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  1. Death of the Respectable Adam Grove
    date February 24, 1842map AUGUSTA, Virginiatags Agriculture, Church/Religious-Activity, Health/Death, Race-Relations, Slavery

    Shermariah Church, the Presbyterian Church of Augusta County, Virginia lost a valuable member of their congregation when Mr. Adam Grove died suddenly and unexpectedly on February 24, 1842. Mr. Grove's spirituality transcended Shermariah into the educational realm in that he served as a professor of religion for 20 years. His religious beliefs manifested themselves in his charitable nature. He donated...

  2. Dexter Needs to Pay Up
    date May 29, 1827map ST JOHNS, Floridatags Slavery

    A promissory note is a contract detailing the terms of a promise or loan by one person to pay a sum of money to another person. Many people in the antebellum south used promissory notes when dealing with large amounts of money. John Day and Horatio S. Dexter entered into a promissory note together on October 5, 1824. The amount of the note was for six thousand four hundred and seventy nine dollars....

  3. Dueling
    date July 23, 1817map DINWIDDIE, Virginiatags African-Americans, Crime/Violence

    One fatal wound elicited another as two blacks killed each other in a dispute. No one knew why the two black men were feuding; however, it was evident that they decided to settle their argument with the weapons on hand. Scythes were used to fight. Both inflicted a deadly gash on the other leaving them both dead. A Petersburg newspaper reported the homicides in 1817. It was not noted if these blacks...

  4. The Economics of Renting and Selling Enslaved People
    date January 24, 1834 to 1835map BERKELEY, Virginiatags African-Americans, Economy, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, Slavery, Women

    Slave master John Lewis was stone dead. He was gone, but his 'property' still lived in western Virginia's Berkeley County. After he died, hiring out a slave named Charity on October 30, 1834 meant 15 in his family's pocket immediately. A remaining 82 was due to them later on account. Other slaves were also rented out. W. Russell paid out a sizable 70 for Pompey's labor, while Joseph Sharry doled out...

  5. Slave Resistance in Alexandria
    date July 9, 1819 to July 10, 1819map RAPIDES, Louisianatags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Health/Death, Law, Race-Relations, Slavery

    On July 9, 1819, a Negro man violently attacked and brutally wounded the wife of his master, a Mr. John M. Smith of Alexandria, Louisiana, with the intention to kill her. On the same day as the attack, the slave, whose name was not given, was convicted and sentenced to be hanged. By the next day he was dead. The relationship between slave and owner teetered on a precarious balance. On one hand slaveholders...

  6. A Falling Deck of Cards: The Panic of 1819
    date June 15, 1819map AUGUSTA, Virginiatags Economy, Government, Politics

    Citizens of Staunton, Virginia came together June 15, 1819 to navigate the pitfalls of the antebellum economy. Their official business was to take into consideration the depreciation of the notes of certain banks, for the economy was at the bottom of a large dip - the Panic of 1819. The citizens decided that the notes of the State Bank of North Carolina should no longer be received at normal value,...

  7. Race Relations in the Late Nineteenth Century in Central Virginia
    date May 5, 1888map LOUISA, Virginiatags African-Americans, Law, Race-Relations

    As William Bibb read the letter, he grew anxious and apprehensive about the decision he had to make. Bibb, a Louisa County attorney, received a letter on May 5, 1888 from R. M. Barllock in Woodburn, Virginia asking Bibb to represent him in a law suit involving a former slave. Barllock wanted to collect money from the estate of a man who had passed away several years ago. In his letter to Bibb, Barllock...

  8. Perry's Detainment
    date 1831map TERRITORY, Territorytags Agriculture, Economy, Government, Politics, Migration/Transportation

    An unidentified man named Perry (likely a relative of James Perry) had finally arrived in Texas. As he is mentioned in a letter to James Perry, who had a number of business interests in Texas, it is probable that he was there in a role of some relation to James Perry's investments. Unfortunately for Perry, the winter of 1831 was the worst winter that Texas had experienced for several years. Upon disembarking...

  9. A Breach of Contract in Apprenticeship
    date January 10, 1838 to January 17, 1838map BERKELEY, Virginiatags Economy, Race-Relations

    When Robert Gregory, most likely a white man, entered into a contract with Michael Whissler, a young man most likely white, both thought they were getting a good deal. In return for Gregory giving Whissler six months of schooling, he would work for Gregory and learn the House Joiner's business. However, Whissler left town after one month. Then, on January 10, 1838, Robert Gregory ran an advertisement...

  10. Blackburn's Emancipation
    date March 2, 1835map AUGUSTA, Virginiatags Church/Religious-Activity, Health/Death, Economy, Government, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, Slavery

    General Samuel Blackburn, a lawyer, general in the militia, prominent and popular resident of Augusta County, died on March 2, 1835. While this would be of note in itself, of special interest is that in his will, according to the Annals of Augusta County, General Blackburn liberated his forty slaves on the condition that they would immigrate to Liberia. Their trip was paid by his estate. No mention...

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