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Archiver > MDALLEGA > 2003-05 > 1052104775


From: "Bill and Carole Pyles" <>
Subject: Re: [MDALLEGA] Slave Transfer Records
Date: Sun, 4 May 2003 23:19:41 -0400
References: <47.2d863bc7.2be721a6@aol.com>


That is very interesting. I didn't know that. My ancestors in Maryland and Virginia had slaves. When they were liberated, one lady decided to stay with her owner and family. According to my mother who saw her, she was a fun loving person.
Bill
----- Original Message -----
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Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2003 10:08 PM
Subject: Re: [MDALLEGA] Slave Transfer Records


In most states, the "property" would be treated as just that, and would be
either a bill of sale, recorded in the land records, or as part of an estate
probate, as in property bequeathed in a will ("...and to my daughter Mary, I
give my Negro slave Anna, and all of her progeny..."). And on occasion, the
heirs would in turn sell to each other, almost bartering this or that part of
the estate, including slaves.

After slavery had been pretty much banned in PA, a new sort of record
emerged. If you were a slaveholder, and moved north into PA from say, MD, or
VA, and intended to keep your "property" with you, those slaves would have to
be recorded as indentured servants; their status was now assigned a defined
term, with a price for buying out their servitude. Bedford Co., for example,
has those records. They were recorded in the Prothonotary's office, as an
action of the court. They have become a rather invaluable source of
African-American genealogy. I believe the Pioneer Library in Bedford has
most of them extracted in book form. I suspect the same holds true for most
PA border counties.

No matter how you approach the information, it's all part of a complex
historical picture. Many VA counties still have the record books for the
slave blocks, outlining which slave owners had how many slaves for sale, and
at what time.

David


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