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Slavery--Virginia--18th century

 Subject
Subject Source: Local sources

Found in 23 Collections and/or Records:

Robert Andrews Papers

 Collection
Identifier: UA 6.002
Scope and Contents

Acc. 1980.119: This accession includes biographical material, silhouette, correspondence, deed of sale for one slave, and copies of the Virginia Almanac, edited by Andrews (1781-1796).

Acc. 1985.014: This accession contains photocopies (no originals) of genealogical material about Robert Andrews, his ancestors, and his descendants.

Dates: 1779-1796; Majority of material found in 1781-1796

Bill of Sale for an Enslaved Woman named Mondo

 Collection
Identifier: SC 01168
Scope and Contents

Bill of sale, dated 24 April 1765, for African-American woman named Mondo from Martha Vernor to Benjamin Garrison. Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of Alexander Munro.

Dates: 1765 April 24

Richard Blow Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss. 65 B625
Scope and Contents Papers, 1772-1872, of the Blow family. Chiefly business papers, 1772-1820, of Richard Blow of Portsmouth and "Tower Hill," Sussex County, Va. and his son George Blow, Sr. and George Blow, Jr. of 'Tower Hill' and Williamsburg, Va. Richard Blow was a partner in stores in Virginia and North Carolina (trading as Richard Blow and Co., Briggs & Blow, Baker & Blow [South Quay, Nansemond County, Va.], Blow & Barksdale [Petersburg, Va.], and Blow and Scammel). He was also a plantation...
Dates: 1772-1872

Bray Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss. 65 Pst B73
Scope and Contents

Negative photostats of papers, 1730-1817, of the Bray Associates, a division of the Society of the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, which was instrumental in providing libraries for the churches in America and setting up schools for the Christian education of free and enslaved Black children.

Dates: 1730-1817

Carter Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss. 39.1 C24
Scope and Contents The collection includes: correspondence and land records of Robert "King" Carter; correspondence and land records of his sons Robert Carter (1704-1731) and Landon Carter (1710-1778); correspondence, accounts, land records and the appointment to the Virginia Council of Robert Carter (1728-1804), son of Robert Carter (1704-1731); correspondence, diaries, land records and accounts of Robert Wormeley Carter (1734-1804), son of Landon Carter of Sabine Hall; and correspondence and land records and...
Dates: 1667-1862; Majority of material found in 1792-1861

College Papers Collection

 Collection
Identifier: UA 14
Scope and Contents

This collection includes a variety of material formats and subjects from throughout the College's history.

Dates: circa 1880s-1990s

Cuttbert Bullitt letter

 Collection
Identifier: SC 01800
Content Description

A letter from 1796 composed by Cuthbert Bullitt, a lawyer and plantation owner in Prince William County, Virginia. The letter describes Cuthbert Bullitt's interaction with enslaved workers on the plantation and his analysis of the character and value of each person. The letter amounts to a single sheet folded to 6" x 7 3/4" with ink prose.

Dates: December 29, 1796

Helen M. Hoskins Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss. Acc. 2013.226
Scope and Contents The collection contains correspondence, receipts, poems, and other material concerning Helen M. Hoskins and her family of Sheffield, Massachusetts. Most of the correspondence is between Helen and her mother, Sabra Hoskins, but also includes letters written by Helen's husband, H.T. Wheeler, her son, Horace Wheeler, siblings, numerous cousins, and friends. Included in the collection are poems, compositions, and other ephemera related to Helen's time as a teacher at female academies in...
Dates: 1839-1868; Majority of material found in 1845-1860

James River and Kanawha Company Records

 Collection
Identifier: SC 00628
Scope and Contents

The collection relates to the James River Canal and Kanawha Company, which officially gained a charter in 1835. Included are a list of subscriptions sold to private individuals, a letter to the auditors office discussing current and previous subscriptions, a letter from a prospective surveyor and a list of tollage rates along the canal. Individuals mentioned are John Hartwell Cocke, and his son John Hartwell Cocke Jr.

Dates: 1834-1868

Jerdone Family Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss. 39.1 J47
Scope and Contents This collection contains papers of the Jerdone family, 1753- (1771-1845) -1890. It includes letters, letterbooks, and account books of immigrant Francis Jerdone (1721-1771), Scottish factor who lived in Hanover County, Yorktown and Louisa County, Virginia, and letters of his wife, Sarah (Macon) Jerdone. Most of the collection consists of letters, accounts, and diaries of the next two generations of members of the Jerdone family including Francis Jerdone (1756-1841), planter of...
Dates: 1753-1890

Philip Johnson Legal Documents

 Collection
Identifier: SC 00688
Scope and Contents Legal documents concerning the estate of Philip Johnson of Williamsburg and James City County, Virginia. Investiture of Bruton Parish, James City County land to Philip Johnson to eventually become part of the City of Williamsburg at the Court of St. James, dated November 1763. Chancery lawsuit, 1791, written to the Honorable George Wythe Judge of the High Court of Chancery, concerning a trust agreement made in 1769 with Peyton Randolph, Lewis Burwell, Robert Carter Nicholson, and Philip...
Dates: 1761-1791

Arthur Lee Philanthropos Address to Virginia General Assembly

 Collection
Identifier: SC 01213
Scope and Contents Handwritten copy of an address, 1767, written by Arthur Lee to the Virginia General Assembly and printed in the Virginia Gazette, Williamsburg, Va. (Rind, 19 March 1767, no longer exant). The address contains the author's opinion that slavery should be abolished, stating that "it is a violation both of Justice and Religion; that it is dangerous to the safety of the community...; that it is destructive to the growth of Arts and Sciences; and that it produces a numerous and very fatal train of...
Dates: 1767

McGavock Papers

 Collection
Identifier: 01/Mss. 39.1 M17
Scope and Contents Papers (including correspondence, legal documents, and accounts) of James McGavock (1728-1812), his son James McGavock (1764-1838) and his grandsons James McGavock (1804-1839) and Stephen McGavock (1807-1880). Many of the papers concern lead mines at Fort Chiswell, Va, slavery, agriculture, aspects of the Revolutionary War, and other.  Included are a list of parish levies before 1776; receipts for supplies issued at Fort Chiswell, Wythe County, Va. and at Fort Patrick Henry, Tenn. for an...
Dates: 1760-1888

Thomas Nelson, Jr. Affidavit for the Sale of a Slave Named Frank

 Collection
Identifier: SC 00558
Scope and Contents

Thomas Nelson, Jr. , York County [Virginia] Merchant, affidavit for the sale of a negro slave, Frank [11 years old],  to John Carter, Williamsburg [Virginia].  Witnessed by George Riddell and [illegible].  June 15, 1774.

Dates: 1774 June 15

Patrick Henry Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss. 39.2 H41
Scope and Contents Includes letters, 1778-1792, of Patrick Henry while living in Prince Edward County, Virginia and including letter, 28 May 1778, to Richard Henry Lee. Also includes copies of letters received by William Wirt from persons to whom he had written seeking biographical and anecdotal material concerning Henry (including one letter from George Wythe); prints and engravings of Henry; and an article concerning Patrick Henry's mother, Sarah Henry from the "Journal of American History".Mss....
Dates: 1778-1792, 1923-1927

Perrin Family Bibles

 Collection
Identifier: Mss. 93 P42
Scope and Contents

Consists of three Bibles owned by the Perrin family; a 1751, 1819, and 1838 editions that contain family information and genealogy back to the 1740s. The 1751 Bible contains a list of slave children births and ages.

Dates: 1751-1838; Majority of material found in 1751, 1819 and 1838

William K. Perrin Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss. 95 P42
Scope and Contents Business letters, 1833-1839, to Major William K. Perrin and 1855, 1860, to his son-in-law Wyndham Kemp, both of Gloucester County, Virginia from Perrin's step-son Robert W. Nicolson in Uniontown, Perry County, Alabama, about the management of a cotton plantation. Letters mention purchasing land, growing and selling cotton management of slaves, legal and banking matters and uprising of the Creek Indians. Papers, 1800-1855 and n.d., relating to the hiring out and management of slaves of...
Dates: 1732-1902; Majority of material found in 1820-1858

List of persons enslaved by the College of William & Mary

 Collection
Identifier: UA 339
Scope and Contents

This list of persons enslaved by the College of William & Mary, circa 1780, includes the enslaved persons that were then at the College as well as those hired out.

The list has been digitized.

A transcription of this list is also available in the folder "Slaves owned by the College" in the University Archives Subject File Collection (UA 9).

Dates: circa 1780

Powell Family Papers, Hepburn Addition

 Collection
Identifier: 01/Mss. Acc. 2007.110
Scope and Contents This collection contains the correspondence of Leven Powell, James Madison, Charles Leven Powell, Charles Leven Powell, Jr., Selina Powell Hepburn, and others. Recipients include Burr Powell, Cuthbert Powell, Sewell Stavely Hepbron [Hepburn] and others. First 30 years of correspondence is mainly written by or addressed to Leven Powell, detailing his involvement in the Revolutionary War, the Virginia House of Delegates, and the United State Congress, including letters about the Election of...
Dates: 1775-1870

Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau Papers

 Collection
Identifier: Mss. 39.2 R58
Scope and Contents Includes a couple of originals, copies prepared in the 18th century as well as typed transcripts of letters, 1782, of the Comte de Rochambeau concerning a variety of topics: seizures of blacks belonging to state of Virginia; reenforcements for French troops and acknowledgment of thanks of Williamsburg, Va. for French aid; a letter, 6 Sept, 1789, written while Rochambeau was commander of garrison at Strasbourg, France and dealing with riots (original and typed transcript); photostats of...
Dates: 1781-1789

William Selden Papers

 Collection
Identifier: SC 00934
Scope and Contents Papers, 1772-1799, of Anglican minister William Selden (1741-1783) and his wife Mary Ann Hancock Selden (1745-1789) of Elizabeth City County, Virginia. These papers are primarily financial in nature and document the Selden family's management of the Elizabeth City Parish, the family estate, slave holdings, and the hire of estate slaves to local plantation owners. These papers consist of receipts, labor contracts, financial summaries, and a small leather financial ledger. The labor contracts...
Dates: 1771-1799

Oscar Shewmake Autograph Collection

 Collection
Identifier: SC 00572
Scope and Contents

Autographs of Virginians including Robert Andrews, Mann Page, Johnny Watts, John Carter, and Benjamin Powell. Several signatures are receipts for the purchase of slaves.

Dates: 1766-1813

Brigadier General George Weedon Military Order

 Collection
Identifier: SC 00913
Scope and Contents

Broadside order written in Williamsburg by Brigadier General George Weedon on 6 April 1781, ordering Moss Armistead and John Slaughter to Portsmouth, Virginia to apply to the commanding officer of the British Army for exchange of prisoners and liberation of slaves.

Dates: 1781 April 6