Bill of sale for an enslaved woman named Nancy
date: label: Date
content: February 1844
name: label: Written by
content: Mary Witsell, American, born 1782
label: Subject of
content: Eliza Witsell, American, born 1815
label: Subject of
content: Emanuel Witsell, American, born 1815
notes: label: Description
content: A bill of sale for an enslaved woman named Nancy written at Witmarsh Plantation in the Colleton District of South Carolina by Mary Witsell in February 1844. It is a single page document handwritten in brown ink on linked paper. The price for Nancy is given as $125.63. Spaces remain blank where the buyer's name is to appear, where his or her legal representatives are meant to sign, and where the specific date in February should appear. The document reads in part: [bargain sell and deliver to the said (blank space) the / Negroe Slave named Nancy____ / To have and to hold the said Negroe Slave and / her future increase unto the said (blank space)]. At bottom right, in black ink, is Mary Witsell's signature and handwritten seal. At bottom left, in black ink, is the signature of two witnesses: [Eliza Witsell / Emanuel Witsell]. On the verso, which appears as the front when folded, is handwritten in graphite: Bill of Sale / From Mrs. M Witsell / of girl Nancy / February 1844].
place: label: Place made
content: Colleton County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Domestic slave trade
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1815-1861
label: Topic
content: Women
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Collection title
content: Liljenquist Family Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Documents and Manuscripts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift from the Liljenquist Family Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2012.158.16
objectType: label: Type
content: bills of sale
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 12 1/16 x 7 3/4 in. (30.6 x 19.7 cm)