E. L. McGlashan collection of documents concerning slavery in the United States

The E. L. McGlashan Collection of Papers Concerning Slavery in the United States consists of bills of sale, receipts, estate records, and other material documenting slave ownership and the slave trade in the United States. The papers span the dates 1770-1862, and predominantly document transactions in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, and Alabama. There are also records which document legal actions involving slaves in Maine, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana.

Series I. Bills of Sale is arranged chronologically and consists of 13 documents. The folder titles consist of transcribed information, and include the names of sellers, buyers, and slaves, as well as the dates of sales. The jurisdiction of sales has been transcribed when recorded. These documents also typically include the amount for which the slaves were sold; a witness statement; and the date of the sale's recording at the country clerk's office or other official registry. Some sales include description of the skills, age, physical condition and family relationships of the slaves. In many cases, annotations on the verso record subsequent transactions. Some records also provide information about the seller. The 1840 bill of sale for slaves sold by Antoine Lacour of Iberville Parish, Louisiana (folder 11) notes that the Lacour is a "free man of color."

Series II.Receipts is arranged chronologically and consists of 11 documents. The receipts usually include information about the sale, including the amount of money paid, the name of the slave, and the date of the sale. Some receipts also include a description of the physical condition and family relationships of the slaves being sold. Several of the receipts in this collection are recorded on preprinted forms completed in manuscript (folders 13, 14, 17, 18).

Series III. Estate Records is arranged chronologically and consists of property appraisals and inventories of the estates of deceased individuals in various Alabama counties between 1843 and 1860. Inventories typically list the names of slaves and their valuation, as well as descriptions and valuation amounts for other personal property owned by the deceased. The records are annotated with witness statements, attestations, and often bear notes regarding the administration of the estate and the final division of property.

Series IV. Other Documents is arranged chronologically and consists of 17 manuscript and printed items related to slavery in the United States. The series includes deeds gifting slaves to relatives (folders 32, 36, 39, 41, 44), contracts for hiring out slave labor (folders 33, 35), and manumission statements, including one document that records the registering of three mulatto boys and their slave mother shortly after Pennsylvania's 1780 Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act (folder 31).

Documents in this collection were already numbered using a three character alphanumeric code when the materials were acquired by the Beinecke Library in 2005. The Gilder Lehrman Center used these codes in citations for items from this collection that were digitized for the Center's workshop "Sound as a Dollar: The Paperwork of Chattel Slavery." The codes have been retained in this finding aid and are listed in parentheses following the folder description.