A letter from Virginia Wilkinson Belin at Sandy Knowe plantation to her mother, Eleanora Wilkinson. She shares some news of nearby Friendfield plantation, where 10 slaves ran away.
This is a Sandy Island plantation journal written inside of The South Carolina and Georgia Almanac for the year 1792. The plantation journal documents the planting of crops (rice, corns, and potatoes), the maintenance of ditches and drains, slave records, complications with the hiring of an overseer, livestock, and business relations with Laurel Hill Plantation.
A handwritten, three-page letter from Emma Alston to her husband, Charles, in which she implores him to supply the enslaved people on their plantation with meat, milk, tobacco, and textiles to discourage them from escaping. She also updates him on their acquisition of a farm and Greenville and the general economic state of the town.
This document is a labor agreement between J. W. Sprague and freedmen and signed by other numerous individuals. The reverse side of the document includes the notation "Agreement Hands."
A handwritten, two-page letter from Emma Alston to her husband, Charles, in which she arranges the arrival of six enslaved people in Greenville. She also advises him on the management of their house in Charleston and warns him to not allow enslaved people to travel without the accompaniment of a white person so as to prevent their impressment.
A handwritten, four-page letter from Emma Alston to her husband, Charles, in which she writes of her efforts to find an affordable house in Greenville. She also discusses the Civil War and rumors of enslaved people escaping plantations. Attached to this letter is a note that further specifies houses available to purchase.
A handwritten, four-page letter from Susan Alston to her father, Charles Alston, in which she describes their work setting up the farm in Greenville and complains about the soaring cost of living in the town. She also relays the story of the Seven Days Battles in Virginia, blaming General Huger for the Union's escape.
A handwritten, three-page letter from Emma Alston to her husband, Charles, in which she discusses her situation in Greenville and her continued search for a house. She writes of her concerns about the Civil War's effect on their finances and house in Charleston; in addition, she lists the names of enslaved people that she brought with her to Greenville (Zilpah, Winnie, Brown, little Thomas, John, Venus, Johny).
