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, 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 letter from Mary Lamboll Beach to her sister Elizabeth Gilchrist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania discussing the Denmark Vesey trial, money and business.
A letter from Mary Lamboll Beach to her sister Elizabeth Gilchrist in Germantown, Pennsylvania discussing health, religion and the Denmark Vesey trial. Details include the notation, "on the case of the poor blacks who I fear are in the community at large" and "that wretched Vesey." Also references executions include the hanging of "Gullah Jack" or "creature" known for his superstitions. Makes notation "Mrs. Martin's negroes" attacking with firearms.
This letter is from John Lloyd in Charleston, South Carolina to his nephew Thomas B. Smith in London, England. Some of the contents of the letter discuss Smith's slave who was stolen, which he references as "a negro"; Lloyd's advocacy of "the new Constitution"; Smith's nephew William Farr who arrived from Holland and the estate of Thomas Farr.
This document is the last will and testament of Mary Magdalen Poyas. Makes the notation that her two female slaves, Lydia and Sarah, are free upon her death.
A document with the title "Negroes, The Estate of Peter Villepontoux Deceased" in which the writer lists the names of enslaved men, women and children. Makes notation "Abby-mulatto wench" as well as the relationships between slaves.
A handwritten, four-page letter from Emma Alston to her husband, Charles, in which she advises him on the sale and purchase of mules and enslaved people from Beneventum plantation. She also fears that Charleston will soon fall and describes the scarcity and rising cost of food and other necessities in Greenville amid the Civil War. In addition, she mentions the work done by two enslaved women, Zilpah and Venus, at their farm in Greenville.
