Slavery
Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, ca. 1800-1864
Division & Valuation of Slaves in Wills & Estates
Archive

[SLAVERY.] Archive, 1800-1864.
- Frances McDonald, Manuscript Document Signed with a Mark, Last Will and Testament of Thomas McDonald, August 11, 1800, Union County, South Carolina. 4 pp., 7.25" x 12". Expected folds; some tape repairs to separated folds; minor edge tears.
- William B. Wilmer, Manuscript Document Signed, Agreement, January 6, 1814, [Kent County, Maryland]. 1 p., 8" x 4". Light toning; very good.
- Edward Dekle and George A. Dekle, Report of Sales from Estate, March 6, 1843, [Thomas County, Georgia]. 2 pp., 9.5" x 7.5". Light toning; very good.
- William Todd et al., Manuscript Document Signed, Appraisal of Estate of Eliza Bacon, May 10, 1847, Tattnall County, Georgia. 3 pp., 7.5" x 12.5". Toning; soiling on verso.
- James Hildreth, S. G. Eskridge, and J. H. Wells, Manuscript Document Signed, Appraisal of Estate of Henry Jordan, June 16, 1852, [Marengo County, Alabama]. 1 p., 7.75" x 12.25". Expected folds; light soiling on verso; very good.
- Nathaniel Hickman, Autograph Document Signed, Copy of Last Will and Testament and Codicil of Henry Hardisty, November 10, 1856, Baltimore, Maryland. 9 pp., 10.5" x 15.75". Expected folds; partially attached with string on left edge; edge chipping and soiling.
- John T. Terry, Autograph Document Signed, Copy of Lewis M. Stone, Bill of Complaint for Matilda J. Giles in Giles v. Somerville et al., March 4, 1864, Pickens County, Alabama. 10 pp., 7.5" x 12". Attached at top margin with ribbon; general toning.

One of the worst experiences for enslaved African Americans in the antebellum South was the death or bankruptcy of their owners. Such an event almost always led to separations from family, friends, and familiar surroundings. When a slaveholder died, court-appointed appraisers created an inventory of his or her estate. Although a will could direct the division of slaves and other property, the debts of the estate and the number of heirs influenced how enslaved persons were divided and often led to public auctions.

This set of documents from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the Civil War illustrates the bequeathing, inventorying, appraisal, sale, and division of enslaved persons after the death of owners. The documents come from Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, and South Carolina.

Slaves often made up a substantial part of the assets of a southern estate. In the 1842 estate of Eliza Bacon, in Tattnall County, Georgia, a dozen slaves, valued at $2,900, accounted for 90 percent of the value of her personal estate. In the 1852 estate of Henry Jordan from Alabama, ten slaves, valued at $5,200, comprised 75 percent of his property, including real estate.

Excerpts
[McDonald will:]
"When my Daughter Lucy Farr was married I did give her three negroes namely Jude, Mill, and Lewis, which auto be appraised, and valued as such a part of her po[r]tion Legacy or part of my estate, and after my Desease, my Desire is that my Executors, have three negroes Valued for each of my children as near the value as may be most convenant and if any should not amount to the value of the above named negroes their lot must be made up in money or if should over Balance the same to be Deducted, and that my children doth draw lats for choices, of the said lots of negroes &c. that is to say namely Charles McDonald, Sarah S. McDonald, Elizabeth L. McDonald, Jensey McDonald, Robt McDonald, and Matilda McDonald which lots of negroes &c. I give to them and their Heirs forever.

[Wilmer agreement:]
"I agree that Negroes Bob and David which belonged to my Father Black[i]ston Wilmer deceased shall be the property and belong to my Brother John W. Wilmer the same being recd by him as a part of the personal estate coming to him and I do release all right to the said negroes unto him the said John W. Wilmer witness my hand and seal this sixth day of January 1814 / Wm B. Wilmer"

[Dekle Report:]
"Dekle admr of said estate from last return to the 31st December 1842
"January 10 1842 Sale of lot of land No 8 14th 905.00
" 1 negro man Willis 451.00
" 1 " Boy Zekiel 506.00
" 1 " " Allen 513.00
" 1 " " Hezekiah 402.00
" 1 " Woman & Child (Harty & John) 500.00
" 1 " Woman Philis & 2 children 603.00
" 1 " Gergia 153.00
" 1 " Boy Me[?] 145.00
" 4178.00
"Subscribed and Sworn to in open Court this 6th day of March 1843
" Edward Dekle } administratr
" Georg A. Dekle }

[Bacon Estate Inventory:]
"Georgia / Tattnall County / Inventory & Appraisement of the Estate of Eliza Bacon Late of Said County deceased....
"no 6 one negro woman Venus Sen. 150.00
"no 7 do do Jinny 400.00
"no 8 do do Lydia & child Liza 600.00
"no 9 Small negro child Phillis 175.00
"no 10 Eve a child 125.00
"no 11 a negro girl Nan 300.00
"no 12 a negro Boy Charles 75.00
"no 13 a boy Dick 500.00
"no 14 Little Venus 200.00
"no 15 Adam a child 175.00
"no 16 a child Lott 200.00....
"We do certify that the foregoing contains a true appraisement and valuation of the goods and chattels of Eliza Bacon Deceased, as produced to us by Daniel Barnard, the Administrator, to the best of our Judgement and understanding, May 10th 1847 / William Todd / Jesse Durrence / Samuel Brewton / S. P. Smith / Appraisers"

[Jordan Estate Inventory:]
"A List of the property of Henry Jordan Deceased as Shown to us by the Administrator and appraised to the best of our knowledge and belief this 16 day of June 1852
"A negro man
"Nelsen man 800.
"Shepard do 500.
"Sopha woman 500.
"Nancy 450.
"Felix 800.
"George 700.
"Lewis 600.
"Nelson Boy 300.
"Ellin Girl 400.
"Camilla 150.
" 5200...."

[Hardisty Will:]
"I also give to my said wife during her widowhood my dwelling house and lot at corner Cathedral and Centre Sts; all the household furniture and plate contained therein at the time of my death and also my woman Slave Esther Martin my wife to keep the house and furniture fully insured against fire, to pay the Taxes on Same, and to keep the House in good repair after the marriage of all my children."

[Giles Bill:]
"That said William Giles being possessed of a considerable real and personal estate did on or about the 9th day of May 1858 make and publish his last will & testament in writing, and thereby gave and bequeathed unto your oratrix the following described real and personal property, viz...the following named negro slaves Ransom, Claiborn, Amanda, Charity, William, Logan, Samuel, Isabella, Willis, Margaret, Jane, John, Sally Ann, Silas, Nathan & Henry."
"That your oratrix made application to the said William N. and George Summerville Executors and requested them to deliver to her the real and personal estate to which she was entitled under the will of her said husband, agreeably to the intention of the testator in and by his said will expressed & declared and that said Executors did deliver to her the Negroes & other personal property bequeathed to her in said will...but said Executors refuse to set apart or convey to your oratrix the four Hundred and twenty acres of Land to which she is clearly entitled under said will, and which testator intended she should have as a house and upon which to work her negroes and to enjoy her property."

Thomas McDonald / McDaniel (1754-1800) was born in Virginia. During the Revolutionary War, he served as a matross in the artillery. He married Nancy Ann Sims (1759-1794) in 1771 in South Carolina. After her death, he married Frances Crenshaw (1767-1856). He was the father of at least ten children, including Charles S. (1772-1800), Lucinda (1773-1859), Sarah S. (b. 1776), Thomas (1785-1826), Elizabeth Lewis McDaniel Gist (1791-1859), Jane (b. 1793), John (b. 1794), Robert (1797-1834), and Matilda McDaniel Jeter (b. 1799). After his death, his widow Frances married James Dugan.

William Blackiston Wilmer II (1790-1853) was born in Kent County, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, to Blackiston Wilmer (1742-1813) and his wife, Sarah Williamson Wilmer (1758-1823). His older brother was John Williamson Wilmer (1787-1861), who married Elizabeth Gittings (1789-1845) in 1809. In 1816, he married Mary Ann Taylor (1798-1860), and they had at least seven children. In 1850, he was a farmer in Kent County and owned two slaves. In 1860, he owned three slaves. He died in Kent County.

George Austin Dekle (1820-1876) was the son of William Grissom Dekle (1796-1841), whose family came from Prussia, and Bethany Hollingsworth Dekle (1800-1876). Together with his cousin Edward Dekle (1815-1846), he administered the estate of his father, the first sheriff of Thomas County, Georgia, after his death in 1841. In 1843, he married Roqsey Ann Neel (1823-1901), with whom he had ten children. They settled in Marianna, Florida.

Eliza Ann Myers Bacon (1777-1847) was born in Liberty County, Georgia. She married Daniel Myers (1775-1809), and after his death, Jonathan Baskin Bacon (1779-1822) served as a legal agent for the settlement of her husband's estate. She had five children with Bacon between 1808 and 1817. They married in 1819 in Tattnall County, Georgia, and had one more child after they married. He represented Tattnall County in the Georgia Senate in 1821-1822. At his death in 1822, his estate included 28 slaves. In his will, he bequeathed 15 of his slaves to his two children from his marriage to Elizabeth Bacon (1782-1816) in 1798. He bequeathed the other 13 to his wife Eliza and her heirs. After the death of his first two children in 1823 and 1824, Eliza Bacon claimed the slaves they had inherited. At her death in February 1847, her son-in-law, Daniel Barnard (1818-1896), served as the administrator of her estate.

Henry Hardisty Jr. (1808-1855) was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to British immigrant Henry Hardisty Sr. and Stracey Susanna Brevitt (1788-1856). In 1835, he married Elizabeth McLean (1812-1866), and they had at least five children (four mentioned in the will and codicil). In 1850, he owned one slave, a 45-year-old black female, likely the slave Esther Martin mentioned in his will. He died in October 1855 in Baltimore.

Matilda Jane Mobley Giles Gass (1833-1879) married widower Milton Giles (1812-1862) in 1856. After his death, she married James A. Gass (1834-1919) in 1865 and had at least two children with him. She died in Pickens County, Alabama. After the death of her first husband, she sued the executors of his estate to obtain land bequeathed to her in his will. The results of the case remain unknown, but the estate seems to have been finally settled in 1867.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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