David was an African American man residing in Pasquotank County, North Carolina. David had been enslaved by Charles Morgan, a Quaker. Due to his religious beliefs, Morgan freed David in about 1776. Later, North Carolina passed a law stating that enslaved people could not be freed without permission of the courts. In 1778 local officials arrested David, arguing that he had violated the law even though he had been emancipated prior to the law, and sold his labor at public auction. Any further information regarding this individual has not been located.