A list of 152 enslaved persons. Notations include the first names of each enslaved person, their role on the plantation and the name of their parent(s).
A torn letter from John Ball to his son John Ball Jr. at Harvard College in Massachusetts discussing how John should interact with his peers, especially women, while at school.
The first side of this document is a brief entry concerning "the business of the faithful legislator." The reverse side of the document contains a formula for making pills for "glandular obstructions."
An agreement regarding six enslaved persons bequeathed to Henry Hilliard Gooch's children. The names of the enslaved persons are Melisy, William, Amelia, Miles, Dave and John.
Final notice of auction for Nightingale Hall Plantation by auctioneer Alonzo White. The notice gives information concerning the location and fields of the plantation, the property's condition, cattle and the names of enslaved persons living there. The reverse side of the document is a statement concerning a fight between two enslaved men in which one drew a knife when ordered to stop. This enslaved man had been taken off the plantation.
A document outlining statistics of a rice plantation with one-hundred enslaved persons as a response for a request of this information from the Executive Department for the state of South Carolina. Statistics include labor performed by enslaved persons with special circumstances for pregnant women, types of food, allowances, clothing and blankets given out to enslaved persons, types of buildings the enslaved people lived in, the medical attention they receive including how faithful servants and valuable servants were given priority, comparisons between northern, foreign and native doctors, the religions the enslaved population practice, the teaching of religion to enslaved children, and general remarks about a decrease in the amount of runaways and rebellion in the last twenty years.
A list of enslaved people owned by Benjamin Allston Jr. divided by family units. Notations include specific jobs of enslaved persons such as driver, nurse, cook, washer, carpenter, blacksmith, cooper, poultry woman, hunter and gardener.
A bond from Elias Ball to executors of William Carson's estate Alexander Robertson and John Blacklock for $8,000. The document includes records of paid installments.
Memorandums on Elias Ball II discussing Comingtee Plantation given to him in the will of his father Elias Ball I, and the probability that Elias Ball Sr. was buried at St. Philip's Church in Charleston.
A letter from Lydia Simons to her brother John Ball discussing John Ball's inability to use his fingers, and the crops at "Limeric" (Limerick) Plantation.
A torn letter from Isaac Ball to his brother John Ball in "Charles Town" discussing John Ball's physique, the death of Mr. Quash's wife, a shipment of rice and their fathering purchasing a horse.
A letter from A. Waring to her cousin John Ball in Charleston thanking him for a present, the crops at Backriver Plantation, and a potential visit in the spring.
A letter to John Jacob Ischudy discussing arrangements for the rectory, a situation concerning the senders "negroes," and punishing Old Friday by returning him to Ischudy's care.
A torn letter from Elias Ball II to his son John Ball in "Charles Town" offering advice to be " a good boy and you shall want for nothing," and the poor health of John Longstaff.
A letter to Harold Cranston on Capers Island from James Vidal discussing a vessel ready to transport items and Vidal's haste to Summerville. Vidal makes the notation he would put the "black hand" to work unloading items if Cranston transports them on the vessel.
A list of classes William Ball is taking at the University of Edinburgh which includes Latin, Greek, mathematics, logic, philosophy, history, agriculture, and religion.
A portion of the last will and testament of Elias Ball II in which he settles all debts, gives his son Elias Ball III Comingtee and Limerick Plantations, tracts of land to Samuel Eveleigh, tracts of land and Kensington and Hyde Park Plantations to his son John Ball, and a lot of land situated "on the Bay of Charleston" to his daughter Lydia Bryan. Makes various notations regarding "negro slaves and their issue and increase" as well as statements that his sons Elias and John Ball are given the enslaved persons living at each plantation they inherited.
Extract from Nicholas Trott's Law, "An Act for Establishing a Ferry Over the Western Branch of Cooper River." The extract pertains to the appointing of a "master or manager" of the ferry and his duties.
A list of offenses resulting in exclusion from the clergy which includes murder, "robbing church," "robbing any persons in their dwelling house," "buggery," piracy, accessories in "petty treason," stealing, rape, burglary, "consulting with evil spirits, taking up dead bodies for purposes of witchcraft," "persons connected with slaves in actual insurrection guilty of treason," and "carrying away a slave."
This document is a tax return for J.H.M. and John Drayton in St. Andrews Parish. Makes notation of "Negros List" naming the enslaved men, women, and children by first name as well as their age. The names of the male slaves are listed as Frank, Dick, "Lummere," Moses, K Joe, Joe, Caesar, Harry, Hector, Charles, Solomon, Senor, Pompy and Skye. The names of the female slaves are listed as Nancy, Cloei, Jeney, Nany, Amelea, Linda, Deana, Judy, Peggy, Perida, "Christan," "Baby," Harriet, Tena, "B. Mulery," "Mury" and Celia.
A document discussing the discharge of a patient named "Marton Starling." Makes notation regarding two slaves, referenced as "negroes" named Elick and Humphrey.
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 diagram of the "Plain Scale." The horizontal axis is labeled "inclinations of meridians" and vertical axis is labeled hours. Various geometric shapes and lines such as chord, rhombus, tangents, secants, semi tangents, longitudes, and latitudes are drawn within the "plain."
Loose pages from "A Peep into the Past" which was also published in The Evening News in 1852. These pages discuss Sally Brailsford, the granddaughter of Madame Brailsford and niece of Mr. Waring. Topics include her admirer, the family's property occupied by squatters, a brief history of Col. William Scott, the Waring family's genealogy traced back to 1067, "the era of the conquest," a letter to William Waring from Thomas Waring of Kilkenny dated 16th of April 1725 on Waring genealogy, and history of the Brailsford family.
A list of lands and enslaved persons owned by John Ball which includes Back River Plantation, it's swamps, lands for cultivation, pine land, a carriage house, smoke house, overseer's house, store house, corn house, a cooper shop and twelve "negro" houses. The document also lists that there are four enslaved men above fifty years of age, eighteen enslaved men under fifty and above twelve, ten enslaved boys under the age of twelve, seven enslaved women above fifty years old, nineteen enslaved women under fifty and above twelve and twenty enslaved girls under twelve.
An account of the enslaved persons and lands belonging to Elias Ball I that includes tracts of land at Comingtee Plantation, acres to plant and harvest crops, and sixty-eight enslaved persons.
Fragments of a letter from Elias Ball III to his brother John Ball in Charleston, South Carolina. Fragments reveal statements regarding the health of family members.
An agreement between Charles Alston Sr. and former enslaved persons, now freedmen and women, at Fairfield Plantation. The agreement outlines the duties that Charles Alston and the freed persons must follow. The signatures of the freed persons, which includes children, are marked with an "x."
This loose page is a record of deaths and births in the Benseman family. The reverse side of the document includes the notation "my negro woman had a boy child" and "my servant Patty had a boy child."
A document transcription of dialogue between a "Mr. Learned" and Dr. Franz Joseph Gall on phrenology, a pseudoscience primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules.
A receipt for thirteen bushels of rice from William Ball. The receipt includes a mark, most likely in place of a signature from an enslaved or freed person.
