Jim, an enslaved man residing in Chowan County, North Carolina, was enslaved by Josiah Copeland. Jim was called before the local freeholders court in 1781 when he was accused of unlawfully possessing gunpowder and sugar, presumably materials he had accumulated via theft. The court found Jim guilty and sentenced him to one hundred lashes. If Jim survived the punishment, he may have died or been sold out of Copeland's custody sometime before 1791, as Copeland's estate inventory does not mention Jim among the eighteen slaves owned by the estate.