E. A. Preston Letter to Judith Merriweather

Collection

Identifier: SC 01532

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Three page letter to cousin about Preston's slaves being ill, mentioning that they "lost one fine girl" out of their slaves to illness. Addresses inquiries about buying "good land" and "good Negroes" in the country, talks about the settlement of Texas and how "many from Virginia are moving to Texas" and how a fine society might develop there. Preston writes that the slaves "will occasion great distress in this country some time, and not at a distant period." Postscript mentions that land and slaves sell for "very high, men for fifteen hundred dollars, women a thousand" and that the Preston family's slaves "are better than we usually see them."

Dates

1837 September 10

Creator

Preston, E. A. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Conditions Governing Use

Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.