Scope and Contents

Includes printed and manuscript material written in Spanish and originating from Spain and Spanish-speaking countries in North America and South America. The collection is currently being processed and new items will be added on an ongoing basis. For this reason, the indicated date range is approximate at this point. This collection has multiple creators, which have not been indexed at this time.

Content Description

Four letters addressed to the Capitan General de la Isla de Cuba from the consulate in Jamaica. They were written by consular officers Antonio Brosa and Carlos Duquesnay. Brosa and Duquesnay report on "disorder" and "disruptions" they attribute to enslaved people and "los emancipados."

Content Description

Two page document written in Spanish of an agreement to purchase two enslaved persons in the colony of Peru in 1561. Included in the agreement are illustrations of the unique identifying brands on the legs of the two individuals.

Scope and Contents Beaumont's journal details his transatlantic voyage from England to the United States, with stops in New York and finally Richmond, Virginia. Accompanied by his brother William, Beaumont gives a detailed account of his journey. He describes extreme seasickness (pg. 2-3); surviving through an Atlantic Ocean hurricane (pg. 3); the abundant marine life, including whales, sharks, cod, and other large fish; information sharing with other passing ships; confusion about their ship's exact location...

Content Description

A one page letter with a cover sheet from a plantation in Jamaica that mentions a strike. Signed, but the name is hard to make out. Most likely James Townson, but "Thomas" is written in the lower left.

Scope and Contents Account book, 1831-1840, of the estate of James Harrell of Chesterfield County, South Carolina. Harrell died in 1823, and the administrator of his estate is James Sinclair. The account book has separate pages for each of Harrell's minor children: Elizabeth T. Harrell, Joseph L. Harrell, and Sarah Ann P. Harrell. Includes amounts spent on tuition at various schools, lists of books purchased, and taxes paid on Harrell's estate. There are also lines for the hiring of slaves to work on Harrell's...

Scope and Contents

One page letter concerning the death of a servant man who died while working on the fortifications around Richmond, VA for the Confederacy.

Scope and Contents

Journal of John S. Barret, plantation owner in Alabama.  Barret writes extensively about his farm, weather conditions, crop harvests and livestock.  Some entries record hunting opportunities and their results.  One page lists all of the slaves born to his plantation since 1802 and the woman they were born to.  Another entry records the sadness of the untimely death of his friend, William Aylett.

Scope and Contents An undated, unsigned fragment of a letter from an enslaved individual, presumably male, living in Richmond, Virginia. As a child, the writer lived in Williamsburg, Virginia, owned by the Slater family. He refers to living in Williamsburg and being friends with Ludwell, who he used to carry around town on his back. He shares other memories of growing up in Williamsburg, including a fight he had with Amner Walker.Other references in the letter suggest that he was...

Scope and Contents

An artificial collection of papers created from material acquired during the 1930's and 1940's.

Content Description

January 28, 1857 letter written by Thomas Y. Pass to Alan Womack asking for instructions on what he should do with the enslaved children Womack left at his house. Pass writes that he does not want the children without their mother, and he has had "trouble enough" with them.

Content warning for derogatory language directed towards children enslaved, allusions to child abuse, mentions of buying and selling humans.

Content Description

A 10 page estate account inventory record by Daniel Payne, the executor of Lawrence Washington's estate, Wakefield Plantation in Westmoreland Co., VA. The inventory names 18 enslaved people. 3 unnamed enslaved children are also listed. Also included is a postcard with an image of Wakefield.

Content Description The Randolph Family Papers contains correspondence and financial documents relating to Isham Randolph (1771-1844), first cousin of Thomas Jefferson, David Coupland Randolph (1804-1886), son of Isham Randolph, Isham Randolph Page (1834-1923), nephew of Isham Randolph and Judith Randolph Swann (Circa 1815-1870), sister of Isham Randolph. Materials document daily financial activities such as the hiring and buying of enslaved people, and Isham Randolph's role as an officer at the James River...

Content Description

2 letters, a total of five pages, written by Rev. James M. Priest to Rev. Daniel Wells, and Hon. Walter Lowrie respectively. Rev. Priest was a formerly enslaved person, freed on the condition that he emigrate as a missionary to Africa. In both letters, Rev. Priest complains about the lack of funds being provided to his mission and the school he founded in Liberia.

Content Description

Three slave registries from Puerto Rico written in Spanish dated 1868, 1869, and 1871. The names of the enslaved individuals is not known, but a full description of each, including race and age as well as who they belonged to is on the documents.

Scope and Contents

This collection contains nine Virginia probate inventories listing the assets of several estates, including enslaved men and women. Each inventory lists the names of enslaved persons, their gender, and an approximate age range, usually "between 12 and 50 years of age." One of the inventories lists property owned by a woman.

Scope and Contents This collection includes correspondence, personal and managed accounts, and legal papers of John White. Ranging in date from 1757-1843, with the bulk of the papers taking place from 1810-1830. From these papers, it appears that John White was a lawyer who practiced in Northampton County, North Carolina and the surrounding area. The buying, selling, and loaning of enslaved persons is a pervasive theme in his personal papers. As a result of his work managing accounts, he has many warrants...