York was well traveled before going on the expedition. As a house slave, rather than a slave who worked in the fields, and as the personal servant of a prominent person, York would have enjoyed privileges that most slaves did not. This meant that York inhabited the upper level of the slave hierarchy. While still boys, York would have been formally assigned to William as his personal servant. They played together and worked together. His son served in the same capacity to John Clark’s son, William. He most likely was John Clark’s personal servant.
As York grew to manhood, his father became known as “Old York.” Old York was a trusted Clark family slave. It is believed that York was owned by the Clark family since birth. Your clothes, your food, your happiness, your family, and even your life all depended on the person that owned you. Everything you had was dependent on your master. Think how it must have felt to be a slave. He is not only a famous African American, but a famous American as well. York became the first African American to cross the United States from coast to coast. Researchers and writers have revealed enough information about York to produce not only an excellent biography, but to also make him one of the best documented members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The vast majority of slaves lived lives that are lost to history. There are a growing number of works in a variety of mediums dedicated to York that not only inform about him but serve to give substance to the experience of a slave from this period in America’s history. This is especially true during the 2003 to 2006 bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
In recent years something of a Renaissance has occurred regarding interest in York.
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