Deed of sale for an enslaved man named John

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

This handwritten deed of sale records the purchase of an enslaved boy aged seventeen named John (born 1844) sold by Martha A. Briggs to James Roberts for $1,150.00 in order to pay off a note of $1,200.00 owed by Briggs to H. S. Blood. The paper is folded along the left side, with the terms of the sale and paying of debt written on the front and interior pages. The final page includes the date, seller, buyer, and name of the enslaved handwritten down the middle. The sale was witnessed and recorded by notary John F. Coffey, whose seal is embossed into the paper near the list of names of original signatures. The seal features a pelican inside a circular frame with the text around the rim reading "J. F. COFFEY NOTARY PUBLIC / PARISH OF ORLEANS".

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