revolutionary War supporters. It demonstrated a fear of slave and Native American uprisings, and mass attempts at running away, as a result of the colonies' rebellion from Great Britain,