The Robert F.W.Allston Memorandum Book covers the years 1848 and 1849, documenting payments made by Robert Allston, a record of cattle on Waverly, Nightingale Hall and Matanza (later known as Chicora Wood) Plantations and mentions of enslaved people who are referenced by first name. The book also includes loose papers and newspaper clippings on politics, the electoral college and a written statement surrounding the different views over slavery between the northern and southern states.
The Estate General J.W. Allston in Account with A.W. Campbell, 1834-1857, is an account book kept for the estate of Joseph Waties Allston. The first half of the book records payments and bonds paid on behalf of J.W. Allston's estate by executor A.W. Campbell. The second half of the book records payments and bonds paid on behalf of the estate by executor Robert F.W. Allston. Payments include those for the hiring and purchasing of enslaved persons.
The Estate Book of Hannah Tait, 1836-1860, records the financial accounts for the estate of Hannah Tait with Robert F.W. Allston as executor. The beginning of the book contains the last will and testament of Hannah Tait in which she outlines her wishes for the division of her estate and paying off of debts. Tait leaves her daughter Elizabeth Shackleford her enslaved persons but if Shackleford dies, the enslaved persons are to be "sold at a private sale to humane masters." The book also includes a copy of the inventory and appraisement of the enslaved persons.
The Robert F.W. Allston Account Book, 1853-1855, records the numerous payments, receipts, debts and purchases and yearly crop information for Chicora Wood, Waverly and Nightingale Hall Plantations. Also included in the book are sections on births, deaths and marriages for enslaved people, writing down the first name of the men and women who married.
The Robert F.W. Allston Account Book covers the years 1857-1859 discussing Chicora Wood and Nightingale Hall Plantations. The book includes information on acres of land, stock and cattle, payments and accounts, a purchase of forty-one enslaved persons and the number of enslaved persons at each plantation in which they are listed as dependencies. Book includes a second use with passages written from the back of the book towards the front.
The Robert F.W. Allston with Robert Adger and Co. Account Book, 1860, is a journal recording household and grocery expenses for Robert Allston. Among the lists includes items for enslaved persons such as cloth and toothbrushes. Many entries also contain records of payments to specific individuals.
The Robert F.W Allston Account Book, 1860-1861, documents payments, a recipe to help cure rabies, stocks for Nightingale Hall and Chicora Wood Plantations and the names, births and deaths of enslaved people. The book also includes diary entries for when Robert Allston visited Manassas, Virginia at the Battle of Bull Run during the Civil War, recording conversations he had about the battle, the atmosphere of the army camps and the death of General Barnard E. Bee.
